Rules that All CE makers should follow

[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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

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.


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Feel free to add your 2 cents on these items and add your own.

Keep in mind that this is a list that ALL CEs should follow without exception, not things that you like to see included.

[Mandingo]

Originally Posted by Twistedsymphony

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.

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.

[DaSaru]

Agreed very very much!

[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!

[Gemini-Phoenix]

In addition to my comments above, I would also like to add:

7. Bonus items should be relevant, and / or serve a purpose!

Any physical bonus items included should be representative of the game, and / or should be related to it in someway.

Item or weapon replicas are nice to have, provided they are of good quality. Eg, figures should be well crafted and painted professionally, rather than cheap moulds. WETA items tend to be of the highest quality, whilst others tend to look and feel more like Airfix...

Things like USB sticks should be branded with the game logo, and ideally styled after an item from the game universe. Again, this should be good quality and durable, and not a cheap plastic moulded item

Anything depicting artwork from the game is acceptable (even if it's a mouse pad for a console game which doesn't even use a mouse), but within reason. The Japanese seem to have a strange concept of what game collectors would want as bonus items! Lol!


Also, if an item serves a physical real-world function then that's a bonus! Items like mouse pads, USB sticks, chopsticks, bandanas, watch straps, faceplates etc... Not that most collectors would want to use them, but they should be useable if so wished. Unlike the COD: World At War hipflask which was of such poor quality and advised that it was for display purposes only and shouldn't be used - What's the point in that?

[alk3civichater]

I completely agree with all of these!
Personally im tired of seeing "limited editions" which are nothing more than the same product as the regular version with a few codes thrown in for $20 more.

Also something cool for actual "limited" items would be including a certificate for the item with the number on it and of how many (kinda like the GT5 CE) or displayed on the box!

[mosavon]

They should hereby abolish shrink wrapping full-stop its cheap and makes it hardwork to keep things sealed, i've lost count on how many times things have come ripped in the post, at least if its to be opened i want to be the one to open it!! its nasty stuff

Get rid of Downloadable content, mainly because they end up putting it on PSN or XBOXLive anyway so its not really exclusive to your CE....its just a cheap/lazy way to pad the edition out a bit, physical media anyday

Don't package things in hideously oversized boxes or use cheap flimsy cardboard as it scuffs/rips easily...give me a sturdy box that will LAST

Equality for all regions, although the UK does fairly well with CE's its annoying getting a half arsed attempt sometimes....not sure if this is an issue on the 360 but it sure is on the PS3, importing "the better version" is expensive, risky and pretty inconvenient

That is all for now

[alk3civichater]

Another thing that would be nice, but wont happen would be to have the same CE's worldwide instead of region specific items (maybe just limit production?). People in other countries shouldnt have to pay outrageous shipping fees just to get some cool gear.

[gurpswoo1]

I would be happy if a limited edition release was actually limited, seriously 50,000 copies it not limited. All limited editions should be 10,000 copies maximum, infarct it should be closer to 5,000.

[scourdx]

I agree. Also make the outer package more sturdy instead of cheap cardboard that break easily when shipped.