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Let’s Talk About Collector’s Editions of Video Games

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Back in 2007, the hype surrounding Halo 3 was massive. This was going to be the biggest and best-selling media launch of all-time. In particular, the hardest of hardcore gamers were salivating over the Legendary Edition of Halo 3, which featured of all things, a miniature replica of Master Chief’s helmet. Video game collector’s editions were still new at the time, and we’d never seen anything this epic (or expensive) before.

Part of the appeal in the Legendary Edition was the fact that it was supposed to be super rare. Instead, it stands as one of the biggest jokes in the short history of video game collector’s editions. I can name multiple stores in my city that have these in stock right now, collecting dust on the shelf at 1/3 of the original asking price. Even at that price point, retailers still can’t rid of them. If you paid $150 for it at launch in hopes of getting something truly special, I bet you’re bitter that the monetary and financial value of this set has dropped dramatically.

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My ‘Do Want’ List of Q4 2010 Video Game Releases

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For gamers, the most wonderful time of the year starts right about now. Most of 2010’s biggest games are set to drop between September and December, including the likes of Halo: Reach and Call of Duty: Black Ops. As a kid, this used to be the time of year when I would fawn over each hot new release as they hit stores and make sure come Christmas time, it would make it on my wish list. Ever since I grew up and started working though, Santa has had a horrible time trying to get me stuff, because I have a bad habit of buying every game I want the day it comes out.

While I don’t see myself grabbing Halo: Reach or Call of Duty: Black Ops, which will likely be the biggest games out during this time-frame, that doesn’t mean I won’t have anything to play. Off the top of my head, I listed a few games I’m looking forward to getting my hands on when they hit stores later this year.

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Pick Up Post: I Bought A Playstation 3 That Supposedly Does Everything

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During the final day of Fan Expo, I came across a deal I couldn’t refuse. 20% off PS3 consoles, 30% games and 40% off accessories. I’ve been eying the PS3 for some time now, and initially had plans on waiting for the new SKUs to drop so that I could get the soon-to-be old 120 gig version for cheaper. However, 20% off would actually make it cheaper than what I was expecting the price drop to be, and the discounts on games and accessories only sweetened the deal. Before Fan Expo was over, I walked away with a PS3 Slim, an extra controller, an HDMI cable and Little Big Planet.

I’m not going to use this post to talk about the software lineup. I just wanted to share with you my experiences with the hardware and my first impressions of the Playstation 3 experience.
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Tony Hawk: Ride Hits Rock Bottom

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Less than a year after Tony Hawk: Ride launched in this region for $120, the value of the game has hit what will likely be its rock bottom. At HMV, new copies of Tony Hawk: Ride with the board are now only $20, which is a crazy 85% drop in price. I haven’t seen a price drop this drastic since I bought Rock Revolution for $3, which was 95% off the original price. Meanwhile, every other retailer I’ve seen that isn’t blowing this game out still has a stack of them collecting dust. Why must retailers go to such drastic measures to get this game off shelves?
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Using ‘Cost Per Hour’ to Determine the Value of a Game

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Over the past few years of following podcasts, message boards and reviews, there seems to be this weird metric that creeps into discussions in one way or another. For the purposes of this post, I will refer to it as ‘cost per hour’. It’s a metric that people directly or indirectly use to judge a game’s value based on how much it costs and how long the experience is. I will express it with the following formula:

Value = Cost of Game/Number of Hours Played

In a perfect world, where money directly translates into valuable experiences, these types of metrics could work as a means of judging a game’s value. However, this logic is flawed, because neither cost or value variables are consistent. You can’t make a blanket statement saying that Limbo is too expensive at $15 dollars because it’s only a 3-hour experience, because it might go on sale, someone may take longer/shorter to beat it, and subjective opinion may say that their time with it was totally worth that price.

The price you pay for that experience and the length of that experience are viable factors in determining a game’s value, but not the whole picture. However, what if we did take away all of the other factors? Is it possible to come up with a consensus cost per hour rate to determine whether or not a game is worth it? I take a few examples from my collection and crunch the numbers to find out.

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Pick Up Post: Nintendo Wii Fightstick By Hori

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Wii owners with a fighting game itch have very little to scratch it. While Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is awesome and there are no shortage of Street Fighter games on Virtual Console, it still pales in comparison to the plethora of fighting games on the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3. On top of that, joystick options are limited too. All Wii owners have are the Mad Catz SE fightstick packed in with Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, the Hori Wii fightstick and the Intec Combat Arcade Stick, which I don’t trust one bit.

I still want the Mad Catz stick, but in my country I can only get it with Tatsunoko vs. Capcom; a game I already have. Instead, I grabbed the Nintendo Wii Fightstick by Hori. My experience with Hori has been hit and miss, but after putting it through its paces, this one thankfully is in the former category.

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5 Things I’m Looking Forward To At FanExpo

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FanExpo is only a few days away and I can barely hold in my excitement. My girlfriend and I are in for a whole new experience by partaking in this event, and I just want to soak it all in. With that said, there are a few things I’m a bit more pumped about than others. If you’re heading out to FanExpo, hit the cut to see if we’re psyched for the same things. If you currently have no plans to visit, these might be 5 reasons you should check out FanExpo.

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Pick Up Post: Tekken 6 Limited Edition

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Up until the rumored announcement of a Namco and Capcom, I didn’t think I would ever own Tekken anything. From my few times playing Tekken games, the gameplay just didn’t appeal to me.

With that said, I now have the limited edition Tekken 6 bundle with fight stick in my house. Huh?
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To Buy or Not To Buy – BlazBlue: Continuum Shift

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I really wanted to like BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, and based on what I knew of the game going in, I thought I would eat it up. Instead, it sat on my shelf because I couldn’t grasp the gameplay. The pacing was a bit slower than I expected. I had a hard time understanding the game’s mechanics. It also didn’t help that every character played completely differently from each other, which meant there wasn’t much in the way of transferable skills. Some of this wasn’t the fault of the game; part of it was a fault in the user. I realized that my Street Fighter knowledge wasn’t as applicable with this game, and that the amount of investment it would take for me to be good at BlazBlue I would rather dedicate to Street Fighter IV instead.

This week, BlazBlue hit store shelves. I have a lot of reasons for just leaving it there. However, a couple of things are tugging at my heart strings (and wallet) to give the series one more shot.
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Pick Up Post: Capcom Takes My Mobile Money

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Capcom is one of my all-time favourite developers and publishers. I have fond memories of playing a bunch of Capcom games outside of their obvious choices, such as Street Fighter and Megaman. This week, they followed Gameloft’s lead and put a bunch of their iDevice games on sale. I highlight a few that I picked up and one you should avoid.

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