It's about what they represent, and screw Gamespot for not letting me put ' in the title.

I woke up early in the morning a few days ago (that is, around 2 PM) and started the daily ritual of reading gaming news.

There's some news about the Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition – night vision goggles! I'm like, whoa, that's one of the coolest bundles ever!

So I start reading further down the page, eagerly anticipating the positive response of the community.

Pictured: the positive response of the community.

Wait, what?

I spent about two hours reading about these goggles on various sites and forums. Obviously, there were some people thinking this is a cool idea, but most posts were something along the lines of: Who would want to spend so much on a ***** device that won't work? *insert two paragraphs about NVG goggles price and technology* Activision sucks, gamers are ****, whoever buys this is a 15 year old *****. Also, ****.

Holy ****, looks like the Syndrome of the Mature Gamer strikes again!

Now, the goggles certainly have some sort of functionality. My guess is they have IR LEDs (like those in the security cameras) and also require a bit of ambient light (moonlight, for example). This is very cheap, you can actually salvage an old digital video camera and build such a device. It's obviously primitive, circa 1960, but it's a fun toy.

Captain Obvious wakes up from cryo-sleep and stumbles upon capitalism

Most people seem to expect... no, demand goddamn Gen3 goggles, that are 1) more expensive than my house and 2) banned for civilians in a lot of countries. And there are some that feel downright insulted by the addition of such a toy in the super-duper edition:

(tinypic link to this pic, because Lamespot's format SUCKS. Or right click - view image.)

Contrary to popular belief, testicles are actually intelligent nuggets!

It's not about the goggles, it's about what they represent. Activision doesn't demand anyone to buy this Prestige edition, so why do some people feel insulted? Why do they scream that Activision is milking fans?

Activision ins't milking them, it's actually giving them a fantastic treat. You'd have to be stupid not to realise the connection between this toy and Modern Warfare - since the first MW was revealed, night vision is the motif of the series. The green glow and the „sound" are plastered all over the games and the related media. The goggles themselves are COD branded.

What matters for those who buy them isn't their functionality, but what they symbolise. They're a tangible part of the COD universe, a step above the virtual spectacle fans love. Everybody feels the need to have such a link – an autograph or an action figure fulfills the same role. From a psychological standpoint, collecting such items triggers fond memories.

In the case of virtual entertainment (including movies and music), these items also relieve a certain sense of incompletion; when you take a picture during your holiday in Hawaii, it's not the same thing. You've actually physically experienced the trip, so the photo only triggers the pleasant memories. When you watch a movie or play a game the experience may be awe-inspiring, but on a physical level it's definately incomplete.

That's just the way humans work – we need to physically feel the world around us. That's why James Cameron's Avatar has such a profound impact: the photorealistic 3D is one step closer to making you feel like you're really there.

Anyway, what bothers me is what people expect from the contents of such a box.

Let's analyse some special editions.

Halo 3, Legendary Edition. Ships with a Master Chief helmet that acts as some sort of badass cover for the game (you extract the discs from MC's head!). Bungie pointed out from the very beginning that the helmet is basically just a very cool looking box, but a lot of people don't care. They want to wear the helmet.

Their demands are pointless. Sure, it would be cool to wear a MC helmet. But being pissed that you can't when this product was never intented to be used like this is stupid. Just think about it. You know what you buy – why are you criticising it then? It's like buying a car without air conditioner and then being upset you didn't receive one.

You may also notice a sad contradiction: people want to wear the helmet, yet complain that you can use the MW2 goggles instead of just hanging them on that plastic head.

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Anno 1404, Collector's Edition. This one comes in a fantastic wooden chest, it has a totally awesome old-fashioned compass, a poster, a book, a bonus DVD and a linen sack with almond seeds.

People somehow complain about this package, because of the seeds – they're stupid and pointless.

Well, I think they're a perfect addition to the rest of the package. Anno 1404 is about the contact between the Occident and the Orient. Almonds were a precious and exotic trade resource. They perfectly fit the theme of the game and its fundamental principles – trade, exploration, discovery, exotism. And they also come in a little bag that looks like it was made in 1404.

Seriously, it bothers me that people don't actually think about such items. Or better said, they don't think about their meaning, but about a way to physically use them. Spiritual, abstract signification isn't valued anymore in the modern society.

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So here's a collector's edition that seems downright moronic: the Mark of Chaos Collector's Edition. Eurogamer's Alec Meer spent two paragraphs making fun of it (after he complains that an enemy unit constantly throws axes despite not having a bag of them, probably not realising he's reviewing a Warhammer game).

This package contains a bunch of goodies and three sheets of blank white cradboard with holes in them.

This is where you're like WTF. But these sheets of cardboard are an amusing reference to the Warhammer miniatures – you have to paint them and treat them like jewelry or something. It's a little piece of Warhammer lore and a semi-serious easter egg. I guess for many people it's hard to understand this, but chances are that if you play MoC, a pretty obscure strategy game, you already know a thing or two about this universe. If you do, the cardboard sheets don't seem that stupid anymore. And anyway, only Warhammer fans would buy this edition of the game.

Complaining about the cardboards is like complaining that you must paint your miniatures. It's stupid, I don't even have to explain it further.

You know, fans would never complain about the content of a collector's edition. They understand the symbolic meaning of the contents. It's sad that non-fans attack them, and it's even sadder when they are downright offended by the contents of these boxes.

The most used argument is „I don't need item X! Why are they selling it?".

News flash: you don't need the game either. They're all toys and games. They float somewhere high above Maslow's pyramid (and yes, I know this hierarchy is outdated).

Anyway, let's end this with the greatest Limited Edition ever, the Stalker: Clear Sky Russian LE...

That blue ball is "an artifact", I think it's a keychain. The lighter is a custom metallic Zippo (I think ARMA2's CE has one as well), there's a dog tag, textile patches for military (or not) clothes, a map, two bandanas and a bonus disk. It's 100 dollars on Ebay and 1000 roubles in Russia, which Google says it's the equivalent of 30 dollars.

I don't think I have to explain the references to the military atmosphere of Stalker.