Yes it is , but by having a game available to DL on the same day is just giving the consumer choice , this six months with full retail pricing is appeasement .

Since the majority still want a physical product at the moment and the number of games available for downloading is still very selective ,plus the fact that the console makers aren't happy about the fact that stores like Gamestop are more like used game stores that also sell new games now ,I wonder why they don't enter the online sales market themselves selling physical product direct to consumers either through a dedicated website or as part of their existing network stores themselves so I could buy a game off PSN/LIVE etc and have the choice of a DL or physical with reflective pricing , The other way to combat gamestop policy would be for the big three to create an independent retail arm selling there product thus bypassing stores who sell used with new , I know this won't happen , anyway it is to late .

Please, I doubt we are at the stage where we actually care. Gamers still prefer a physical copy over digital if given the choice, especially if the game just came out

I do not think that is the case. I think the majority of consumers would base wether they want digital or retail based on price. Most consumers when presented with what would be almost two identical products will choose on price. Only collectors or someone who is going to resell their game will care about retail vs download. Just look at the sales of pc games. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverchiang/2010/09/20/digital-vs-physical-pc-game-downloads-surpass-retail-unit-sales-by-3m-says-survey/)

It may be because all these retailers especially in the US give so much shelf space to MS, so to keep those ties strong they are following the current model.

“It comes down to choice,”

What choice? Six months after a game comes out. Sony is the one giving them choice. Launching a game six months late is lost digital sales. For those who want digital games let them have it and if they want a game from the store so be it.

Sales are sales. They will be tallied in.

If it was that simple it would be done by now. But alas it isnt 

There just letting Sony get ahead seems strange,

They aren't just letting Sony get ahead. Sony by their own power have been trailing Microsoft this whole generation. If the did get ahead wouldnt you say they deserved it?