As fall rolls around, we see a lot of these ‘special’ or ‘collectors’ edition game packages. They started out usually with a second disc for an extra $10 that had some behind the scenes stuff. This kind of thing really isn’t worth the extra amount of money you pay since a lot of the time you can get the same stuff from Marketplace sometime post-release.
Now, however, we’re starting to see $20 extra bundles that come with some extra trinket, an extra disc with videos and sometimes an art book or map or something along those lines. If you’re a fan of that particular game, maybe spending the extra $20 for the toy in the box is worth it to you and if you’re just a casual fan of the franchise, you go with the regular edition.
In recent releases, though, we’ve started to see the special editions come with extra in-game content. Extra maps and outfits are common now. Take Far Cry 2, if you get the special edition version you will get six bonus missions which adds three hours of game play. Gears of War 2’s special edition will come with a golden Lancer usable during multiplayer, Battlefield Bad Company also came with some extra weapons.
In general, adding some new unique in-game content is the most exciting thing we’ve seen being added to these new special edition SKUs. That is, as long as it doesn’t disrupt the balance of the game and create a rift between the haves and the have nots especially in multiplayer. So far, this balance has been upheld but now we come to the newly announced Call of Duty 5 : World at War Collectors Edition.
The just announced COD5 Collectors Edition has the typical geek collector things that an über-fan of the franchise would expect. You get a branded stainless steel water canteen and an extra large metal box which you can use to store your previous Call of Duty titles in along with COD5.
However the Collectors Edition also comes with balance shifting in-game content being advertised as “Day 1 Edge” . With this edition, you will receive a Level 45 FG 42 Machine Gun to use in multiplayer against people who didn’t shell out $70 for the Collectors Edition SKU. Further, there will be an exclusive “Double XP” week where Collectors Edition owners can earn double experience points boosting their levels and promotions twice as fast as people who didn’t buy the Collectors Edition.
Is this wrong? Personally I feel this is going too far. Having balance shifting items in a Collectors Edition creates that divide between the haves and have nots. Why should people who don’t want to spend an extra $20 for $5 worth of extra stuff be subject to being mowed down on the battlefield by people using weapons 45 levels ahead of them? This is a gross misuse of bonus content to try and get people to spend an extra $20 on a game during a time where the market is already over-crowded with top shelf releases. Activision should at least make available the weapon for purchase on Marketplace for $2 or something so the have nots can at least still compete.
