Thoughts on Destiny’s Special Editions
If you have bought a game in the past few years, you know the multiple options you have. There is obviously the “normal” version which just includes the game but what else can there possibly be to create not one, but multiple “higher” versions of the same game and not only that, but charge a lot more for the same game?
Let’s take a look at Destiny. Destiny for those of you who don’t know is a game releasing on August 9th, 2014 from Bungie (creators of the Halo Franchise). Click HERE for more information on the game.
Yesterday, Bungie announced the different versions of the game being released. There are 3 “Special Editions”: The Digital Guardian Edition, Limited Edition and The Ghost Edition. The Digital Guardian Edition is retailing for $89.99, the Limited Edition comes in at $99.99 and the Ghost Edition comes in at a whopping $149.99. There is also an expansion pass that retails for $34.99 and includes the first 2 expansions (it is included with all 3 of the special editions).
The Digital Guardian Edition is simply just the game and the expansion pass, which does make sense if you think you are going to purchase the expansions down the line anyway. If you were to buy the expansions singularly, each one is going to retail for $19.99. So in total if you bought everything separately, you’d spend $99.97 OR $94.98 for the regular edition plus the expansion pass. The next 2 special edition’s price tags make a lot less sense.
The Limited Edition comes with the following (taken from HERE): Limited Edition SteelBook™ Case and Game Disc, Guardian Folio, “Arms and Armament” Field Guide, Postcards from the Golden Age, Antique Star Chart, A Unique Ghost Casing, An Exclusive Player Emblem and An Exclusive Player Ship Skin.
INCLUDES THE DESTINY EXPANSION PASS
The only things that are useful to the player from a gameplay standpoint are the digital items you get, everything else are extra physical items that do little more than sit on a shelf and for that, you pay $10 more than the Digital Guardian Edition. It doesn’t seem that bad when you break it down like this but considering the items are most likely cheaply made (I can’t be sure on this yet, but when I unbox my Limited Edition I will be sure to make a follow-up post), it costs Bungie almost nothing to mass produce the items.
Then there is the Ghost Edition that comes with the following (taken from HERE): Ghost Replica, Limited Edition SteelBook™ Case and Game Disc, Guardian Folio, “Arms and Armament” Field Guide, Postcards from the Golden Age, Antique Star Chart, A Unique Ghost Casing, An Exclusive Player Emblem and An Exclusive Player Ship Skin.
INCLUDES THE DESTINY EXPANSION PASS
The ONLY thing that is different here is the Ghost Replica (I believe the Ghost is like your companion in the world of Destiny, think Navi from Zelda Ocarina of Time (Click HERE for more). What exactly is one supposed to do with a Ghost Replica? I guess display it on a shelf but for $50 more for what comes down to a dust collector, personally, I can’t justify the price. Apparently they are only making a limited amount of Ghost Editions but there is no way the package will gain value in the long term as an opened box. If you’re planning on not playing the game and not opening a Ghost Edition it may possibly be worth something to someone at sometime. If you have that kind of money to buy a Ghost and a Limited then go for it but for your average gamer, the Ghost Edition seems to be a lot of money for nothing.
I am fully aware that as I get older, I am becoming more cynical and money conscious but it’s a hard sell for anyone at $150 for a bunch of physical items that are essentially useless except as a shelf item or conversation starter.