Nintendo just aren't making an effort with CE's these days

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I've noticed lately that Nintendo seem to be not making as much of an effort with their CE's as they once did. Nintendo are known for giving certain franchises that extra special treatment, but lately it feels as if they're going down the lazy route by just bundling an Amiibo with a game and calling it a day

Take the Wii-U for example - We started out with a glorious Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker CE with an awsome Ganondorf statue. Mario Kart 8 followed with a spiny blue shell statue. Then we had the Hyrule Warriors CE with a scarf (a bit of an odd pack-in, but what the hey). Shortly afterwards SEGA followed with the impressive Bayonetta 2 CE. Those are all good examples of CE's which we expect to see, as collectors. Then we saw the birth of the Amiibo, which was first packed-in with Super Smash Bros U, then Mario Party 10, now Splatoon, and soon Yoshi's Woolly World...

This trend looks to continue for the foreseeable future, and it all feels a little cheap and lazy to me. It's as if Nintendo either can't be bothered to come up with a piece of merch to pack-in with a game, or just think that packing an Amiibo with the game is a quick and easy win while still satisfying consumer demand for a "better-than-standard-release" edition

I understand that the purpose of these editions is to encourage consumers to buy the game that they may or may not be on the fence about buying to begin with. As far as a marketing point of view goes, they have done their job and have encouraged me to buy these titles on day one, where otherwise I would have left it and left it and picked them up cheaply in the future. They have also done their job selling me Amiibo figures which I would not have bothered with had I purchased the games separately. The collector part of me feels compelled to buy these editions because they are CE's, but also makes me question whether these editions were actually worthwhile when both items are available separately

In the case of Splatoon, they do at least offer an Inkling Squid Amiibo figure which is not available separately (at time of writing), so there's the rarity appeal right there, but does that really make up for the laziness, and is it really fair to Amiibo collectors who missed out on this edition (or were victim of the stolen GAME delivery)?

I would like Nintendo to go back to offering us proper CE's like before, and to stop bundling an Amiibo with every new game release that comes out. They should either make a proper effort, or not bother at all!

[KnightOfTruth]

Can't really vouch much for Nintendo "CEs" because we have even fewer options over here in the states than anywhere else in the world. We almost never get a "special edition" of a Nintendo 1st party game, it just doesn't happen.

I'm not sure if just sticking an amiibo in a box and calling it a "bundle" is any lazier than sticking a scarf or a shell in a box though, but if the amiibo is available separately, it should be called a "bundle" imo. Both require special printing of the box art, but typically with these "amiibo" releases they don't seem to be calling them "collector's editions" or "limited editions" right? It's more called a "bundle". With the new ChibiRobot "CE" though, its the only place in NA to get that amiibo, so they could call it a "limited edition" and I'd be okay with that I guess.

Either way, I'd LOVE to see some CEs similar to the Japanese-only Hyrule Warriors Treasure Box edition (only with actual colored box-art) make their way into these collector-hands, but Nintendo doesn't seem to like Americans and they also seem to keep all of their cooler nick-nacks and things that would be great in a CE as foreign CN rewards and not as part of a CE.

[0329liuken]

Nintendo do this because fans will buy their stuff no matter how shitty they are.

It might be a good "strategy" for Nintendo in short run but people will start to realize they've been treated worse and worse and stop buying Nintendo's stuff.

[KnightOfTruth]

Also, looking back in the day there are VERY few CEs at all that Nintendo makes for its 1st party games. So not sure you could say they aren't making efforts "these days" -- I just think they've never made serious efforts. A "limited edition" or "collectors edition" was usually a gold cartridge. The Ganondorf statue for WWHD was truly one of the first "CEs" that I can remember and I thought it was pretty cool!

[Cosmic_Link]

The Bayonetta and Hyrule Warriors Treasure box CEs were very nice Editions. ^o^ Glad I didn't miss out on either of those. :D

I have to agree though, I feel that the Game and Amiibo Bundles are very half arsed. I do like the nice windowed box, but I would sooner just get the game and not bother with the Amiibo. I haven't bothered with Splatoon as I'm not interested, but I have got Mario Party and Smash Bros so far, with Yoshi on order. :v: If they're going to keep up this trend, I might just stop buying them as they're taking up lots of unnecessary space just to have the Amiibo which I'm not using anyway. >.<

The thing is though, as Nintendo 1st Party games don't tend to depreciate in value either, it makes the decision to get them at launch or hold out til it's cheaper even more difficult. You pay a little extra at launch now and get a nice goodie with it, or still pay near RRP and get just the game,

[Gemini-Phoenix]

The majority of Nintendo titles I can afford to hold off on, as they can be bought at any time from retailers or eBay. These bundles though are the sort of thing that you don't want to pass up on, and become very difficult to acquire at a later date, and often you sacrifice condition if you leave it and end up buying later from an eBay seller. It's easier to buy them on day one and then fill in the gaps with standard releases as and when you can

I definitely think Nintendo have been lapsing lately though. Their previous CE's of the last couple of years have been rather hit and miss, with mainly Zelda games getting the LE treatment, but hardly ever any of their other franchises. A Link Between Worlds was perhaps the low point, with GAME fabricating their own edition for that (and the same for Pokemon Rumble U). On the other hand, Nintendo seem more interested in selling LE Wii-U hardware bundles and LE 3DS models. The kind of major games which you think deserve a CE, usually get overlooked, but then Nintendo will surprise us with something nice for something like Chibi Robo...

In the past - in Europe at least - Nintendo have released some awesome CE's. Majora's Mask has a relatively sought after CE which was only released in Germany, and the same for Oracle Of Ages / Seasons on GBA. Spirit Tracks had a nice biscuit tin, and Skyward Sword had the box set with soundtrack and gold controller, and Wind Waker HD had the Ganondorf statue... This shows that they can do it when they want to!

Over the last three generations of Nintendo consoles, I look back and ask myself how many opportunities Nintendo have had to give us a nice LE or CE for a major franchise title. The Wii does have its fair share (eg, NSMB, Mario Galaxy 2, Mario & Sonic Olympics 2012, Skyward Sword, Mario 25th Anniversary etc), so I'll give credit where credit is due, but for the most part there have been many missed opportunities. When was the last time you saw a Kirby CE? Or a Pokemon CE? Or a Metroid CE?

I'm actually very surprised that Kirby & The Rainbow Paintbrush for Wii-U doesn;t come bundled with a Kirby Amiibo! Despite my initial complaint of Nintendo being lazy by bundling Amiibo's with games, I find it even more baffling when they pass up an opportunity to do just that with a major first party release like Kirby! I just don't understand Nintendo sometimes, and over the years it feels like they just don't want to make money where there's plenty of opportunity to do so!

[King Peter]

Let's not forget Bravely Default CE cheap carton box :P

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I will say one thing for Nintendo though - At least their editions are almost always a standardised size. You know what you're getting with Nintendo, so you can plan ahead and organise your collection to make space for a new addition. Most Wii editions came in the same sized boxes (think Wii Play), with 3DS editions all being relatively the same size, and now Wii-U CE's. It certainly makes things easy to collect.

On the other hand... hangtabs. Why the hell do Nintendo insist on still adding hangtabs on their boxes? While I will say that they finish off the presentation of the boxes nicely, rather than being a boring six-sided box, they serve no real function in today's retail environment. I don't know a single retail store in the UK which would ever display such items on pins - especially given their high value nature, these editions would likely be displayed behind the counter or kept "out back" with display boxes on the shelf. Certainly never on pins. These hangtabs always felt a little redundant to me

[Twisted]

yes, those ugly PAL hangtabs i never understand..in todays modern retailing..unnecassary..in US and JAPAN there almost non existent for Nintendo games..in PAL..it's like every nintendo game edition..i wish some European Nintendo fans can tweet Nintendo Europe or ask there rep or even ask GAME why they are necassary?

[Gemini-Phoenix]

yes, those ugly PAL hangtabs i never understand..in todays modern retailing..unnecassary..in US and JAPAN there almost non existent for Nintendo games..in PAL..it's like every nintendo game edition..i wish some European Nintendo fans can tweet Nintendo Europe or ask there rep or even ask GAME why they are necassary?

Tweeting Nintendo accounts on Twitter or asking questions on their official Facebook pages is pointless, as they rarely ever respond (if at all). It's as if the accounts are solely used as an announcement platform, and nothing more. Whoever is responsible for making announcements on Nintendo's social network accounts literally logs-on, posts the announcement, and disappears. There's very little in the way of social interaction with these Nintendo accounts on Twitter and Facebook, and even if there was, I doubt whoever operates them would have information pertaining to what has been discussed above

It would be nice if there was an official Nintendo account where we could ask questions, or even if every now and again a Nintendo spokesperson would take the time to visit a site like NintendoAge or Reddit to answer such questions (like Ghostlight_Ross does here), but I think that is just a warp-pipe dream...


Seeing as how we're talking about hanging items by hangtabs, it reminds me of how Gamestation used to do just that with similar items behind the counter before they were bought-out by GAME. It was also something some indie stores would do, but generally only for things like control pads and related gaming merch. Since the popularity of online websites though, it does seem like a redundant feature to include a hangtab on a box that will probably never even see a shop floor, especially when you consider that the majority of these editions sell out on online pre-orders, with maybe a handful being sent to high street retail stores. I would be very surprised to see any British retail store hanging such an edition in this manner on display in their shop

[Letrico]

Let's not forget Bravely Default CE cheap carton box :P

That's only for NA/Canada :P Europe got a badass CE

[comaamen86]

Nintendonions buy and covet any old shit

Why change what sells

[Iwatasan]

If you're comparing Nintendo to other companies that do proper CE's with soundtracks, art books, steelbooks, figures, DLC, etc, forget it. Nintendo's never done anything like that except for the aforementioned Hyrule Warriors Treasure Box which was probably more Koei Tecmo's doing.

I agree with Knight and Cosmic, that was the best Nintendo CE ever. The EUR version of that CE was lame as hell, and the nearly identical US version is lamer still considering it's so stupid rare that it sells for 5x the price of the far superior Treasure Box.

The three Big Box Zelda CEs are cool because of their big boxes, but the contents aren't especially remarkable. The Oracle one had a cheap boomerang so I guess that's interesting if not entirely relevant.

Ken and coma are right of course, why make an effort, especially in the US, when fans are lining up for days to buy your shit anyway?

You'd think with its roots as a toy company, Nintendo might find some fulfillment in crafting a CE with worthwhile pack ins. But then Nintendo has never sought the market segment that regularly drops $500 on a new console or $200 on a CE. They're more about selling $300 consoles, $70 CE's, and $12.99 amiibos. So when you consider this new trend of "amiibo edition," it actually makes perfect sense for Nintendo. $60 game plus $12.99 toy, voila, $70 "CE."

Seems to me they should try outsourcing CE design to a company that knows how to do it (the same way they're starting to outsource mobile gaming/online profiles). See if people are willing to spend big bucks on a CE that fans will actually hold up as worthy of the "CE" label. Don't we already know people would line up for days for it?

[geralds]

Nintendo never really made the effort at least not hear in America or Japan. Nintendo is never gong to make CEs hardly they even said long time ago especially with even achievements in games. They don't really want people purchasing there games just because its a CE they expect people to just want there games because they are fun. Hyrul Warriors was probably more on Tecmo koeis doing anyway like already been stated. Beyoneta probably was segas idea more then anything. CEs, Achievements weather you care for them or not, and proper internet are something that probably never going to come to nintendo they are just to set in there old ways. The only way to fix it is to stop buying there stuff other wise why change what is working. Wii sold like crazy so I am sure thats one of the reason for the wii us name trying to build of the wiis success same thing goes with the tablet a gimic worked for the wii why not have one for the wii u.

The only way nintendo is going to lisen to what its fans want is if they quit buying there stuff. If they dont lisen after that then they can just go under basically money speaks louder then words. If they start getting to moddern though you might end up seeing a lot more bs dlc practices like what happen on xbox and playstation though. Now they think they can sell more stuff and it will help there sales if they go a moble root ya I really dont think even with lac of money nintendo is going to listen. They make fun games but I don't really support nintendo no more they don't listen and modernize stuff so I just no longer care. They are still to family oriented they dont care to get games supported on there system much. There is nothing Wrong with family oriented but when a game like splatoon could really benefit from party chat but its absent for obvious reason ya they are just to set in there past ways.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I guess being family orientated is perhaps the reasons why Nintendo isn't interested in making CE's. What 5-14 year old really wants a collectible box, artwork book, soundtrack, statue etc? They're just interested in playing the game, and parents are only interested in how cheaply they can buy these games for their kids

I do feel that Nintendo are missing out on the older generation of gamers though. There are still a lot of 30-somethings and 40-somethings who grew up with Nintendo and have stayed loyal because of younger family members (where an Xbox or PlayStation is perhaps unsuitable), but who may want something a little nicer to put on display while their kids play the game.

I would gladly appreciate an artwork book and soundtrack for every major first party Nintendo release. Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart 8 should have had CD soundtracks bundled with them at the very least! It wouldn't be so bad if these sorts of things were available to buy separately, but outside of Japan they're not, so including them in a CE would be an ideal way to keep Nintendo fans happy. Amiibos do have functionality, so I guess these are put to better use than the statues found in previous CE's or the scarf from Hyrule Warriors


I do agree that the Bayonetta 2 First Print Edition was likely SEGA's idea, and given the more mature nature of the game it actually makes sense to market such an edition to the more mature collectors. It's just a shame that Nintendo are still set in their ways regarding mature / 18+ games on their consoles