Collectors / Limited / Special Editions in gaming

Where YJ is bitter about all the money he’s wasted on ‘collectors’ editions over the past few years
Special editions of games have been on the rise over the past few years. These days it seems that every second game has some kind of Collectors / Limited / Special edition. I’ll just refer to them as CE from now on, because they often mean the same thing. These CE usually include some kind of ‘Making Of’ DVD along with some fancy tin case, but do the extras really justify the extra cost?

The answer varies greatly between games. There’s no real standards when it comes to these CE so the publishers are free to include whatever they want in the package then charge accordingly. You’ll might get some special editions that don’t cost any more than the game itself, others that cost twice as much.

Let’s look at the reasons why you would CE. You have the group that is a general fan of the series, and they buy the CE because they love the game and don’t mind spending extra for some goodies. You have the collector, who generally buys stuff just to own it, and finally the compulsive buyer, who needs to buy everything that’s got the word ‘Limited’ on it.

The problem for gamers is that publishers have discovered that some people out there will fork out the extra dosh for a CE, especially for AAA titles. Myself included. That’s why most of the hit releases over the last year such as Metal Gear Solid 4, Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5 all have CE, and the publishers are charging a premium price for them. Here’s some examples of some CE that have been released over the last year or two:

Fallout 3 (89 AUD for standard/170 AUD for Collectors) – In this pack you get a tin lunchbox, a small A5 artbook thing, a ‘Making of’ DVD and a plastic bobblehead thing. Pretty good inclusions, but for almost double the price? A real slap in the face. Even with the EB Games 15% off voucher, it still ends up at around 144 AUD which could almost buy you 2 games.

Street Fighter IV (99 AUD for standard/129 AUD for Special Edition) – you get a larger sized cardboard box that acts as a diorama for the 2 awful Ryu and C. Viper figurines, a copy of the SF4 anime short ‘The ties that bind’, a crappy half assed ‘strategy guide’ which is more like a move list, and a DLC worth 300MS points. Worth it? Maybe, but is a rather average anime and some crappy figures woth an extra $30? Considering you could’ve gotten the game for around $60 AUD with some trade bait for JB, you’re paying double for some really crappy inclusions.

Resident Evil 5 (99 AUD for standard/129 AUD for limited / 170 AUD for collectors – the limited comes in a tin case with the ‘making of’ DVD. The collectors comes with the same as the limited, but you get a special cardboard box, a small Chris figurine, a Kijuju necklace, a BSAA patch and a Tricell cloth carry bag thing. Worth it? When the game first game out, the standard edition could have been had for around $40 with JB’s 2 game trade in and some cheap bait at EB. But that aside, the lmited can be had for around 110 AUD with the 15% voucher, which makes it slightly more reasonable.

The collectors pack on the other hand, comes with crappy trinkets that feel really cheap. The only thing that’s possibly worth anything is the bag, then again it’s nothing special, and definately not worth the $144 (with discount), and as hell not worth $170. Capcom really screwed the fans on this one. Couldn’t we at least have gotten the cool Chainsaw/virus vial USB key that Japan/USA got?

Grand Theft Auto 4 (standard 89AUD/special 150AUD) – this came with a GTA4 carry bag, an artbook, a music CD and a really study metal lock box. Like you could kill someone with it. At $150 though, you’d have second thoughts about buying it, and don’t expect it to appreciate anytime soon either, as it seems Rockstar have made more than an ample supply of these things.

Fable 2 – the limited edition and standard edition both cost the same, the only difference is you get a different case with the limited, a cardboard sleeve and a ‘making of’ DVD. Very little in terms of stuff, but hey you’re not paying any extra for it either.

Alone in the Dark – I’m not going to say what this game was originally worth, but this game (collectors edition) is now available at EB Games 2 for $50 sale. The game itself is worth $0, so for $25 you get an artbook, a ‘making of’ DVD, a music CD, a crappy Carnby figurine, and a pretty unique box to top it off. Now if you can bear to play the game, you are getting yourself a pretty good deal, but don’t expect a good CLS to make up for a crappy game.

Far Cry 2 – you get a T-shirt, a ‘making of’ DVD, a map or something, and a really sturdy box made out of WOOD. This is one CE I wanted that I missed out on because I got a copy of the game before the CE (which nobody seems to be buying) went down in price substantially. Worth it if you can find it cheap.

Devil May Cry 4 – CE was the same price as the standard, but came in a nice tin case with a small artbook inside. Why wouldn’t you buy it?

Halo Wars (79AUD standard/99AUD collectors) – The CE comes with a tin case, some card things, and a DLC codes for the Halo 3 mythic map pack. This is a rare case because if you were smart, the mythic map pack could be sold on Ebay for 200AUD upwards before the game came out in the US. The CE could also be obtained for around $60 using trade bait at JB, making this one of the best value CE’s out there.

Metal Gear Solid 4 – I can’t even remember how much the CE for this was, but I never even had the chance to get my hands on it. The PAL CE came with a Snake figurine and a ‘making of’ BluRay. This was one of the few CE’s that are actually limited, and thus one of the only that has significantly appreciated on Ebay.

These are just some of the games out there that received the CE treatment. The problem is publishers have realised that CE’s sell quite well, but most of the time the inclusions are rubbish and not worth the extra $70 or so you have to pay. Or in the case of Halo 3 Collector’s Edition, there were actually MORE copies of it made than the standard edition, making it rather pointless.

Of course, more often than not, you can’t resisting buying a CE and cave in. Just always ask yourself first, are you a huge fan of the game? Is the inclusions worth the extra cash you’re paying? There are other ways to make CE’s slightly more affordable too. For example, always shop around JB and EB, and sometimes EB with 15% off is cheaper. Take advantage of JB trade deals, and high EB trade values for new games, and put that extra credit towards your CE.