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.
