We've seen quite a few stateside LE/CE releases over the past year (Doom III, Halo 2, Mortal Kombat Deception, Madden, Splinter Cell CT, etc.) for some very big mainstream games. Even more are coming (Death Jr, Ultimate Spider-Man), which means this trend is continuing. Nothing new really, but in the past, limited editions were relegated to PC games, Japan-specific titles, and the infrequent Working Designs release. They're mainstream now and they're here to stay.
I actually see the enthusiast retailers helping this market to grow, as outlets like EB come to the realization "We're not making much margin off the pre-order crowd. If we help underwrite the tacking-on of a few inexpensive extras, up the price another $10, and guarantee these sales via preorders, we stand to increase our margins. WE CAN'T LOSE!!!" As publishers see resistance to initial $60 MSRP's, they also stand to see an increase in profit, sometimes on extras that cost very little to produce. Many of these incentives are already either manufactured in another region or manufactured as promo items for press and trade show attendees. THEY CAN'T LOSE!!
And I want it. I want more limited editions with crap for "collectors". But even I rarely preorder a game to get the special bonus. Why? The incentives are boring. In general, they consist of an extra DVD or CD of material that often doesn't interest me. Some games (Silent Hill 3 and God of War) do this by default. Cheers to them. Other often boring incentives: tiny pewter figurines, cloth maps, shit-quality art books, half-assed metal tin packaging, demos/trailers that are just marketing materials masquerading as bonuses.
What do I want? PLASTIC TRINKETS. Yep. I want cell phone straps, special carrying cases, action figures. I like the clever shit: Pac Man stylus, Snake Kubricks, Katamari cell phone strap, high quality, well designed packaging. Bonuses and collector goods like THIS:
And this (not a pre-order bonus per se, but still):
And make this shit LIMITED. Not limited to 50,000 copies! That's could be your entire print run! Make it special. Special enough to be coveted by collectors, not for sale in the EBGames used rack.
So, after ALL THAT nonsense, I still have the question: What will it take to get YOU to buy a Limited/Collector's Edition?
I actually see the enthusiast retailers helping this market to grow, as outlets like EB come to the realization "We're not making much margin off the pre-order crowd. If we help underwrite the tacking-on of a few inexpensive extras, up the price another $10, and guarantee these sales via preorders, we stand to increase our margins. WE CAN'T LOSE!!!" As publishers see resistance to initial $60 MSRP's, they also stand to see an increase in profit, sometimes on extras that cost very little to produce. Many of these incentives are already either manufactured in another region or manufactured as promo items for press and trade show attendees. THEY CAN'T LOSE!!
And I want it. I want more limited editions with crap for "collectors". But even I rarely preorder a game to get the special bonus. Why? The incentives are boring. In general, they consist of an extra DVD or CD of material that often doesn't interest me. Some games (Silent Hill 3 and God of War) do this by default. Cheers to them. Other often boring incentives: tiny pewter figurines, cloth maps, shit-quality art books, half-assed metal tin packaging, demos/trailers that are just marketing materials masquerading as bonuses.
What do I want? PLASTIC TRINKETS. Yep. I want cell phone straps, special carrying cases, action figures. I like the clever shit: Pac Man stylus, Snake Kubricks, Katamari cell phone strap, high quality, well designed packaging. Bonuses and collector goods like THIS:
And this (not a pre-order bonus per se, but still):
And make this shit LIMITED. Not limited to 50,000 copies! That's could be your entire print run! Make it special. Special enough to be coveted by collectors, not for sale in the EBGames used rack.
So, after ALL THAT nonsense, I still have the question: What will it take to get YOU to buy a Limited/Collector's Edition?