Day One Edition - Three words that make me cringe!

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I have just seen the Dragon Quest Heroes PS4 game with "Day One Edition" emblazoned across the top, and never have I cringed so much! Has the industry really come to this, where almost every single game these days has to have a "Day One Edition" for early adopters who pay full price for a game on day of release?

I have come to expect this of the larger Western publishers like EA, Activision, and Ubisoft. It almost feels as if they all sat around a small table down their local pub and came up with the idea of the "Day One Edition" just to give those who pay full price a little bonus to take the sting out of paying so much for a game on release day. I have even accepted that it's a staple for Namco-Bandai. However, it's a sad day when a respected Japanese company like Square-Enix has to plaster these three sorry words all over their newest Dragon Quest release!


I've never really been a fan of the "Day One Edition" concept, and it almost feels like a cheap ploy to pre-sell you something extra (usually a season pass or other DLC) that you would most likely have paid for after buying the game. I honestly don't understand why publishers feel the need to pack such items in and give the game a completely different cover, when they could just as easily sell you a standard version of the game and eMail you the codes or give you a leaflet outside of the box. It just seems like a redundant waste of effort, but something that consumers seem to fall for time and time again. At the end of the day, those who pre-order are still going to pre-order the game regardless of whether it comes with extra content, so they require no extra coercing.

The problem is, "Day One Edition" is meaningless these days. The XboxOne was launched with a wave of so-called "Day One Editions" of all launch titles, most of which were still available six months later alongside the standard version releases. Likewise, Namco-Bandai's Tales Of Xillia 2 "Day One Edition" FuturePak was released on 22nd of August 2014, yet is STILL widely available brand new ten months later!

I wouldn't mind so much if these releases were called "DLC Edition" or "Full Package Edition", but calling them a "Day One Edition" feels somewhat of a misnomer. The exception would be where such editions are extremely limited and touted as pre-order incentives only, where these releases usually sell out on pre-orders - there are genuinely true Day One Editions, as they were only available on day one, and not for weeks / months afterwards


The whole premise behind the "Day One Edition" is to offer some kind of perk to the gamer, usually to give them a head start over their peers in an online multi-player game (such as Call Of Duty), or to make their single player campaign a little easier by offering them in-game items earlier than they would usually find them in the game, or making the game a little more fun by offering vanity outfits for their character. A lot of the time such items are available exclusively, and intended to be used on the first day of play on the first day of release - although their use varies depending on the game and time purchased, with most Day One perks being made somewhat redundant after the first week of release

This last generation has probably been the worst generation for collectors. Not only have we seen Collector's Editions rise in popularity, but also the introduction of Season Passes, DLC, and DRM. It was bad enough before with store exclusive editions and exclusive sleeves, but now we have to also consider "Day One Editions" as well! The sad thing is, to future collectors all this will mean to them is different cover artwork to collect. Whatever digital bonus was included in a "Day One Edition" will no doubt have been used or expired, and unless the edition has a unique slipcover, SteelBook / FuturePak, or small trinket like a keychain pack-in, these editions will not hold their value any more than their regular counterparts

[Twisted]

I thought day one edition meant that they would STRICTLY make only enough copies for those who preordered it..so there would NEVER be a "day one edition" made available for sale after day of release...I thought it was some ultra exclusive thing..because there are some youtubers who are gamers who "freak out" when they find a "day one edition" out in the wild when they didn't pre order it.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Twisted

I thought day one edition meant that they would STRICTLY make only enough copies for those who preordered it..so there would NEVER be a "day one edition" made available for sale after day of release...I thought it was some ultra exclusive thing..because there are some youtubers who are gamers who "freak out" when they find a "day one edition" out in the wild when they didn't pre order it.

Well that is the general understanding, but not what seems to happen these days. Where it once did use to mean that, it seems to be a phrase that publishers like to slap on first prints to denote them as such. I would much prefer if they would just label them as such, rather than caling them "Day One Editions"

Namco-Bandai are actually one of the worst offenders, where many of their major franchises and licenced titles will have a "Day One Edition" which comes nicely packaged, but where the actual standard Amaray release that follows a year or so down the line ends up being the rarer and more coveted release. That's if the first print "Day One" editions even sell well enough to warrant a second print, which a lot of the time Namco-Bandai games don't get, which a vast majority of them don't - hence why it is so difficult to track down most older Namco-Bandai titles


Take Call Of Duty as a prime example. Advanced Warfare was released with a "Day Zero" edition, where those who pre-ordered got their game a day earlier than everyone else, and were rewarded with double-XP and a few unique in-game items. This edition was intended to give those who pre-ordered a slight head start over those who went to midnight launch events the day after, and these "Day Zero" editions were only intended to be sold before the regular version was released. However, most retailers were stuck with a mountain of unsold "Day Zero" editions, so sold them through on the day of official launch and the day after, thus undermining the whole point of the editions

I received my Advanced Warfare XboxOne console (which came with the "Day Zero" edition) two days late, by which time the double-XP period had expired and I was no better off than those who bought the regular release of the game. Looking at eBay, there are sellers still trying to flog the "Day Zero" edition as if it's something special for collectors, but essentially the only difference worth anything to collectors now is the alternative cover artwork

[gurpswoo1]

There a certainly been a downward trend of disappointment and lacklustre contents over the last few years for Collector's edition.

I think the real issue is, as a community we are unconsciously classifying it as alternative and more importantly superior version of the game. Hence our insatiable appetite to get it as soon as humanly possible.

This trend started when digital content was introduced as items in collector's edition, that's right we opened up the game to find a piece of paper with a freaking code on it to download a lovely costume. whoopidy doo don't I feel special.

I could just about live with that but what I will never accept is when they started substituting physical content for codes, such as our beloved soundtracks, "kiss my squirrel Heavy Rain".

I'm totally with you on these ridiculous Day One Edition's, it's not even like the discs contain anything different to the games from second print.

If they called it something like "first print" in the same way as books, we could accept it easier.

Once we all accept that just because it simply contains the word "Edition" in it's name, it a collector's item and is worth collecting. We need to be more savvy and pick them up later at rock bottom prices. Because let face it, there a big chance it will always be rock bottom in our books.