Sony's desire to cash in on Casino Royale continued this week when the consumer electronics giant's Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) said it will send out half a million copies of the movie on Blu-ray Disc to the first PS3 users to register their purchase online.

HD movie buffs will surely appreciate the disc's 50GB capacity, allowing the blond Bond film to be presented in 1080p resolution using the superior MPEG 4 AVC codec. Early, MPEG 2 discs have come under fire from critics for their relatively poor picture quality.

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It's hard to know whether the giveaway is intended to encourage PS3 users to sign up for the PlayStation Network online service and boost traffic, or whether it's about giving Casino Royale's sell-through video numbers a hefty boost. Probably both, we'd say.