8 Ways Greed Is Wrecking Modern Gaming
2. Collector's Editions (That Don't Include The Game)
Collector's editions alongside standard releases are now commonplace in gaming. Expensive packages of this kind traditionally surround the game with books, posters, a statue, maybe even some exclusive DLC thrown in.
Big companies love nothing more than to make useless merchandise in overseas sweatshops with child workers on a pittance an hour, and collector's editions are just another excuse for this to happen. At the end of the day, the message is a sleazy one: pay a viciously increased price or you are not a true fan.
The value for money in collector's editions is usually atrocious; CoD: Modern Warfare II, for example, retailed for £119.99 and included such gaming-related items as a plastic set of night-vision goggles and a mannequin head. Even more amazingly, the new Amazon exclusive of the Battlefield 1 Collector's Edition retails without the inclusion of the game itself. For the privilege of actually playing Battlefield 1, victims of this little bargain are forced to pay twice.