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

[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

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.

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.

[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 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) xx

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by 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

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.