Street Fighter IV Collector’s Edition Detail Announced

GameStop released detail of the upcoming North American release of Street Fighter IV Collector’s Edition for Xbox 360 and PS3 earlier today:

The Collector’s Edition for Xbox 360 or PS3 will include a bonus disc with a 65-minute full-length Anime movie and promotional trailers; a CD soundtrack; a collectible Ryu figurine for the PS3 edition; a collectible C. Viper figurine for the Xbox 360 edition; a Udon/Prima Hint book; and 5 downloadable costumes. Ships February 17.

The Pre-Order Bonus through GameStop has been known for a while

Reserve Street Fighter IV and receive an exclusive headband like the one worn by martial arts master Ryu. Channel the power of Ryu with this official Street Fighter headband. Available for online and store in-store customers only while supplies last.

1up is also reporting details of the European SFIV CE. Which is slated to include an HD film, Downloadable Content as well as 2 figurines.

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Quantum of Solace SteelBook and Resistance 2 Pictures Posted

Pictures have been added of the Xbox 360 NTSC 007 Quantum of Solace Collector’s Edition SteelBook.

Not the best but also posted are some picutres of a sealed Resistance 2 Collector’s Edition.

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Fallout 3 Pictures Posted

Pictures have been posted up of the NTSC Xbox 360 version of the highly anticipated Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition.

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Win a SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO SteelBook Collector’s Set!

Takashi Miike redefines the spaghetti western in SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO, starring Hideaki Ito, Koichi Sato, Yusuke Iseya and Quentin Tarantino arriving on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, November 11,2008.

(Los Angeles, CA) – First Look Studios proudly announces the DVD and Blu-Ray release of SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO.   First Look Studios is offering three collectable steel book covers: the Sukiyaki Gang, the Lone Gunman, and Bloody Benten.  This release marks two important milestones for First Look Studios: the Blu-Ray release will have BD Live capabilities, and an accompanying digital copy of the film will also be included.  The DVD and Blu-Ray discs street on November 11, 2008. The DVD SRP is $28.98 and the Blu-ray SRP is $34.98.

To celebrate the release CollectorsEdition.org will be GIVING AWAY a Steelbook DVD Collector’s set of Sukiyaki Western Django! How can you get your hands on one? Read on, It’s easy.

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Buying Collector’s Editions Pays off in the Long Run

Video Game Price Chart’s has an interesting article discussing the average price drop of Collector’s Edition games vs Regular Edition games. The found that while the upfront price of a Collector’s Edition is typically $10 more these editions typically hold their value much better and some even go up in value in the long run.

It’s a good read for anyone looking to help justify the extra cost of the CE games in their collection.

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GameStop no longer taking PreOrders on WOW Collectors Edition expansion.

While we don’t typically cover PC Games here at Collector’s Edition this interesting bit of news is sure to hit home with collectors of all games. Kotaku is reporting that GameStop, as of Wednesday, has closed pre-orders for the Collector’s Edition of the new World of Warcraft expansion pack; Wrath of the Lich King. Citing that they had sold so many pre-orders that they might not even have enough to fulfill all of them.

An Internal memo to imployees reads:

Due to the number of reserves taken thus far, we are quickly approaching our allocation and may not be able to fulfill all reserves taken through close of business on Wednesday, 9/17.

Only time will tell but this could make WOW:WotLC the fastest selling Collector’s Edition in history, and more likely than not, increase it’s value such that’s one of the more saught after CEs in the gaming world.

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New Solicitations for North Ameica

Recent additions to the Upcoming North American Release List include:

Call of Duty 4 Game of the Year Edition – released two days ago for the Xbox 360 and arriving on the 23rd of this month on the PS3, this version of the game is identical to the regular edition but includes a code that can be used on the COD4 website which will then give you a code to download the recently released map pack on either Xbox Live Market Place or the Playstation Network Store. Price wise you basically save $5 over buying the game and the maps separate.

Madden NFL 2009 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition – the 20th Madden game released in so many years. This Edition seems steeply priced at close to $90 but it comes with 2 games, both Madden 09 and Head Coach 09, as well as a “library” of bonus videos. If past Madden “editions” are any indication this will come in a standard plastic keep case and will probably drop in value substantially only a month or two after it’s release. Available for both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on August 12th.

Saints Row 2 Collector’s Edition – No details have been revealed about this edition but it will run you an extra $20 over the regular edition (so it better be good). Arrives on both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on August 26th.

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Alone in the Dark Delayed

Grim D wrote in to inform us that the release date for alone in the Dark has been pushed back nearly a month. This of course means that the release day for the Collectors edition in Europe will now not be available until June 20th. Mark your calendars accordingly.

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Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition Comming?

Amazon.com has listing for an NTSC Collector’s Edition release of Bethesda Softworks’ Fallout 3. The Collector’s Edition will apparently be arriving on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

No details have been released, no features, pricing, images, or even a release date or ESRB rating. We can likely assume, however, that the Collector’s Edition will release along side the regular edition on October 7th of this year.

We’ll post more details when we get them.

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SteelBook, Because Special Editions Should have Special Packaging

The first metal cased Collector’s Edition I ever owned was Halo 2. I wasn’t expecting anything special when I ordered it but when I found that the case was made of metal I was quite pleased, as well as intrigued. Looking back I was actually more interested in the packaging than the actual game and I quickly started seeking out other Special/Limited/Collector’s Edition games for the Xbox console. At this point I own nearly every “edition” made for the Xbox platforms and quite a number for other consoles as well.

While the Halo 2 Collector’s Edition case wasn’t a genuine SteelBook brand product, it was actually imitating that design. As the proud owner of many DVD movies and games contained within genuine SteelBook brand cases I can appreciate both the high build quality and appealing visuals that these cases offer over a standard DVD keep case and even over knock-off products like the Halo 2 case. Really isn’t that what a Collector is looking for? Something that not only protects your investment, but cherishes and embellishes it, particularly us game collectors spending $70 or $80 on a Special Edition here in the USA and equivalent to $100 elsewhere in the world. SteelBooks have raised the bar, I now find it disappointing when a Special Edition game is released without one.

You can imagine how excited I was when I was actually contacted by an employee of Scanavo, one of the companies behind SteelBook. I talked with him at length over email and he was kind enough to send over sample cases that they had produced. I received them today and wasted no time putting them in the photo-booth to share with you here. Not to mention I uploaded them at a higher resolution than I normally do for images here on CE so you can take in some of the details.

I also visited http://steelbook.com for the first time and was quite pleased with what I found there. It’s loaded with pictures of the different cases they’ve made and also features “behind the scenes” content discussing the evolution of the their design and the ideals behind the product from the people who actually designed it. It’s essentially the bonus disc to your Collector’s case. I thought it was a nice touch.

One thing that makes SteelBooks special is that steel is not a material you typically find on store shelves these days, nearly everything is plastics and paper, and if you do happen to find something made of steel there is usually an attempt to hide that fact. Metal can be quite beautiful if crafted properly, and it caries with it an association with high quality and value, while paper and plastic are most commonly associated with cheap or disposable products. Take a look at these comparison shots between the NTSC and PAL releases of John Woo’s Stranglehold Collector’s Edition for Xbox 360. Not only does the SteelBook version look sleek, sturdy and much higher in quality, but the graphics have a 3D quality to them and much better color fidelity.

Lets face it, if you’re going to spend extra to get the best possible version of your favorite game, movie, or TV show then it’s only right that it’s wrapped in metal. Of course I’m preaching to the choir here, as I’m sure most collectors would easily opt for a SteelBook over a keep case when given the option. I consider this write up for the benefit of game and movie publishers out there. Take note: collector’s want high quality and unique cases and SteelBooks fit that bill better than any other case design.

Beyond the build quality SteelBooks can do things that just can’t be done with a paper or plastic case. The natural brushed look, the natural shimmering qualities of the metal, the ability to emboss images and create textures, and most interestingly the ability to decorate with not just gloss and metallic finishes but also flat finishes really make them POP in the right light.

Personally some of my favorite features found in SteelBooks are also some of the things that separate it from other metal cases. The use of clear plastic on the inside of the case with printing on the inside of the metal shell to match the outside makes the whole case feel complete, especially considering that most other metal cases either have an opaque plastic or simply bare metal, the inclusion of additional artwork, coherent right across the inside of the spine is something that’s rarely found elsewhere, and when it is, the case is usually made of cheap paper.

The other thing I like about SteelBooks is the way their spine looks when sitting on a shelf. the curvature of the top and bottom of the case sandwiching the slender spine is slimming and gives it somewhat of an hourglass shape. The outline of the thin metal rails on either side of the spine give it a smooth hard detail that just makes every other case on the shelf look sloppy and inferior. The spine is something that separates real SteelBooks from imitations too, as they’re unable to duplicate the slick and slender design. Not only that but the spine on SteelBooks is built better, using a design analogous to stitch welding, which dramatically increases it’s lifespan. I can’t tell you how many Halo 2 Collector’s Editions I’ve seen on the used rack in stores with broken spines.

As you can see the SteelBooks in my collection are easily my most prized pieces, they have the ability to make a mediocre release stand out on the shelf, and to make a great release a prized possession for fans and collectors. I’d like to thank Dave and the other fine people at Scanavo for sending me these samples and hopefully I’ll be able to share more of this stuff again in the future.

-TS

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