Thoughts on Collector's Editions

Was curious on your guys' thoughts on collector's editions and the like. Do you guys get collector's editions? What type of stuff do you prefer to be included in a collector's edition? Is there a price limit to how much you'll spend? Any other thoughts on these types of things. I know we have some collectors here.

$10-$15 over launch MSRP is about all I'm willing to spend. But that depends on what's included. A lot of swag this era is not that well made and pretty disappointing.

For me, artbooks are a must. Hardcover guides with art in them in particular. Soundtracks are really nice. Steelbooks are cool but I've yet to see one that doesn't look like an intern slapped it together. Stickers are always good. I suppose DLC is OK. Well...no, not really.

Really though, CEs are starting to come in two flavors; 90's comic book style CEs that put CE on there for no damn reason, and bloated CEs where you're better off piecing together collectibles you actually want from other sources.

Although I do like discount CE hunting. Sometimes you can find some really good prices for some strange stuff. Like the Helghast helmet Kilzone 3 CE I picked up for $20-$25. Or the AC...ummm..whatever game that came with the jack-in-the-box.

I don't buy too many, they have to have something really good for me to want to. Like Last of Us and Mass Effect 3 both came with art books and since they have more imaginative enemy designs that are still kind of grounded in a sense of realism I wanted to see how they came up with them. They were both only $20 extra though which is usually my price ceiling. Though I am spending $100 on the Saints Row 4 CE for the Dubstep Gun.

Not too big on CE's, I'm willing to fork over an extra 20 if the CE has some cool stuff and stuff I'd actually use.

Damn, kay, your gif is giving my phone fits. Covers up half your post. Galaxy Note 2 is what I'm using and haven't had that happen before.

That helped but still off by about 5 characters.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm kind of over them. Other than a full-sized artbook being included plus a good price, I'll probably be passing going forward. Maybe I'll just keep getting the Naughty Dog ones if they continue to have them for their games. All this stuff I get just sits on a shelf somewhere. I guess I'm just not enjoying the collecting as much as I used to.

Also not sure how I feel about gif avatars...

It depends. I won't buy the $200 ones for games like Skyrim that have 2-foot plastic statues, but I will buy ones that have nice artbooks, boxes, and other small collectibles.

Also, depends on the genre. The genre I'm most likely to go for a CE on is Japanese-made RPGs (I hate the usually pejorative term JRPG), and that's because I like those CEs the best. They hit all the right notes with me. I'm getting the Tales of Xillia Collectors' Edition, and I would have the Ni no Kuni Wizards' Edition if not for the screwup at Digital River. Two of my most prized games are the PS1 Working Designs editions of Lunar and Lunar 2.

For the games I really, really want, I also buy CEs because of how ghetto standard game editions are nowadays, especially for so-called AAA games. You get a game disc and a box. No manual. No different, really, than buying a used copy in a paper sleeve from Gamestop. I'll go all out to support games in niche genres, which means buying CEs for me.

Hey, I have those Lunars! Arc The Lad collection too. Those are CEs done correct. And holy crap are people putting ridiculous prices on sealed copies.

pspiddy wrote:Hey, I have those Lunars! Arc The Lad collection too. Those are CEs done correct. And holy crap are people putting ridiculous prices on sealed copies.

Those are still my gold standard for Collectors' Editions. And as I recall, I paid only $50 for them brand new and preordered from Software Etc, at a time when the PS1's top release of 1999, FFVIII, was $50 brand-new at launch, and FFIX was $40 brand new at launch in 2000. But yeah. Nice hardbound manuals, nice boxes, and nice trinkets in a package that fit neatly on the shelf next to my other game cases, and the games inside were quite special.

I miss Working Designs. Damn it, it's just not fair! (sobbing)