Edward 1Top 11 Expensive Collector's Editions
August 6th 2010 14:32
The announcement of Gran Turismo 5’s Signature Edition sparked many gamers to argue over its hefty AUS $300 price tag. Yet similar arguments are common as every game is rarely released without a collector’s edition (CE) or two and priced on borderline 'acceptable' amounts. It's because a CE is naturally accepted as highly valuable in our minds, thus in constant demand. Publishers know this and take advantage of this vulnerability in our psche by thinking of many ways to get money back from their investments. This can be by bringing an in-game item into reality, like Bayonetta's gun or Fallout 3's bobbleheads, or give downloadable content (DLC) which give collectors the 'privilage' to have content only available to them. Out of all the many CE's that populate the stores, there are eleven I wanted to detail. So I present to you a list of my top eleven expensive Collector’s Editions, bar non-English ones. I'll be starting with the lowest priced CE at AUS $129, which happens to be my personal favourite.
BioShock - $129.95 – The Big Daddy bust is heavy enough to be a weapon but can be used as a glorified paper weight. It must have been tough on 2K game's wallet to ship these.
The game is also packaged in a steel case to differentiate from the standard edition, which is a nice touch. Also included are:
- CD with four songs from the game.
Fallout 3 - $130 -With one of the more creative box’s to contain special goodies, the Fallout 3 lunch box is a fine accessory to have in any Fallout fan’s collection, besides the modest price. I’d also like to give special mention to the inclusion of a Vault Boy Bobblehead, which amuses to no end. Just don’t forget to take it with you when you leave the car. Also included are:
- A 100 page hard cover art book,
- Making of DVD
For US $130, The Mirror’s Edge CE, ordered only through EA’s store, comes with just one item: a side bag by messenger bag specialist, Timbuk2. Well I’ll be damned. Conversion rates to AUS is $141.95, which, compared to other collector’s editions around the same price, is not worth it.
Another CE I was disappointed in was also my disappointing title of the year.
Final Fantasy 13 CE - $140 AUS - It is filled with low quality content for a high price. Probably the only piece of forgiving material is the stellar soundtrack. It also contains:
- Hard cover art book
- Two of the same sticker detailing the “tainted” mark the main characters have.
- 3 postcards
Batman Arkham Asylum - $149 - Batman fans can be happy with this large box filled with goodies:
- 14-inch Batarang replica.
- 48 page diary with bio’s of several of Batman’s enemies.
- 2 DLC maps.
- DVD with trailers and more than 30 minutes of behind the scenes content.
- A comic book detailing how the Joker ended up captured by Batman.
Grand Theft Auto 4 - $149 - Comes with more quality content than most other collector editions. My favourite item is the metal locker box with key. It actually comes in handy to store stuff I didn't want others to see. Other items include:
- Hardcover artbook.
- Soundtrack.
- Duffle bag.
- Rockstar metal keyring.
StarCraft 2 Collector’s edition - $150 - The amount of content contained exceeds the extra $50 than the stand alone edition. I personally think this is one of the best CE’s ever shipped. I’m not the only one to think that, as all pre-orders for this version of StarCraft 2 sold out within 3 days at Electronic Boutique. The highlight of this set has to be the main character’s USB dog tag containing the first game and its expansion pack.
Also included is:
- Issue 0 of the comic
- Soundtrack
- Making of DVD
- Art book
- DLC including a WoW pet.
Resident Evil 5 - $169.95 – By far the most disappointing CE for its price. Packaged in a flimsy paper box, it contained:
- An empty steel box for the game, but the game is strangely in the standard edition packaging.
- A 3 inch Chris Redfield figurine which is minuscule compared with Fallout 3’s Vault Boy Bobblehead.
- A messenger bag, which feels like it’s made out of cheap material.
- A clothing patch with the logo of the main character’s employer, which is pointless since I don’t even sew.
- A necklace shaped of Africa
- A making of DVD.
Modern warefare 2 - $179.99 - The highlight of the package to the most popular FPS of this generation is, of course, the working night vision goggles. Includes:
- Art book
- DLC of the original Call of Duty
- Steel package for the game
- Stand shaped of the main character’s head from the original Modern Warfare game.
Halo 3 Legendary edition - $199.95 - Scant in content, but its redeeming feature is the highly detailed Spartan helmet. Includes:
- A making of DVD.
- A DVD with remastered cutscenes from Halo 1 and 2 with featured commentary and a look into developer Bungie’s offices.
- A poster.
God of War 3 Ultimate Trilogy Edition - $248 - only available for pre-order from Electronic Boutique stores in Australia, this package was the most expensive Collector’s Edition released in recent memory. The quality is apparent when you simply look at the box: a detailed, hard plastic cover resembling Pandora’s Box from the first game. There is quite a number of contents within the box, with the most notable being the blu-ray disc with HD versions of God of War 1 and 2.
Other content inside include:
- A host of downloadable content including four player skins and arena challenges,
- 3 CD soundtrack to all three games and downloadable EP called God of War: Blood and Metal.
- Art “book” (not hard covered).
- Three postcards
The quality of the product is deminished slightly when you consider the three postcards, flimsy art book and downloadble content costing little to nothing. Collector's are essentially spending an extra $150 for the HD versions of the previous God of War games, the 3 CD soundtrack and Pandora's Box.
--------- And I'll be leaving this space for the Signature edition of Gran Turismo 5.
Feel free to mention notable high priced CE's, or others that are worth more than they were originally priced, in the comments section below.
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