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

[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

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]

Originally Posted by vhal_x

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

[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]

Originally Posted by 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!

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

[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!

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by kennyrh

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