The Rise Of Limited Edition Games

John Callaham wrote to mention a piece on Gamecloud discussing the emphasis on 'special' editions of new game titles. From the article: "Games that have some extras in limited releases have been a part of the industry for a few years now. Just last year limited collector's versions of the MMORPGs Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft were released that were packed with extra stuff, from art books to extra DVDs and more. Electronic Arts released a special edition of Medal of Honor Pacific Assault last fall with lots of behind-the-scenes material and an extra weapon not in the regular edition. Midway released a special edition of Mortal Kombat: Deception last fall with extra content as well as the full version of the first Mortal Kombat game. This fall, however, game publishers are releasing more special editions of games than ever before alongside the 'regular' versions of games and they typically cost at least $10 more and in a couple of cases even more than that."

Comments

What's wrong?

[Walker_Boh_Druid]

I see nothing wrong with this. Is someone wants to pay extra so that they can have some artwork, demos, developers notes, previews or "The making of:" videos, let them. If someone wants to leave all that stuff out, and just enjoy a game, that's fine.

Re:What's wrong?

[cgenman]

Can they leave out the manual, put it in a small cardboard sleeve, and shave off 10 dollars from the price? It seems like packaging should be either original and very, very cool, or dirt cheap. Where are the games that come wrapped in a bloody cloth from the game, or that are trapped in a chinese puzzlebox? Or at least have some cool pack-in... even stickers these days would be a rare treat. I never understood why publishers decided to stop with the cool free advertising of sticker pack-ins, but keep making 50-page utterly, utterly useless manuals that nobody ever reads. I know how to put a disk into my Playstation, thanks.

Re:What's wrong?

[realityfighter]

See, I remember the halcyon days when games were expected to come with extra material like this. Even the grail diary that came with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which was part of a primitive form of copy protection, added to the game. You got to literally pore through the grail diary looking for clues, and taking in all sorts of gorgeous artwork and background info. (LucasArts was particularly good at designing these props - probably since they had some movie art designers in the house.)

Extra content like credits, extra scenes, or "making of" stuff was unlocked by actually playing the game, maybe also entering a cheat code. (Actually, you can unlock DVD-like developer commentary in Sly Cooper by beating those gawddamn evil time trials. It replaces the level background music as you run through it.) I have no idea why, at the insane price point games have got to these days, we can't put more "premium" content in the box for everyone.

Re:What's wrong?

[toad3k]

Yeah I agree with this. Extras are one thing. But when you change the gameplay...

Supposedly black and white 2 is going to have extra creatures for people who buy the special editions. If that is the case, I'm not sure I want to buy a crippled version for the normal price. What if I like it, I'm not going to go out and buy the special version afterwards to get the full experience.

And I definitely don't want to risk paying above and beyond the normal for a game that may not live up to its hype in the first place.

When I see stuff like this happening, it kind of makes me want to sit on the sidelines and see where it all goes before I act.

Re:What's wrong?

[billcopc]

This brings up the lovely issue of piracy. Let's say you buy the "crippled" version, like it, and want to see what more is to be had from the special edition. You can either pay for the same game AGAIN with the "special" extras, or fire up a P2P app and download a cracked copy "for evaluation purposes only". You like the new stuff, and burn the cracked special edition to disc for safe keeping. At least you paid for the original game, so you're not 100% evil, right ?

Six months later, another game comes out with the same crippled/premium edition distinction. Rememorating your experience with the previous title, you decide to leech the premium edition from Kazaa right away, because you know the standard edition is a rip-off. Game company makes zero, and you're a dirty rotten foul-smelling groggy pirate from hell. Boo hoo.

If the game companies insist on charging for the additional content, then maybe they could release a single version of the game in stores, and then offer an add-on as a downloadable purchase. Black & White 2, for 50$, and buy the extra creatures for 10$ from the company's web site. The irony is that they would probably make as much profit from the add-on as they do from the retail game, as they are cutting out the middle-men.

I will never cease to be shocked at the ridiculous costs of gaming. I remember many years ago when I was a young overpaid techie, I popped $500 on a PS2, and happily forked over another $50-60 for each game, until I realized I had invested well over two thousand dollars into something that provides merely a few hours of entertainment per week. That same money could have afforded me hundreds of nights at the cinema, many many music albums, or a healthy serving of any other conventional form of entertainment. The music industry is certainly healthy enough to heavy-hand every other artist on the planet. The film industry is happily giving billions away to Scientology year after year. Why is the game industry collapsing ?

I think the game industry is failing because it is trying to mimic its older siblings in the entertainment business. You can't sell a game like you would a movie or new artist. You can't just flash T&A, throw in a dash of racism and gang violence and make it into a blockbuster hit. You can't follow the same marketing principles and practices and expect to make money.

Let's make it simple: if games cost half what they cost today, I would buy more than double, in part because I would feel less monetary guilt for every purchase. Look at what goes into the retail price, trim off the fat and restrategize. Do I really need to walk into EBGames to see the pretty boxes ? Does the experience add to the game itself ? Not at all. Do the cinematic frame grabs on the back of the box give me any idea how much fun I will be having ? Often the contrary. Does the flashy embossed T&A on the cover make it a better product ? Sorry, I don't get off on triangle-boobed high-elf priestesses. Now stop laundering the publisher's money and give me what I want for a change.

Not surprising at all.

[Xizer]

DVD "special editions" have always raked in the cash, so it's not surprising the game industry is copying this formula. Every industry copies things from another. I'm just worried that special editions may start containing too much extra stuff and the regular editions of games may end up being half-assed.

Re:Not surprising at all.

[Haeleth]

What if there were more guns in half-life2 or special playmodes online for quake. Or a special class in WoW. People will flock to the limited edition then. Wouldn't even think twice.

Would WoW really be more fun if the first thousand people to preorder the game got a special class to use? Nope, it would just mean that anyone using the special class got special attention from griefers.

Adding fundamental gameplay advantages to a limited edition will only alienate customers who missed out on it.

Besides, I wasn't aware that Blizzard were left with warehouses full of the limited edition as it was. Seems to me they judged it about right.

Episode 2

[AcheronHades]

I would be more willing to pay extra for additional game content. For example the extra multi-player maps for Halo 2. That was nice.

And then big wigs in the game industry are talking about serializing games. Think of Eternal Darkness where a new scenario comes out every month, each one costs $10.

Extra content can be worth a slight premium..sure.

[shakezula]

Why not? I've bought a few of these "limited" type games in the last few years, the first being the "Collector's Edition" of Diablo 2. The most recent was the afformentioned Mortal Kombat Deceptions. The Diablo box set was well worth the extra $12. It contained enough junk that I later sold and recouped 80% of the original purchase price via eBay and kept the actual game cds/keys.

I think the extra stuff is a nice premium IF its not just cheesy extras and cut-scenes on the same media as the game install. Physical trinkets make the $10 or so worth spending if you are really in to the game you are purchasing. Then again, I'd gladly pay $10 or so less for JUST the game for two thirds of the titles I consider purchasing.

Catching up to Japan

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like gaming companies here are finally realizing that giving away limited edition swag in games will boost sales.

It's been working in japan for years.

Look at Skies of Arcadia for the dreamcast when it released in Japan.

You got a Leather strap with a logo from the game, a bandana that is an acctual item in the game, a cell phone strap, an art book, and some limited edition artwork as well.

Or look at Gran Turismo 4. You could buy a limited edition that came with a pair of Nike Sneakers! http://www.jp.playstation.com/game/granturismo/

GTA hot coffee edition ;)

[TheLink]

Thing is, which one is the limited edition? The new one or the old one? :)

"Limited" can mean more than one thing.

[H0NGK0NGPH00EY]

One time I was browsing through the bargain bin at the local electronics store and I saw a copy of Deus Ex. This was a few years after it had come out, and I hadn't played it still, but I had heard it was pretty good so I figured I could spring $10 for it. Better still, it was a "Limited edition."

So I bring it home and fire it up, only to discover that what is "limited" about it isn't the number of copies they published, but the amount of the actual game that was on the CDs. It was essentially a 1-level demo version. I was pretty pissed that they would use the phrase "limited edition" like that.

At least the story has a happy ending, because I just threw away the CD and downloaded the full version over p2p.

Hardly a new thing...

[bluemeep]

It's not like this is a phenomena that sprung up overnight...

Four years ago, I bought the special edition of Morrowind, which netted me a soundtrack, pewter figurine and art book. Back in high school, I bought the limited Might and Magic 6 box. Came with the entire series up until that point, maps and an entry form for an enormous lithograph of the cover art (which I won :D). And back in elementary school, my grandpa bought me the special trilogy pack of Hugo's House of Horrors, which came with hand-printed hint books.

Basiclly, if I really like the game/series, I'm probably going to shell out a little more for little goodies like that.