At the moment I'm living in Kyoto, Japan for 6 months. My time is almost up, and I will return to the UK in early January next year. Unfortunately, being away for the last 5 months has meant I've missed a number of big game co-op releases, with my biggest dissapointment being Gears of War 3 (and Saints Row 3 a close second). One of the few benefits of having this backlog forced upon me, is that many of the games will drop considerably in price for christmas.
So to be clear, ordinarily I would not buy collector editions of games - for three main reasons:
As I frequently buy games on release date, the cost of a CE version of a game is just too hefty for me I often trade in games and, to me, there is no logic in trading a CE....it's in the name...collector! The stuff that actually comes with a CE is usually of no interest to meNow, I am currently in an interesting position with regards to Gears of War 3 -
The cost of the Gears of War Limited Edition is around $45 right now - very resonable given I'd have bought the 'game only' edition for the sameprice on release day Gears of War 3 is a game that I am likely to keep for some time - with Horde and Beast Modes, and the ongoing DLC to sustain me. Interestingly, the swag with the LE does interest me... I've started to take a liking to in game items making their way into the real world. Hence the COG flag and medal in the set having an interesting talking point and meaning - infact, they are so nice that they can easily be put on display in my house. I think these extra items have added meaning to me because I am actually partly engrossed in the GoW story and universe - this really is a first for me, as I don't usually get caught up in storiesAnother interesting point about the GoW3 LE is that, in my opinion, it makes quite a nice christmas gift. Often I feel slightly embarrsed to ask for a game for christmas (I'm 25 years old, I should be gettnig jumpers!) - but with this, I feel like I'm asking/getting more... it feels more gifty, if that makes any sense.
So in summary, I usually don't think collectors/limited editions are worth the money, but in the unusual set of circumstances that surround me, the Gears of War 3 LE looks quite attractive. So I've learned something new about myself - that if the price is right, the story and univerise engrossing enough and the game is likely to be supported in the future/have significant replayability then a collectors edition is worth it to me.
In fact, the more I think about, the more I'd like to see a collectors edition of the inevitable Left4Dead3 - with some high quality real world item relevant to the game.... wait a minute... I think CCV, in the space of 15 minutes thinking time, has just caused me to change my overall outlook on Collectors Edition!