Final Fantasy XIII Collectors Edition
Un-Cloaked & Un-Boxed
by Shadow Wave
©2010 Ben Cadwallader
Just to show we love games, and are true gamers, here’s one of the teams recent acquisitions being unboxed for you, and his opinion on the quality and pricing of it.
We’ve done it before with several Collectors editions, which you’ll find links for at the end of this small item, and we’ll continue to do it, no matter what the platform.
So head over here and check out what the Collectors edition looks like all unpacked.
It’s time! At last! Finally! Hooray! Final Fantasy XIII is finally here! It’s been a long wait since Final Fantasy 10 for a new true Final Fantasy game (yes I’m a FF12 hater).
But there is quite a lot of potential to make Final Fantasy XIII (13) the next true memorable title, not just from its story but also from the graphical advancements that the next gen consoles can provide.
So before I get stuck into playing the most hyped game for the year (stay tuned for an upcoming review) I thought I would unbox my copy of the PAL Collectors Edition (sorry US people) for everyone to see..
Is this Collectors Edition worth the extra money?
NB: Yes this is the PS3 version of the game, I feel the true way to play Final Fantasy is on a Playstation console.
[Ed; See, even us Xboxers can admit that there are games worth playing on the PS3 . . but it's nice to have a version also available finally on the Xbox 360]
• 1 – Here it is, sealed in nice shiny plastic, classic PAL box art shown, looks really nice!
• 2 - Back of the box, after removing the contents of what was inside the cardboard is noticeably weak. This is not a nice box like the Mass Effect Collectors edition box. It’s very thin cardboard.
• 3 – Here is everything that fell out of the box. The lithographs, art book, soundtrack, 2 decals/stickers and the Final Fantasy 13 game with the standard edition box art (Shame on you Square-Enix for not using the traditional PAL Box Art!)
• 4 -The Soundtrack is just in a slip case, inside is a little 2 page booklet detailing the 10 tracks that are on there.
• 5 – Here are the lithographs, pretty much what you see is what you get.
• 6 - Inside the art book, well from the quick flick through of it I couldn’t really find any art in it. It was more just screen shots of the game.
• 7 – And here is the game, it contains quite a large manual, huge kudos for actually putting a coloured manual in a AAA game! Also has some registration card and the single disc.
So we ask, is it ‘really’ worth the money?
IF you were a sucker who walked into an EB Games store and was prepared to pay full RRP for either the standard OR the collectors edition. You would probably say that yes, for the extra $20 it could be worth it for a few extra bonuses.
BUT if you were smart and were trying to find the cheapest possible price, you would find that this week Target is selling the standard edition for AUD$85, thats $55 cheaper than the collectors edition. And then suddenly the Collectors Edition looks like an overpriced box of ‘not worth it’.
No, there aren’t any collectors edition bonuses to get you ahead in the game, its all novelty stuff, and you will have to ask yourself, is $55 really worth it for a book full of screen shots, a bite-sized soundtrack, a sticker and 3 mini posters? Probably not.
But I know all the Final Fantasy fans out there, just like me have already made their decision and wont change their minds. But for those you that are new the series maybe the standard edition is all you need, put the spare $55 on a pre-order for God of War 3, or perhaps buy the strategy guide (which I’m sure will contain most of the images in the art book anyway).
Is this collectors edition worth the money?
NO.
However, as collectors know, price is nothing in the real scheme of things, so to that end, we know that GAME have the Collectors for both PS3 and 360 for less if you get it from their Online Store Front
Xbox360 Final Fantasy XIII Collectors edition
Sony PS3 Final Fantasy XIII Collectors Edition
Plus they also have the neat, Collectors Xbox 360 Final Fantasy XIII Console Bundle – if you’re moved to grab another 360, or your very first one.
Xbox 360 Final Fantasy Bundle Contains:
XBOX360 White Super Elite Console Includes:
- 250GB Hard Drive
- Final Fantasy XIII Standard Version
- 2x Wireless XBOX360 Controllers
- Limited Edition White 360 Elite
- Special Packaging
- XBOX 360 Wired Headset
- Ethernet Cable
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Filed under: Blogbanter, Console gaming, Editorial, GameBanter, PS3 Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | final fantasy 13, Final Fantasy Collectors Edition, Final Fantasy XII, FInal Fantasy XII Collectors Edition, Final Fantasy XIII
i actually like the collectors edition, i wish sony would take a page from MS and other publishers.
all their collectors editions are using the same packaging and come with a DLC code but that is about it, nothing special about that.
infamous, uncharted 2, heavy rain, GOW3 have the same packaging, the cardboard sleeve.
i was really disappointed in those i was hoping for a more extravagant edition like the GTA one.
after all it is called the special edition, what is so special about a piece of cardboard and a DLC costume?
Lol, though some of those special editions you mentioned are sold at standard RRP, a lot cheaper than most cases. I’m not sure how I can justify spending $53 more when the extra goodies are clearly not worth that much.
That said, I’m still going to purchase the CE but feel ripped off at the same time. Hurray!
yea thats true.
but id rather spend a little extra and get something nice like the assassins creed 2 black edition.
that was 160 bucks but worth every penny.
or the god of war 3 collection that thing is beautiful, very expensive at 250 bucks but its beautiful.
i wish developers and publishers would put some thought into their limited editions, put some effort into them.
a cardboard sleeve and a DLC code does not cut it!
So your telling me the actual game case has lightning on the front of it and not the true FFXIII logo?? :O
Well what you ‘see’ is what comes in the CE, as this is what Ben got, so that’s what is in it.
I see you delete any comments which you dont agree with.
OR you deleted my post cos im from the UK. ive that or becouse i disagree. Pritty terrible fora gamng site.
No actually, we do sleep at a different time zone to you guys, you DO know that – don’t you .. .just remember, when you post on sites, not everyone is up when you’re up, and all ‘responcible’ sites vet all incoming comkents before publication due to ‘spam’ . .
we get hundreds of spam comments everyday, and must go through those that slip through the trash and are left in the “pending” section.
SO forgive us for not approving your post “immediately” . . .
Your comments are valid, and we never knock back comments, so long as they are within the Terms Of Use etc.
Gee, I’m kind of disappointed that the art book doesn’t contain as much variety as I have hoped. After learning that Target is going to sell the standard edition for a mere $85, I feel pretty crushed. The lame thing is I will definitely stick with my preorder and waste $138 on the CE, just because I’m one of those so-called ‘hardcore’ fans.
This will be my first and last CE, I reckon. : (
“NB: Yes this is the PS3 version of the game, I feel the true way to play Final Fantasy is on a Playstation console.
[Ed; See, even us Xboxers can admit that there are games worth playing on the PS3 . . but it's nice to have a version also available finally on the Xbox 360]”
Thats got to be to coolest thing I read on the net in a while. Its so nice to see even platform specific places like this one not be bias toward one console just because that what they cover. I too feel that Final Fantasy is a Playstation game and thats where it should be played (if you have the means to). Hats off to you guy for that.
i disagree. Here in the UK the cheapest i can find the game standard editon is only just under £40 about £37 and the CE edition is about £50 cheapest or £55 in most playces so the £10-20 is actully reasonable to me.
But i guess it depends on where abouts you get the stuff.
The Australian dollar is much heavier than you GBP40 = AUD67 and the CE would equate to AUD88 plus shipping if we were to get it from the UK . . . local prices and dollar for dollar conversions never marry up, so even doing a simple conversion like that, does not take into account local taxes, shipping, insurance etc etc which is all then built into the RRP in Australia.
Making our goods almost twice as expensive as those in the US/UK. We’re glad you live in the UK and can get them cheaper, but for us, that $120 – $140 price tag on CE’s is a little too steep when the quality of the product is not up to scratch. Can you see our point now?
I could see the point in the first response. Which is why the end of it says “But i guess it depends on where abouts you get the stuff”
If i lived in AU i wouldnt pay that price for a CE iver, i was just mentioning that in some places it is worth the price.
Fair enough mate, and yes, depending on where one lives, prices can fluctuate a great deal. So when one compares say the Splinter Cell Conviction CE GAME have (see icon on top of front page) for LESS than this CE here, and it delivers much more goods per dollar, you can see why some of these so-called CE’s are simply not worth the money.
I once got one, the Assassin’s Creed 2 White CE, and all it had in it was the figurine, and NOTHING else, yet the Black one had the figurine, art book, cards and other items, yet both cost the same amount. One was clearly just a rip-off for gamers.
For Record: I wasn’t the one to change my title and intro paragraph of ‘Final Fantasy 13″ to Final Fantasy XII (12). One of the editors has made a slight change and typo to what I wrote.
Apologies for this, hopefully one of the editors can fix up this mistake quickly.
error all fixed
I agree, unless your some hardcore fan, what’s in the CE is not that great. I mean sure, having some artwork and a book is nice, but it doesn’t really compare to having a figurine like Ubisoft have done for their other two games (well one technically isn’t out yet). Still, its better than some lame CE which charge that much and offer almost nothing – and at under $140, for a fan, its a bargain. For me, its a pass – Splinter Cell Conviction has an awesome CE bundle.