I took it as when it hits Sept 9 in whatever time zone you are in, if you have a copy of the game retail or digital you "should" be able to play. I'm still scared because PS Store says after preload servers open at 12am PST which is 3am EST (2am CST where I'm at). I'll be watching Monday Night Football until almost midnight, and would LOVE to be able to play my Digital Guardian Edition for an hour or so before bed starting at midnight CST (10pm PST). If I have to wait another two hours just because I went digital that would suck.