Limited/Collector's/Premium Edition Games: Do you buy them?

[Josh Parr]

I've started picking up all the premium versions of games, and rebuying the special versions of my 360 games.  I know that is a bit anal, but some of the games have some really nice pack-ins, like Assassins Creed, Bioshock and others.  Some are really hard to find like Bioshock and Mass Effect.    I love 'em but the collector in me is the reason I buy them. What is everyone else's idea on those?

[G.A.Pster]

I like them but they have to be good, some are worse looking than a normal edition game (like splinter cell double agent it has a stupid red sleeve over it, and how the one for oblivion came in a cardboard case)
Pretty much it comes down to what it comes with and what the case looks like (I’m a sucker for metal cases, )

[Josh Parr]

I'm not a huge fan of the special disk only Limited Editions. I normally only get those when the price is cheap and they are complete.

I don't have a large number of Limited Editions right now for my 360.  It is kind of limited but the ones I have are nice.

Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition - The music cd that is packed in isn't the best but the lockbox, duffell bag, and Rockstar keychain make up for it.
Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion Collector's Edition - Even with it being a cardboard box, I really like having the coin and other packins for the game.  I really really enjoy that game so it's definitely worth it.
Halo 3: Legendary Edition - I originally had this preordered when it was $100, and they raised the price on me, so I dropped it.  I picked it up from Amazon when they had a huge sale on them for $69.99.  The helmet and stand are worth that by themselves. The other special content is great.
Assassins Creed: Limited Edition - Probably one of my favorite collector's editions. I caught this at GameStop, surprisingly complete.  The discs were in perfect condition and the packins looked untouched.  The little Altair figurine and Penny Arcade creators comic book was awesome. The mini-strategy guide is very nice as well.
Gears of War: Limited Edition - The artbook alone made it worth it, and the case is very nice to have.
Prey: Limited Edition - The little cast iron figures are pretty good and the metal case is good too, and since I only paid $12 for a complete one, was definitely worth it.
Perfect Dark Zero: Limited Edition - The metal tin is really cool, but other than that it isn't anything super special.  I mainly picked it up because I could get it for $5 at a yard sale.  It was still sealed so that was kind of cool.

For my copies of Prey, Oblivion and Gears of War I'm going to get replacement cases, so I can put the collector's edition boxes on display sort of.  That way I can keep all my games together in one area easier to get to.  Oblivion's box isn't that bad, but if I'm doing it for those might as well do it for that one too.  Luckily Assassins Creed and Grand Theft Auto IV and others came with regular cases inside of their collector boxes.

The ones I'm still looking to pick up in order:
Bioshock
Fallout 3: Collector's Edition (Not the amazon survival edition.  I'm not paying an extra $50 for a clock.)
Fable 2: Limited Edition
Gears of War 2: Limited Edition

[Brian Moy]

You might wonder why there have strangely been no replies from myself on this topic.

Well, I don't honestly pay attention to the new stuff so I actually didn't know there was so much LE's/CE's/PE's made available.  Since I didn't know they exist, it means I don't buy em.  I'm not really a collector anyways, I just play what I like.

[Josh Parr]

Yeah, I normally only buy the collector's of games I really like or I really enjoyed previous games in the series. Lately I haven't been playing much of the new stuff, been playing a lot of and some .

UPDATE: Just picked up a sealed copy of the Mass Effect: Limited Edition for a decent price.  I can't wait, that game is awesome.

[LeRolls]

Last Collector's Edition I bought was Batman: Arkham Asylum. Of course I got it for $45 so that might be why.

[drale]

I don't pay attention much but I guess there isn't special editions enough for me to notice. If I really like the game I'll find out from the hype.

Half-Life 2 collector edition PC, came with tshirt and concept art book and such.
Quake 4 PC with tshirt.
Lunar Silver Star Story Complete collector edition with making of videos, a book, and a map I think. I got it for christmas, one of those "you might like this" gifts. I'm not super into RPGs so I never got very far, though it seemed like a good game. I think about how on ebay they go for $80+, but I'd hate to sell it having never beat it.
If there is a preorder with a tshirt I usually get it. Got Tekken 3 shirt, FFVII shirt, and BF2 shirt.

[Brian Moy]

I don't pay attention much but I guess there isn't special editions enough for me to notice. If I really like the game I'll find out from the hype.

Half-Life 2 collector edition PC, came with tshirt and concept art book and such.
Quake 4 PC with tshirt.
Lunar Silver Star Story Complete collector edition with making of videos, a book, and a map I think. I got it for christmas, one of those "you might like this" gifts. I'm not super into RPGs so I never got very far, though it seemed like a good game. I think about how on ebay they go for $80+, but I'd hate to sell it having never beat it.
If there is a preorder with a tshirt I usually get it. Got Tekken 3 shirt, FFVII shirt, and BF2 shirt.

The version of Lunar Silver Star by  came only as the collector's edition.  Didn't come in a regular version without the extras, besides the Fan Art Edition which actually was harder to come by than the Collector's Edition.  The  version of Lunar, although a very long winded and slow paced game, actually felt quicker than the CD version because the CD version of Lunar has battles in the overworld, where the  just has battles in the dungeons, but overworld completely free of enemies.

Also, a complete Lunar Silver Star Story Complete sad to say is only going for around $30-$40 right now.  I had a complete copy I sold as a vendor at this year's for $40.  Good time to buy the rare games if you have the budget with many prices down because of the economy.  I think any  published games are worth keeping just because of the quality of detail they put in to their packages.

[drale]

Darn. Yea I got the regular with all the stuff not the Fan Art Edition. I see a sealed Fan Art Editions $70-$200, one unopened. Looking at the prices again for the complete package version range from $30-$100 between bids and buy nows. With the ones on bids still in the 40s. Buy-nows obviously set high. Not sure if there is any effect on collector value with the various discs. On this page I got the 00628c, 00899c style.

[drale]

ArsTechnica has put up an article about collector edition games.
"Collector's editions seem to be growing, in terms of both size and popularity, but is anyone actually buying these expensive and extravagant sets? Ars talks with David Riley from the NPD Group to see, and looks at the value of some of the upcoming collector's editions."

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/11/worth-the-money-the-gaming-collectors-edition-trend.ars

[G.A.Pster]

I saw that there’s a super special edition of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 that comes with a set of functioning night vision goggles.

[Josh Parr]

Yeah I played around with those nightvision goggles. Definitely more of a toy than anything else. Also, if you have friends that are jerks, don't put those on in a room that has bright lights. Does that ever hurt when they turn the lights on.