ID:77026
 
I used to really like Collectors Edition games, but now it seems they've fallen into a rut where every collectors edition is the same. A tin case, an art book, a crappy toy and the standard CE price tag (give or take $5).
Sometimes, if you're lucky, its a tin case and a walking billboard t-shirt (that only come in XXS and XXL). You know, the ones that are pretty much just a cheap t-shirt printed up to look like the E3 booth polo shirts.

Publishers have found a cookie cutter solution that involves minimal work and the price tag that works for it. Gamers have got used to forking over a little more for the Collectors Edition without thinking about whats in it.

Something needs to shake both of them up. I doubt it will, but I'm hoping that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's Prestige Edition is that something. It comes with crappy Night Vision Goggles based on the ones used by the characters in game. It costs twice as much.

Anyway, I freakin' love it. This is exactly what I think Collectors Editions are meant to be. The standard edition of the game, plus some extras that could sell on their own and a price tag tailored to fit.
Instead of working within the standard Collectors Edition budget and just pressing out figurines at $1.50 per unit, they sat down and looked for something that a Call of Duty 4 fan might enjoy and figured the price out based on the content.

Like I said, I don't think this will pay off for them. I think its a little too extreme. What I'm hoping it leads to is Collectors Edition content being taken a little more seriously and breaking free of the mentality that you have to make your Collectors Edition include these things and cost this much or else it wont sell.

I don't just want high-quality packs with bigger price tags but smaller scale packs with lower prices. If the game isn't big budget, then I'll settle for paying $5 more for a really nice laser cut keychain of the games logo. A nice mouse-pad?
From there you get more ambitious. A custom headset modeled after the in-game ones. A real-life version of the hat the main character wears. A remote control Liberty City Police Department squad car. If an figurine is appropriate then put in a decent one. Just don't fall into the trap of using the same cookie cutter package for everything.

Really the idea that publishers need to be slapped on this one is ridiculous. Games lend themselves to this sort of stuff perfectly. You're always using cool signature weapons/gadgets and wearing neat signature clothes. Not to mention the loot. The game is centered around finding a mystical artifact? Why not give the Collectors Edition a prop replica version you can put on your shelf.

Even just giving the standard Collectors Edition content some thought would be great. What's the point of a Banjo-Kazooie figure? Best I can tell you can sit it on your computer desk as a decoration. If its purely decorative then there are much better things you can do. How about paper weight/bookend made out of Gruntilda's skull or Jiggy with a display stand? Even a Banjo-Kazooie themed sticker set would be better than a crappy rubber toy.




So what's your idea of the perfect Collectors Edition content? Altair white hoodies with Assassin's Creed? Gear style COG tags with Gears of War? A Weighted Companion Cube with The Orange Box? A big o' helmet sized Metroid statue with Metroid Prime?
I'm not really a collector type, and I've never really felt compelled to pick up the Collector's Edition of any particular title. I can respect the fact that there is a big market for that type of stuff out there; it's just not me.

That said, I will shell out extra money for an improved version of a game, like a "Game of the Year" release that includes all of the DLC, or a re-release on a new console that has a couple upgrades here and there. Ex: I bought Skies of Arcadia for both the Dreamcast and Gamecube.
A real-life version of the hat the main character wears.

this immediately made me think of the sniper from TF2. i'd love to have his hat

that being said, a lot of CE items are just lame. like, if assassin's creed 2 CE did indeed have an altair-esque hoody i would specifically not buy the CE for that reason. also, i don't want posters of 'sexy' girls from the cast of the game. gamer girls are sexy, but girls who only exist in games are not.
Disregarding Modern Warfare 2's different price points for a moment, it's stupid to buy it for a console anyway. (and I WANT to buy it for PS3, but this is just giving me reason to upgrade my PC)

$60 game ($80 hardened, $150 prestige)

Two map packs have already been confirmed, $20. W@W has a third map pack on the way. So you might as well confirm that for MW2, since we all know Activision is going to try to milk it. Maybe even more than three could be on the way, who knows!

You're going to end up paying $90+ just for game content even if you still buy the base package, now with that said FUCK any collectors edition they put out.

To hell with the collectors edition and get the game for PC where you pay $50 for the game and that's all. :-/
T3h B4tman wrote:
Disregarding Modern Warfare 2's different price points for a moment, it's stupid to buy it for a console anyway.


That's assuming that the PC version offers everything that the console versions do. While I generally prefer mouse+keyboard for FPS games, I enjoy being able to play CoD over Xbox Live. I also hate futzing around with my computer's specs, patches, blah blah blah. To each his own.
A gold CD/DVD. Worked for Zelda. Everybody would rather have the gold cartridge.
Foomer wrote:
A gold CD/DVD. Worked for Zelda.

Sure beats the snot out of a lousy tin case. =P

SilkWizard wrote:
While I generally prefer mouse+keyboard for FPS games

I'm much, much better with mouse+keyboard but I actually prefer to play with a controller. Its funny, playing with a mouse feels a bit boring and easy. Like using auto-aim. A controller gives it a little more of a chaotic feel.


T3h B4tman wrote:
So you might as well confirm that for MW2, since we all know Activision is going to try to milk it.

What you call milking the game I call supporting it.

Zaole wrote:
this immediately made me think of the sniper from TF2. i'd love to have his hat

Personally I'd go with the Soldiers helmet (or better yet his rocket launcher).

that being said, a lot of CE items are just lame. like, if assassin's creed 2 CE did indeed have an altair-esque hoody i would specifically not buy the CE for that reason.

I wouldn't buy it either, but that's the point. Its designed to sell to people who want it, not the 'its only $20 more so I might as well' crowd.

also, i don't want posters of 'sexy' girls from the cast of the game.

Yeah they're pretty weak. I'd be embarrassed if I had one of them on my wall. That said, a Fallout 3 Nuka-Cola poster would be much better than the crappy art-book. Those cloth banners are pretty cool, having a double-sided COG/Locust banner in with the Gears 3 Collectors Edition would be nuts.
Zaole wrote:
gamer girls are sexy

As a side note. Stay up until 3AM watching your girlfriend play Final Fantasy VII. I don't care how many boobs she has, you'll blow your brains out from boredom long before she realises that she has to go straight to bed because she needs to wake up early tomorrow.
DarkView wrote:
Zaole wrote:
gamer girls are sexy

As a side note. Stay up until 3AM watching your girlfriend play Final Fantasy VII. I don't care how many boobs she has, you'll blow your brains out from boredom long before she realises that she has to go straight to bed because she needs to wake up early tomorrow.


Sorry for the late comment but... Lol @ How many boobs she has. Also the irony!!!!