[Gemini-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Twistedsymphony

This is my personal opinion but these are the rules I feel that every CE released should follow.

1. All content should be contained in a single package, wrapping cellophane around two or more separate items does not a CE make, nor does handing me a bunch of separate items and calming "this pile of stuff is the CE" (I'm looking at you Ghostbusters) It boggles my mind that I would even have to add this to the list.

Agreed entirely! A few examples of this not being done right include the Gears Of War 2 with golden Lancer, Tony Hawk Project 8 with skateboard deck, and Zavvi exclusive Vanquish.

Gears Of War 2 and Tony Hawk Project 8 were very large branded items of merch, with the game strapped to the outside or given alongside. To me this is not a true CE and is just two related items sold together for a bargain price. In regards to the Vanquish CE, it was also two pieces of related merch, where the actual retail copy of the game was strapped to the outside of the figure box and then sealed with shrinkwrap.

2. Discs should be cherished... Anyone who releases a CE with a plain white paper sleeve holding the bonus disc deserves to be slapped in the face... all discs should be held by a proper plastic spindle without question, I don't care if it's a jewel case, digi-pack, steel book or Amery. No disc belongs in a sleeve, especially not when you're paying extra for it.

Also agree. It's almost as if the bonus discs were an after-thought, and make the plastic case bulge unnaturally. In my opinion, all discs should be mounted properly, or else some kind of speccial packaging should be used to accommodate multiple discs. Eg, SteelBook or DigiPak.

3. Any content that that doesn't ACTUALLY require a network connection should be included on physical media... I don't want to download a soundtrack, or single-player expansions, or gamer-pics, or dashboard themes, or avatar clothes, or anything other than content designed for an online connection. Soundtracks should be on a CD without question.

Bonus content means more if its on physical media as opposed to a one time use code.

I so agree with this statement. A soundtrack should ALWAYS be on Compact Disc form, so that it's playable on any medium which supports CD's. I don't want to be limited to downloading MP3 files. The soundtrack should be available straight out of the box with nothing more than a CD compatible device to play it.

However, I would also accept a soundtrack on another physical medium such as USB stick or vinyl, but ONLY if the CD is made available by default

4. Packaging is Paramount. As far as I'm concerned a CE that is nothing more than the Standard Edition with a nice high-quality SteelBook case with more tasteful (less market research driven) cover art and NOTHING ELSE is a CE worth buying, and buying at a higher price than the standard edition... Similarly a CE that is nothing more than a bunch of bonus content codes shoved inside the case, even at the same price as the Standard Edition is worthless in my eyes...

I abhor all these recent "Day One" releases which offer early adopters some kind of bonus perks for paying full price for their game on or close to release date. In many cases, these unnecessarily offer an alternative cover variation for a game which could have easily distributed the DLC codes via eMail for anyone pre-ordering the game, which to me would be less wasteful.

I personally believe that if this content was to be included on day one, then it should actually be in the game code itself (which more often than not, it actually is!), but seems as if they deliberately remove things from the final game code to give away or sell back to you at a later date

I don't like this current trend of releasing some kind of LE for a few weeks around release, and then another variation without the DLC a few weeks later after the original batch has sold out

Packages should look nice, they should be sturdy and durable, they should have great attention paid to detail (not like throw-away toy packaging) and they should hold all of their content well.

In my opinon, the package is half of the product. To many people, some CE's cost three or four days standard wage, so they're not going to rip it open like a 5 year old and discard the packaging after spending so much on a CE! I've seen a few YouTube video's of this happening, but for the most part the majority of collectors won't be doing this

A CE should be designed to be kept for a long time. Collectors are going to treasure these CE's for many years to come, and possibly their entire lifetime. They're also going to want to put these on display on shelves or in glass cabinets and show them off, so they have to also look attractive as well as serve their purpose of containing the bonus content.

Blister packs are a definite no-no, as you have to destroy the packaging in order to gain access, and potentially risk destroying the actual product in the process.

Also, any CE which comes in cardboard packaging should come sealed in order to protect the cover, or at the very least, with a plastic sheath which can be slipped over it to prevent the CE from getting dog-earred. For example, EyePet for PS3 comes in a Happy Meal box style package, which to me is just cheap and nasty!

5. Assume the collector buying your Game is at least as old as your ESRB/PEGI/BBFC/etc rating, better yet, most collectors are fairly mature compared to most gamers in general so assume they're at MINIMUM a few years OLDER than the rating.

I see too many CEs with pack-ins clearly geared toward people several years younger than their content rating... it's not appreciated

A very good point here! Especially applicable to those games which carry an 18+ or AO rating. Bonus items should be intended for the target demographic.

After all, these things are called "Collector's Editions" for a reason, and most are significantly more expensive than the standard release of a game. Now to me, these sorts of things should be targetted to 18-40 year old males who have a lot of disposable income, therefore the bonus items should appeal to this demographic. I don't know of many under-18's who have that kind of cash to spend on CE's, and I doubt anyone under the age of 16 would be interested in keeping their CE's in nice condition for years to come

Take a game like LEGO Star Wars as an example - Whilst these games are indeed intended for a younger audience, I bet the majority of consumers who buy this kind of game are actually those over the age of 30-40 who grew up with the original trilogy, where I would expect a LEGO Star Wars CE to include bonus material aimed at the more matured collector. After all, no 7 year old is going to want to keep such a CE nice, so why even bother making a CE for this game in the first place? As it happens, no LEGO Star Wars CE exists (as far as I know), but a LEGO Harry Potter CE does, which begs the question, why?

6. DO NOT include time-sensitive material... this includes advertisements, contest fliers or content codes that expire. if I can't open my CE 3 years after release and use everything included then that content is worthless.

I agree with this. I also don't think it's right that DLC should have an expiry date either! How can something digital expire? Especially if it's for a current-gen console? For example, the standard UK retail edition of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 comes with DLC codes with an expiry date of April 11th 2011, only a few months after release of the game. The game is still available to buy brand new in the shops for full price, yet anyone purchasing it now won't be able to download the bonus content advertised on the cover! To me this is wrong, and content should be available for as long as the console system is supported and brand new copies are available to buy!

The same applies to CE's. Especially those which come with very little else except DLC codes. But in my opinion, a CE should not include DLC as a selling point, and should include physical items which last as long as the actual software and packaging.

Again I state, DLC should be distributed via eMail by the retailer, or via code cards given out alongside the game - NOT inside it!