I will unlock a new portion of the complete list every week, but I'll start by releasing two items, since one of them is a repeat from my last blog, and the catalyst for this list.
TOP 10 CURRENT TRENDS IN GAMING I WISH WOULD DIE ALREADY:
#10. PASSCODES FOR RETRO RE-RELEASES - its 2009 folks, not 1985. Passcodes were rediculous and frustrating eons ago, and they have no place in retro re-releases today. If you're going to charge any sum for a 15-20 year old game, please take the 5 minutes and 1 block of memory to offer a proper save function.
#9. SUBSTANDARD "COLLECTOR'S EDITION" JUNK - anyone who purchased the Assassin's Creed Collectors Edition knows exactly what I'm talking about. Who wants an Altair figurine that comes broken? Useless posters that I get for $5 anywhere also don't augment the pricing of a "collector's set". A disc of interviews and extra content is nice, but c'mon, lets take more than 5 minutes to throw it together eh? Back in the day, a collector's Edition might have come with leatherbound artbooks, soundtrack CD, interviews, and extras (Lunar & Lunar 2 had ALL of that!). Many come in spiffy tin cases (Halo2, FFXII etc) which is cool, but I need more. It seems people can be bought with cheap posters, plastic figurines, and little else. Look, if you want me to pay upwards of $20 extra for a "collector's edition", a leatherbound art book and disc of extra material is the bare minimum of my expectations.
#8. coming soon
#7. coming soon
#6. coming soon
#5. coming soon
#4. coming soon
#3. coming soon
#2. coming soon
#1. coming soon
Comments
The thing that intrigues me most though are new series receiving a collector's edition. I mean, I'd think a collector's edition would presume a somewhat loyal fan ban, willing to pay more for the new game of their series. Metal Gear, Zelda, Silent Hill, Resident Evil and other major series are well worth of collector's edition but Bioshock? I mean, no one knew if would be a good game when it released, a collector's edition can't please fans because there are no friends prior to the release date.
@ HERVIROSS 2 - I hope they did. Of the three people I know of whom bought the Assissin's Creed collectors pack, two of the three came with the Altair figurine already broken, and the third managed to break his pretty easily, it fell on his carpet, and broke (the arm seemed to be flimsy from what I remember)
@ AKHORAHILL - I don't own a tone of collector's editions, but I have had a few. I don't mind them if I get them used, complete, and on the cheap, but I hate forking out an extra $20-$30 and being dissapointed with the product extras. And great point about traditional series, it honestly never occured to me. Come to think of it, I probably would pay extra for collectors editions of Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda games, but yeah, collectors eds of random one-off action titles, lol, no thanks!
The best item I've gotten with a game lately was the hardcover art book for Dead Space, and that was only a pre-order giveaway, and came free!! (and it was better than most collectors ed material I've seen lately)
On a side note, while I don't always buy collector's editions, I absolutely WILL NOT purchase greatest hits or players choice versions of games. I hate that I don't get the original packaging, and I'm anal about having all my games match nicely, LOL.
@ DARK BEING - thats actually not on the list, but it very well and probably should have been, and you've got a very valid point there...generic choices or lazy writing/design is definitely a proplem.
@ DCHISPIRTLE - yeah, that Big Daddy figure that came with BioShock was definitely pretty cool, and certainly of superior quality to say, Assassin's Creed Altair figure. Still, the leatherbound art book I got with DeadSpace has been my favorite "extra" for the last while, and it was a pre-order giveaway with the regular edition!
lazyhoboguy
rest of comment coming soon......