Collector's Editions getting out of hand! (An open request to video game publishers)

[Gemini-Phoenix]

In the world of CE video game collecting, we have either enjoyed (or been plagued by, depending on how you perceive it) an increase of CE's being offered by video game publishers over the last few years. However, many collectors now feel somewhat overwhelmed physically, as well as financially, by the sheer quantity of CE's being released these days

We can't deny that 2008-2011 have had some amazing Collector's Editions on offer, although a lot of collectors do feel that most of them are unnecessay and nothing more than a cash-in on a trend which is starting to get out of control! Considering the world is currently supposed to be in economic recession, many feel that releasing a insanely expensive CE for every other major video game release is incredibly insensitive. Most collectors also feel as if their hobby is being taken advantage of by publishers these days, and very few publishers actually listen to what the fans and collectors actually request


It's not just about the financial pressures either. Storage space plays an important role for any collector, and there has been an increase of CE's lately which are seriously large and bulky, and difficult to store or display. Also, they are very difficult for retailers to ship, and many collectors regularly receive such things in less-than-perfect condition - I have personally received several large CE's which have all had the corners bashed in where they have obviously been dropped because of their size and weight!


Some recent examples of larger CE's include:

Call Of Duty: Black Ops (Prestige Edition)
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Prestige Edition)
Crysis 2 (Nano Edition)
Dead Rising 2 (CE)
Gears Of War 3 (Epic Edition)
Halo 3 (Legendary Edition)
Halo Reach (Legendary Edition)
InFamous 2 (Hero Edition)
Killzone 3 (Helghast Edition)
Resistance 3 (Survivor Edition)
The Elderscrolls V: Skyrim (CE)
Uncharted 3 (Explorer Edition)

And to a lesser extent:

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (Codex Edition)
Bioshock 2 (CE)
Dead Island (Treasure Edition)
Fallout: New Vegas (CE)
God Of War Trilogy (Pandora's Box)
GTA IV (CE)
Mortal Kombat (CE)


Do these publishers think us collectors live in a TARDIS or something?


Whilst we appreciate that the publishers are giving the fans and collectors something special, we feel that it's getting a little too much for even the most hardened collector to keep up with, especially towards the end of each year when every publisher seems to want to release their triple-A titles before the holiday season

To use this year (2011) as an example, November sees the release of some of the biggest titles of the year, which all seem to have an expensive and bulky CE available. The month starts off with titles such as Uncharted 3, Modern Warfare 3, and Skyrim, and finishes with several major releases from Nintendo. Needless to say, it's an expensive time of the year as it is already due to the approaching seasonal holiday, without factoring in being a CE collector!


It wouldn't be so bad if these Collector's Editions were smaller and less expensive. I remember a time when a newly released game would retail at around £35 with a Limited or Collector's Edition retailing at around £50. This was fine until some publishers decided to start releasing more elaborate editions and charging upwards of £80 for them. There was also a time when it was unheard of for a Collector's Edition to retail at above this price, but nowadays it seems acceptable to have an over-the-top CE priced at over £99.99!

The annoying thing about these is, we're tricked into thinking these are somewhat limited in number so that we pre-order before release, but within two or three weeks of release the unsold stock is reduced by half and sold off in the store sales! However, if we wait until after release for this to happen, Murphy's Law dictates that they will sell out on pre-orders, so we can't win either way! Either we pay a premium to secure ourselves a sought after CE, or we take the risk and wait until the retailers inevitably reduce the price and hope that they don't sell out before release...


As if that itself wasn't bad enough, some publishers feel the need to release more than one edition for a title. It is now commonplace to have two, three, or more editions available for one game, whether they be different tiered editions or store exclusives. Some recent titles which spring to mind are Fallout 3, the Assassin's Creed games, and the recently released Batman: Arkham City. Is there really any need for so many editions on the market at any given time?

In addition to this, many publishers have now adopted the tactic of releasing "Day One" Limited Editions - Limited copies of the game which may feature some DLC bonus for buying the game on release day rather than waiting until the price is reduced or buying it used. EA and THQ are the main culprits here, and it has gotten to the point where nearly every single game EA released in 2011 has had some form of "Day One" edition - Even FIFA!



Therefore, I would like to say on the behalf of all collectors: THE BUCK STOPS HERE!

It's nice to have a choice and all, but too much choice can be a bad thing. By all means release a Collector's Edition, but please keep it sensible and within a realistic budget for us collectors. Also, keep it a sensible size so we can store / display it properly on our shelves, rather than having to relegate it to the attic / basement / garden shed! Most people I know who originally bought the Crysis 2 Nano Edition have long since sold it due to the fact that they simply can't store something of that size!


I am so far looking forward to seeing what CE's 2012 brings, but part of me is also dreading it. If this year is anything to go by, I think I may end up going bankrupt before 2012 is out! The majority of my video game budget has gone mainly on CE's this year, leaving me very little spare to purchase "normal" games.

I'll finish with just a little something for publishers to think about for future reference - If I'm spending £130 on your overly excessive CE, that's effectively two other subsequent titles of yours I can't afford to buy. If you're wondering why sales of ABC and XYZ games are low, it's because I've already spent my monthly budget buying an elaborate CE for my collection...

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I will also add that a slightly edited version has been recently featured on Kotaku recently:

http://kotaku.com/5855205/extravagant-collectors-editions-are-overwhelming-video-game-collectors

It is actually quite interesting to read through some of the comments there, and surprisingly a lot of people agree that CE's are getting too out of hand! This actually surprises me, as I had expected lots of comments along the lines of "Nobody's forcing you to buy them" or "I don't see the point in paying all that money for extra crap I don't need"

[PPhantom]

I agree with you. The whole meaning behind CE's is fading away with games releasing 50 000 CE copies, priced 129 € / copy. Publishers see money everywhere and soon you'll end up with a situation just like Assassin's Creed, Black Edition, White Edition, Super Collector's Edition, Über Edition, Extreme crappy Edition, Mega Super Collectable Edition etc.

The sad part is, most collectors buy everything, just as long it says Collector's Edition on the cover.

[AndyTheCollector]

Man, I have to absolutly agree with all you wrote!! :thumb:
My case is little bit different because I buy only CE's from my favourite series or RPG's CE's and only for PC. However this year is money killer for everyone collecting CE's without a doubt. As you said, CE's are getting much more bigger and more expensive and for what? For example Skyrim is totally overpriced and big as hell. I love figurines (especially dragons) and big artbooks, but that's almost everything in this CE and they want such a lot of money for it. They should create smaller and cheaper CE's in general, even with less content. I'm satisfied, if CE has following : 1) special packaking (steelbook, wooden chest, kind of book etc.) 2) artbook (must have for me) 3) soundtrack (2nd must have for me) and finally some special item related to given game (rings, figurines, necklaces, in-game items replicas etc.). In case of RPG's I also want a MAP in every single packaging! Of course CE can have more additional and special content, I would love it, but not for the price of ridiculous cost and even bigger packaging. I can understand it in cases like Witcher 2 Collector's Edition, the one with lot of quality and really nice content for affordable price (my was about 95 Euro). In this case the content and size is in direct proportion to price and that's I think the right way.

[nipperkipper]

You are absolutely right on both fronts, cost is definitely a problem but the bigger problem of the two is size - everytime a new CE gets delivered i can see the look on the faces of my family - they are getting more and more annoyed at the extra space im needing, i think i may be chucked out of the house soon

[Gemini-Phoenix]

What annoys me is, this month (November) sees a lot of the year's biggest releases, most of which have an expensive £100+ CE. Nintendo have also decided to release some of their biggest titles of the year this month as well, but I can't buy them because all of my funds have been zapped by these CE's

I can't even buy any "normal" games because these greedy publishers are taking advantage of my collecting nature!

And every year seems to keep getting worse and worse! There was a time when you'd maybe get a handful of SteelBooks or DigiPaks a year, but now it's as if there's a new CE released every week! I breathed a sigh of relief during the summer when it calmed down and I could actually browse eBay at my own leisure trying to get hold of all the great "normal" games I missed

I absolutely dread to think what 2012 is going to be like for CE's! Fingers crossed that game publishers take a step back and ease off on the CE releases

[Solemn_In_Berlin]

I can live with not being able to buy every CE release. I don't buy collector's/special/limited non-regular editions because they're limited or they're called 'collector's editions', I buy them because they appeal to me.

For instance, I bought the Gran Turismo 5 Collector's Edition and the Driver San Francisco Collector Pack for two reasons: I'm a diecast collector but more importantly, I have always been and will always be a fan of these two franchises. In contrast, I'd never buy a Call of Duty CE even for the price of the standard edition because I'm not into FPS that much to begin with, but the bigger reason is because I despise Call of Duty.

[Queen of Mudcrabs]

"Do these publishers think us collectors live in a TARDIS or something?"

I almost spat tea all over my keyboard xD

[AJLareneg]

I agree with a lot of your points here... I am not a super CE collector, but any game in a franchise I like I tend to buy their CE. I have a low budget that has been especially worse this year due to some surprise medical bills and it also happened to be the year every single franchise i super like got a new release AND a new CE.

Not to mention pretty much all of them got like 3 different releases also. Why do they need to make so many versions!? I also wish they would stop being so big. The inFamous 2 CE box is bigger than a PS3 box...and somehow that just seems wrong.

I guess I am lucky that the only game I am getting this holiday season was Uncharted 3... which also came in a huge box. ._.

[Lemur]

I think the problem is also that some of the stuff they chuck into the CEs turns out to be cheap junk. I don't mind paying for some quality stuff but not some lousy junk.

Like the dead space replica plasma cutter, that was total bullshit. I'd be ashamed to even display that cos it looks like some crappy $1 toy :nono:

[vhal_x]

I am also dreading the onslaught of next years CE's, but this year, we (myself and my boyfriend) have managed to get pretty much all of the ones we want, minus one or two that we will hopefully be able to pick up after Christmas.

But we've managed to do all that with just monthly wages, no savings, so for next year we're doing the smart thing, and saving from January till September (by then we will have £3000) and then stop saving, and use the wages for all the CEs, and then if there are a couple that his wages cannot afford, then we will dip into the savings :)

We will also be using £1000 (approx) of the savings to be able to get a new computer as our old one has died, and all we have left is my MacBook, which is slowly falling apart :facepalm:

We plan on doing this every year, but not using all of the savings, so that, it will build up, slowly but surely, and we will always be able to get all of the CEs and other things we want. AND we'll have money available if we get hit with any surprise bills (goddamn electricity!) so we won't have to scrimp and save.

:bananayes: xx

[Kegs11]

This article is spot on for me.

Ive recently had to sell most of my Assassins Creed collectors editions to make space for other games. I also was going to buy the AC:R Animus edition, but decided that Ubisoft were taking the piss this year. The animus edition contains a "black" edition encyclopedia, whilst on their website they have a "white" edition that comes with some extra artcards. WHY? why have 2 editions of a book, and those artworks could have easily been included (the whole encyclopedia project started as an artbook with these the main focus)

Theres only one answer, Money. Also, when you stop and think and realise there IS going to be an AC3, then that makes the encyclopedia incomplete. Ubisoft are trying to sell a half finished product, twice!

I was also pissed about the AC:The Fall comic series. Last year we got (albeit nicely done) comic books, and this year, they are now available in a hardback volume. And to make it a little more desirable, it contains new sneak previews from the upcoming comic book series for this year (which will probably get another hardback next year with both series and a sneak preview of next years series too)


Theres also another point which isnt made above, which is exclusivity.
This year has driven me absolutely mad by actually having to run around the internet finding which retailer has the "exclusive" rights this time. Fair enough, theres Google and fine sites like this one, but its all about finding and buying in time before the item becomes sold out and you are left at the mercy of the ebay scumbags who have bought just to make some quick money.

Another thing tied to exclusivity? Loyalty points. At GAME, if you preorder a product you get double points, and for each £100 you spend you get £2.50, or for each £100 preorder, £5. If I had been able to buy all these at GAME-

Killzone 3 Helghast Edition - £100
Infamous 2 Hero Edition - £100
Resistance 3 Survivor Edition - £100
Uncharted 3 Explorer Edition- £100

Thats £15 of credit missed, which is a lot for just buying what I was planning on purchasing anyway, and all of the above came from completely different retailers.

Well bollocks to it, Ive had enough of being given the run around. No more huge editions, and a steelbook or slipcase where the game is deserving of it.

[DB5]

2012 video games I see having big box CEs:

Bioshock Infinite
Borderlands 2
Starhawk
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Dota 2
Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm
Halo 4
Hitman: Absolution

The rest of the CEs:

Max Payne 3
SSX
Ninja Gaiden 3
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Prototype 2
Lollipop Chainsaw
The Last Guardian
Twisted Metal (assuming Jaffe doesn't get what he wants)

[AndyTheCollector]

I thought that 2012 will be peaceful month for me, but I'm really interested in these :
Diablo 3
Risen 2
Kingdoms of Amalur : Reckoning
Bioshock : Infinite
Mass Effect 3
Darksiders 2
....and even now I don't have money for all my this year pre-orders. :beg:

[themidlandmaster]

I just buy the games i was gonna get anyway if they have a collectors edition i like

[vhal_x]

I do that too Dean, but problem is, I buy most games anyway as I like pretty much all of the games :haha: and if it's one I don't really like, chances are, my boyfriend will like it (and with him being a collector aswell, he buys the CE version too) :haha: xx

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I think the problem is also that some of the stuff they chuck into the CEs turns out to be cheap junk. I don't mind paying for some quality stuff but not some lousy junk.

Like the dead space replica plasma cutter, that was total bullshit. I'd be ashamed to even display that cos it looks like some crappy $1 toy :nono:

I actually refused to buy that after seeing unboxing videos on YouTube, where every reviewer stated that it was shite. There was no way I was going to pay the asking price for something like that! The only other CE I have done that with this year is the DBZ one which was just recently released

Something else which annoys me is that eBay seems to be flooded with non-UK stock of the Dead Space 2 CE. There are European imports, as well as Singapore imports - The latter of which are really shitty as they're in bad condition and also have some kind of square piece of paper suck on the top of the box covering up something. A UK online retailer was recently selling these Singapore copies, and quickly removed them from sale once people started complaining!

[vhal_x]

I picked up the DBZ CE as a present for my boyfriend's Christmas although I've given him the game out of it early (he was desperate to play it) and tbh, as much as I'd (and he'd) have preferred the figurine to be of Goku rather than Gohan, it's not too bad an edition, maybe would have been better had it been slightly cheaper, but oh well :) xx

[Ceohai]

What bothers me more than the big box CEs is that it seems like more and more CEs are getting different releases depending on the region. Getting something shipped over to North America is extremely costly, especially for larger CEs. And don't get me started on Steelbooks.

[gurpswoo1]

I think there has been a shift in what publishers perceive as collectors and the term collector's edition.

As Gemini and others have already stated, we all wish for the days gone by when a game was announce maybe once a month, would be receiving a collector's edition. The contents of which were of a standard expected and more important demanded by the developer, this was to reward it's loyal fans who stuck with them through the good, the bad and ugly.

The sad truth is that the publisher are simply adapting to the market, a market which for some reason see the term collector's edition as a premium choice. As we progress through life we expect to be in a better position than we were a year ago.

It's natural to think this, I want to be feel like I am progressing through life. It explains why more BMW 3 series are sold than ford mondeos. We buy material things to improve status, which is where these collector's edition come in.

If you feel better purchasing the model up in regards to a car, the same must be true for games, publisher release multiple editions at different price ranges to allow its buyers the choice of a different level of status. Somewhere along the line they forgot about the collector who these limited items were originally intended for. The result is what we have now, below standard quality in regards to the included items such as figurines, shirts, DLC only releases.

There is still light at the end of tunnel, in the mix of all these editions, collector's are still in somewhat the same position all those years ago. Releases like Dead Space ultra, crysis 2 nano and the latest Sonic generations show there are still those in the industry which understand the original market is still here and is infact stronger than ever thanks to site like this.

Just remember that, the next time FIFA 13 stupid editions comes out or you will become part of the market that is only interested in these so called edition for political reasons and not one whos decisions come from the love of collecting. :bananayes:

[AJLareneg]

What bothers me more than the big box CEs is that it seems like more and more CEs are getting different releases depending on the region. Getting something shipped over to North America is extremely costly, especially for larger CEs. And don't get me started on Steelbooks.

yea, this. it is probably better from people overseas to import from us at how low our dollar value is, and that our shipping is way cheaper.

really not fair. :'c

[foreverflash]

Good article Gemini and good conversation...

:v:

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I would like to openly state that I believe that out of all the companies in the industry, the three which stand out as understanding their fan base and collectors the most are Capcom, Square-Enix, and Bethesda. All three provide fantastic fan service to their loyal fans, and give us exactly what they know we want, unlike companies like EA who still just don't get it...


Whilst I understand that it's a very profitable business model to release several different editions of your product, I do feel as if some companies are devaluing the meaning of the words "Limited Edition" and "Collector's Edition". Obviously some CE's are high quality and stand out from the crowd (Fallout 3 "lunchbox", Bioshock 2 CE, Uncharted 3 Explorer Edition etc), but others just feel cheap and give the impression that they were rush-released in order to milk as much cash from the consumers as possible (Ie, nearly every LE or CE released by EA in 2010 / 2011)

[vhal_x]

I really hope that next year we see some truly awesome CEs... Hopefully no shite ones :rotf: xx

[Biggav4000]

I really hope that next year we see some truly awesome CEs... Hopefully no shite ones :rotf: xx
Me too,however some shite ones are inevitable :(

[scourdx]

I believe developer did it big in an attempt to justify the $150 to 200 price tag. They know how consumer is thinking. Bigger it is the bigger the price tag. Developer is forgetting that retailer don't have the shelf space to store all this. If they don't sell it quickly, they are losing profit.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I believe developer did it big in an attempt to justify the $150 to 200 price tag. They know how consumer is thinking. Bigger it is the bigger the price tag. Developer is forgetting that retailer don't have the shelf space to store all this. If they don't sell it quickly, they are losing profit.

I agree. We have seen far too many big CE's crash in price shortly after release as retailers just don't have the room to store them. For example, the space that one Crysis 2 Nano Edition takes up could be used to store between 100-200 standard releases! Just storing 50 Nano Editions would be a huge drain on warehouse storage space. If you consider the value per metre, it's actually more profitable for retailers to sell 100 standard releases than it would be to sell just one Nano Edition. The same also applies for the biggest Guitar Hero / Rock Band bundles. Not only that, but they're more expensive to ship as well!

It's nice to believe that these factors would mean lower print runs, but that's not always the case. Also, if a huge CE doesn't sell on pre-orders, then chances are nobody else is going to be willing to pay the asking price two or three weeks after the game has had its 15 minutes in the limelight (READ: Before the next flavour-of-the-week game is released). When interest wanes, then that's when the retailers drop their prices to get rid of them before they get caught holding the hot potato


Personally, I think the smaller CE's are ample. Both Gears Of War 1 & 2 and Mass Effect 1 & 2 have proven that small perfectly formed CE's are more desireable than the huge ones which most collectors find difficult to store and display. Anything which can be stored in-line with standard games is ideal.

CE's don't need to come with some crappy figure or statue to be desired by the fans - All they want is something extra which has had a lot of effort put into it solely for them. I would say the likes of Alan Wake and Fable 3 are probably the largest I would say is wanted by fans, and you can fit a hell of a lot of nice things in a package that size if they used their imagination!

[AmericanBash]

Speaking from experience in working at a GameStop where we have literally no back room. When we get large CE's like the ones for Halo: Reach and Gears of War 3, we struggle to sell the ones that don't sell and they take up valuable space in the stores. Personally I totally agree that smaller CE's are easier to deal with and typically provide a good amount of content for what you pay i.e Mass Effect and Dragon age CE's. Even though I work at a video game store I do have other things besides video games that require money as well. It really has been a struggle for the past 2 months dealing with all the CE's I felt the need to purchase. I look forward to my quiet time in Decemeber, which I cannot believe I am saying that.

[Dreamcazman]

The thing that really annoys me with the larger CE's is because of the bigger the box, the greater the chance of it getting damaged. Like most of you, I like to have everything as pristine as possible and it pisses me off if there is a small dent or bend somewhere in on the box (usually on the corners).

I get most of my games posted to me as it's more convenient (and usually cheaper) and most times everything is perfect on the smaller CE's. The larger ones I've received lately (GoW EE, Sonic CE and MW3 HE) have had marks on the boxes due to getting knocked, mostly because of their size. As these were relatively rare and have been totally sold out, getting a replacement is out of the question.

It is annoying but at least the contents inside is perfect which is the main thing.

[kennyrh]

Well said Gemini, I'm with you on all points. To be honest it's all getting a bit too much hassle and I've been seriously thinking about packing it in. Which leads me to another point about CEs which is the dreadful way that online-only preorders are being handled.

It appears to me that all the major outlets are employing absolute arseholes and, judging by some of the comments I've seen here of late, it's causing measurable stress to some collectors. The fuck-ups seem to get more frequent and more irritating by the day.

It wouldn't be so bad if the so-called customer service in this country wasn't so bloody laughable and, frankly, appalling. Then again, that's just symptomatic of the general attitude that seems to pervade every facet of the gaming industry at the moment.

I'm beginning to dread next year already . . .:suicide:

[themidlandmaster]

I think Ubisofts are the best. So far, all my Assassins creed noes have been value for money with great , high quality contents

That and the creative assembly

[AJLareneg]

but doesn't assassin's creed also release like 6 versions of the CE, slightly different, so it makes collectors want to buy them all? :( I don't see how that's much better...

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Well said Gemini, I'm with you on all points. To be honest it's all getting a bit too much hassle and I've been seriously thinking about packing it in.

That would indeed be a shame if you did. It's supposed to be easier for you to collect these as you only collect PlayStation CE's, and our hobby needs dedicated collectors like you who focus on one aspect, rather than collector's like me who struggle to collect for everything


Which leads me to another point about CEs which is the dreadful way that online-only preorders are being handled.

It appears to me that all the major outlets are employing absolute arseholes and, judging by some of the comments I've seen here of late, it's causing measurable stress to some collectors. The fuck-ups seem to get more frequent and more irritating by the day.

It wouldn't be so bad if the so-called customer service in this country wasn't so bloody laughable and, frankly, appalling. Then again, that's just symptomatic of the general attitude that seems to pervade every facet of the gaming industry at the moment.

There's issues on so many levels, not just with the retailers. Quite often the publishers poorly announce these CE's, except for the few major triple-A releases like Modern Warfare 3 or Assassin's Creed. One such poorly announced CE I feel was for Sonic Generations, where I feel that SEGA could've done more to promote this release

Where the retailers are concerned, they don't seem to have any kind of structure. If I were a major retailer such as GAME or HMV, I would have specific areas of the site dedicated to LE's and CE's (and SteelBooks). I would also be doing all I could to promote these editions, as well as announcing exclusives more. Save for the occasional heads-up on Twitter and Facebook when first added to the site, they very rarely mention these items afterwards

I would say that shipping and packaging is the worst area at the moment, where expensive LE's and CE's are still being shipped in flimsy cardboard boxes. In my own experience, the bigger they are, the more likely they are to be dropped by the couriers. Of course, the couriers are also to blame here, but if these things were packed a little better in the first place then they would be able to withstand more of a beating. If it's a case of having to wait two or three days after release day to have it arrive perfect, then I would obviously choose that option (provided I was told about a delay beforehand)

I'm beginning to dread next year already . . .:suicide:

You and me both! This time last year I had similar thoughts, and at first I thought that 2011 would be a quiet year and the CE's would die down a little bit, but apparently I was wrong and they came thicker and faster than ever before!

But as I said in my initial post, the more we spend on these items, the less we have to spend on other games. Perhaps this is a ploy by the publishers to prevent us from buying games from the competition? But they don't seem to realise that this could also work against them if they're publishing a lot of games close together. Nintendo are the worst culprits for this, as can be seen this year with at least a dozen triple-A games being released in November and December alone, despite very few first party releases throughout the year

[Solemn_In_Berlin]

Bioshock Infinite Collector's Edition done the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter Edition way. Actually limited. Signed by devs. Something special. Living, breathing masterpiece of a game.

That's all I'm asking for next year. That and a Western release for Atelier Meruru.

[kennyrh]

I would say that shipping and packaging is the worst area at the moment, where expensive LE's and CE's are still being shipped in flimsy cardboard boxes. In my own experience, the bigger they are, the more likely they are to be dropped by the couriers. Of course, the couriers are also to blame here, but if these things were packed a little better in the first place then they would be able to withstand more of a beating. If it's a case of having to wait two or three days after release day to have it arrive perfect, then I would obviously choose that option (provided I was told about a delay beforehand)


Here's a timely example that illustrates some of your points . . .

. . .my AC Revelations Animus Edition turned up on Friday via UPS all the way from Germany and, when I saw the packaging, my heart sank. The box was almost completely wrecked at one end - so much so that it must have been mistreated in some way en-route.

However, a closer look revealed that the (I have to say) rather flimsy looking cardboard had a little pocket inside that housed the Animus and, thanks to the packers at the far end, it had been secured crossways with plastic strips and some selloptape which had stopped it falling apart completely.

So, thanks to German efficiency, it hadn't wound up in some depot seperated from the packaging - which, I suspect, would have been the case had it been posted from within the UK.

There we have it . . .the good and the bad seen in one packaged item. The CE was fine but no thanks to UPS :banghead:

[kizeal]

Depending on the games itself whether its is worth to have a CE for it though, companies like nisa, activision, ubisoft, etc , those big companies uses CE to boost up their sales.

So it is expected to have alot of different types of CE or versions of CE to be distributed around the world where in that case, also made us collectors frown upon as we do collect almost different versions of CE of the particular games...

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Here's a timely example that illustrates some of your points . . .

. . .my AC Revelations Animus Edition turned up on Friday via UPS all the way from Germany and, when I saw the packaging, my heart sank. The box was almost completely wrecked at one end - so much so that it must have been mistreated in some way en-route.

However, a closer look revealed that the (I have to say) rather flimsy looking cardboard had a little pocket inside that housed the Animus and, thanks to the packers at the far end, it had been secured crossways with plastic strips and some selloptape which had stopped it falling apart completely.

So, thanks to German efficiency, it hadn't wound up in some depot seperated from the packaging - which, I suspect, would have been the case had it been posted from within the UK.

There we have it . . .the good and the bad seen in one packaged item. The CE was fine but no thanks to UPS :banghead:

That does indeed illustrate how a package can go through the wars and back and still survive intact if a little care and attention is applied when packaging. When dealing with CE's which cost upwards of £100, they should be packed to survive a nuclear explosion! Yet it still surprises me why many are still shipped inside flimsy boxes.

In a way it's very reminiscent of how certain food products are packaged - I often see shop employees opening some products such as dry dog food or paper goods which are packed more securely than, say, eggs or biscuits. Ites which don't need protecting as much are better packed than the products which do require it!

[Prometheus]

Great post Gemini-Phoenix, first got to say that everything you've said is completely true.

I think the deeper questions might lie in why the publishers and retailers are doing what they're doing? Rather than if they think it's fair and not confusing to the customer.

Every retailer wants to be able to boast an exclusive on a big release title, so when these games are being developed the big stores will already be negotiating deals in order to obtain an exclusive.

The decision on if that retailer gets an exclusive (be it D/L content or a collectors) is often dependant on the popularity of the game, how many they expect to sell and the amount the retailer is offering to pay for the exclusive.

GAME, PLAY and HMV in the UK were one of the first I think that started doing it in GB. They've all had varied success with it. It seems that even Tesco and Sainsburys (in UK) are wanting a piece of the pie as well now.

GAME had things like the God of War 3 Pandora’s box sell very quickly. This was an exclusive. But they also had the GT5 collectors which had to be reduced down from £150 to £50 before they could get rid of all the stock.

PLAY did really well with the Infamous 2 Hero Edition which sold out quickly. Although weirdly they popped up again early this year on the site??? it’s like they still have the production line open or something?

HMV IMO haven't done as well on their two biggest National exclusives, which were the Modern Warfare 2 Night Vision Goggles and the Killzone 3 Helghast Edition.

I think there is a good theory to which ones sell out and which ones will be left on the shelves after release but its not a failsafe rule. Sony exclusive games that have collectors are usually in my opinion either the most sought after or the least made. Whichever way you look at it... find out about a Sony Exclusive 2 -3 weeks late and chances are you'll be looking on eBay for a purchase (unless its £150 and called GT5 Collectors Ed.).

When one retailer in a region secures rights, it can mean rarity, but this seems to depend on the retailer’s greed or the publisher’s demands, as the retailer will need to forecast how many they will sell, so that they can negotiate a deal. If say, HMV wanted to sell Modern Warfare 2 Prestige exclusively, Activision are likely to say, well we know that we are going to make a lot of sales on this, so if you want it exclusively you will need to buy say 200,000 of them at £50 if you want the rights. At this point you also get players like GAME and PLAY etc. bidding for the rights.

When it's all said and done HMV could be landed with 200,000 prestige of Xbox and ps3, which now have to be sold at a certain price. The greedy bit is when these still sell-out before release and then HMV asks the manufacturers to make even more! (Which happened).

There are many other factors and despite all of them I am like you and have been burnt by Murphy's Law too many times. So as a standard you end up pre-ordering and buying all of them!! But this is part of the problem as we are continuing to feed the greed of the publishers and retailers.

I personally don't mind bigger collector editions if they are done right, I recently got the Ayrton Senna Collectors and I'm glad it's as big as it is, because it really looks amazing in a cabinet. I'm also glad the skyrym collectors was big (not too glad about it going down so cheaply so quickly mind).

I think we are also to blame because as collectors we seem to have lost the ability to know what collector editions are good and bad, and which one's are severly overpriced. I don't wish to upset anyone on here but I still can't see what all the fuss is on the recent MGS collectors, if this had come out 2 years ago, nobody would have bought it for the price it is? Zavvi have pulled a clever stunt by originally getting internet publicity on the 'exclusive' edition selling out, and then have ended up striking a deal with Konami (now they know loads of people are interested and comitted), and selling an unknown amount at an inflated price! The price it's being sold for, is only worth it, if its numbers are limited, and Zavvi know this, and that's why they've given ambiguous info on their site. If it truelly is limited to 4000, then I stand corrected and those who've got them are lucky indeed.

I said after SKyrm that I wasn't going to buy more than 3 collectors in 2012??? but like a typical collector, my talk is tough but my actions have already got me the Soul Calibur collectors and pre-orders on just about every other thing coming.... :hammer:

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I think Ubisofts are the best. So far, all my Assassins creed noes have been value for money with great , high quality contents

That and the creative assembly

Oh yes, most definitely! Ubisoft, 2K Games, and Bethesda are three you can usually rely on to produce a decent CE. You just have to look at the Bioshock 1 & 2. Duke Nukem Forever, Fallout 3 & New Vegas, and Assassin's Creed CE's to see that they really take their time creating these!

Capcom are usually hit & miss, but generally produce some nice CE's, even if some others look & feel a little cheap (Street Fighter IV & Dead Rising 2, for example)

[themidlandmaster]

Oh yes, most definitely! Ubisoft, 2K Games, and Bethesda are three you can usually rely on to produce a decent CE. You just have to look at the Bioshock 1 & 2. Duke Nukem Forever, Fallout 3 & New Vegas, and Assassin's Creed CE's to see that they really take their time creating these!

Capcom are usually hit & miss, but generally produce some nice CE's, even if some others look & feel a little cheap (Street Fighter IV & Dead Rising 2, for example)

I wish capcom shipped overseas!!

Obviously Actvision/EA are the worst

Bioware's are surprisingly bad, they're one of the most beloved game developers.

Square Enix are good, can't wait to see tomb raider

Edit: And naughty dog! Uncharted's are superb

[kennyrh]

Given all the palaver over the MGS HD LE fiasco and assuming that retailers really don't give a shit any more . . .is anybody apart from me a bit worried about the coming year in CEs and LEs :facepalm:

The increasingly alarming number of early-year CEs leads me to fear that there might be a tidal wave come October.

Those combined facts make me fear a) for my sanity and b) Whether my bank balance can sustain my enthusiasm (although I must admit that it's getting a bit knocked at the minute).

I've come up with an equation . . .Greed + Incompetence = Reassess Priorities.

[vhal_x]

I feel the exact same way kenny, combine that with the fact that myself and my boyfriend's "spending money" (as in money leftover after rent, bills, food, etc) is going to be quite a good bit lower this year than last, it's making me really sad about the future of the collection, considering that if the latter end of the year does have, as you said, a "tidal wave" then we are going to struggle money wise to get all the ones we want, even more so than last year :(

Ah well, we shall just have to cope! xx

[kennyrh]

Ah well, we shall just have to cope! xx

Well, we do don't we ?? I guess the publishers rely on that fact - but being treated like mugs is only gonna hold up for so long. There comes a point in anybody's passion for something where if the aggravation outweighs the pleasure then they're just gonna say fukkit and step away.

I've gotta say that I've been a collector of many things over the years and I've never had to put up with the bullshit forced on us gaming collectors.

Guess that's the price to pay for getting into bed with uncaring, unfeeling corporations :sick:

[Gemini-Phoenix]

The bizarre thing is, it's a recent trend. I look at pictures of my game room from 3 years ago and there's next to no large CE's at all, except for a couple of Steel Battalion boxes and the Halo 3 Legendary Edition. Now the entire middle floor space is littered with them, and publishers don't seem to care about how much space these things take up! Chances are, if you're a collector, you're going to have several of these things, and they all take up valuable room!

I used to have one shelf for SteelBooks and DigiPaks, and the top shelf would be for the slightly larger CE's (such as Bioshock or GTA IV). Not long before that, very few PS2 or Xbox games would receive anything special, and those that did usually deserved it. Nowadays it's common for multple SKU's to be sold, with each retailer getting some kind of exclusive

The thing that pisses me off the most are these "Day One" DLC LE's that EA and THQ seem to be quite fond of. I abhor these releases, and there's no point in them as I can often pick them up on eBay a year after release for a much cheaper price, so their whole concept is flawed. Besides, DLC on an annual FIFA game is just a stupid idea

[kennyrh]

The bizarre thing is, it's a recent trend. I look at pictures of my game room from 3 years ago and there's next to no large CE's at all, except for a couple of Steel Battalion boxes and the Halo 3 Legendary Edition. Now the entire middle floor space is littered with them, and publishers don't seem to care about how much space these things take up! Chances are, if you're a collector, you're going to have several of these things, and they all take up valuable room!



Yes, thinking about it you're correct. I'm wondering if it has to do with the "one-upmanship" game that publishers are fond of playing. I mean, there's absolutely no reason for the size of that Skyrim CE . . .it's absolutely ridiculous. A smaller, heavier, more detailed figurine would have looked better anyway.

I wouldn't mind one or two of these humongous boxes but, probably like yourself, I'm looking at the Modern Warfare 2 figurine set, the Killzone 3 Helghast, the Crysis 2 Nano, the Gears of War 3 LE and the aforementioned Skyrim. These would take up a whole bookshelf on their own (even if you COULD fit them in.)

And I don't even have the Halo Reach big box or the Halo 3 helmet.

Why can't puiblishers be sensible and take their lead from something like the Warhammer Space Marine set. Nice content, weighty so it feels like a "proper" CE and a reasonable size for display.

Going back to Skyrim CE. . .my local GAME had six of these on display near the doorway. You could barely get in the shop.

Use some common sense guys, please:beg:

[Saturn]

I no longer have space in the tiny room where I keep all my collection. I don't really know what's gonna happen but I will stop buying these editions soon. I'll still hold the ones coming this year but then I will stop. It's impossible for me: not enough money and no space for everything.

[Dark-Vash]

Like Saturn, i'm runing with low space right now too, Those boxed console are taking most of the space!

My girl isn't even into gaming... someday i'll find my boxes at the front door! :beg:

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I wouldn't mind one or two of these humongous boxes but, probably like yourself, I'm looking at the Modern Warfare 2 figurine set, the Killzone 3 Helghast, the Crysis 2 Nano, the Gears of War 3 LE and the aforementioned Skyrim. These would take up a whole bookshelf on their own (even if you COULD fit them in.)

This.

Like you say, those select few alone are responsible for taking up a great deal of the space in my very humble game room, along with several others of a similar size. When you also consider such things as the Steel Battalion sets, and various Guitar Hero / Rock Band bundles, and also Dvd / Blu-Ray CE's (if you're a collector, then you most likely collect these as well), not to mention consoles...


Why can't puiblishers be sensible and take their lead from something like the Warhammer Space Marine set. Nice content, weighty so it feels like a "proper" CE and a reasonable size for display.

I like that Warhammer 40k CE. It's only as big as it needs to be, but is packed full of nice quality stuff, and has a nice weight to it. The same can be said for the GTA IV CE and FFXIII-2 Crystal Edition. They're an awkward size, but not too OTT that make you curse their existence.

Likewise, I liked the Duke Nukem Forever Balls Of Steel Edition, as it was crammed full of stuff, but I'm not a fan of other similarly sized editions which just have a crappy figure and lots of wasted space (like an Easter egg carton) - Bioshock, Aliens Vs Predator, Fallout 3, Avatar, and Splinter Cell: Conviction are all guilty here, and they feel unnecessary

I'm personally a fan of the deluxe Dvd sized editions. Packages which stand no taller than a generic Amaray Dvd case, but which might be wider. Think Mass Effect 1 & 2, Gears Of War 1 & 2, Forza 3 & 4, any SteelBook, any DigiPak etc. You can still pack in a lot of content in a package that small, and the best thing is they still sit on a shelf comfortably alongside normal games. Even the Fable 3, Soul Calibur V, and Alan Wake "books" fit nicely and are a good size


Going back to Skyrim CE. . .my local GAME had six of these on display near the doorway. You could barely get in the shop.

Surely retailers like GAME dread these massive CE's? After all, they take up a lot of storage space in their warehouse and also shop floor space. For example, you could easily store around 100 standard Amaray sized games in the space that one Skyrim CE takes up. It doesn't take a genius to figure out which they would rather stock...

[Gazereths]

I think the main problem now is with the availability of some of the 'so called limited editions' I wouldn't say a run of 10,000 is particularly limited and I'm sure most have runs that are far bigger than that. Also these LE's that are just a slipcase and some DLC piss me off. The Uncharted 3 one for instance, just some 'special' packaging and a few crappy DLC codes for MP, not even any art cards or anything.

With any collection though space is going to be a problem the further you get into collecting.

[themidlandmaster]

to me, assassins creed codex edition is the best example of how to do it. Not too big, themed packaging and awesome content

Fallout CE's follow this style, as did the Bioshock 2 ce. So i think they should be around shoebox size

Of course this is for mass produced with ones with no real value. Real rare ones like dead space ultra need to justify the price tag

[Saturn]

Agreed, but my only complain is the quality of the box itself. That's the only thing I didn't quite like. But then, if it was something else, it would cost more...