Are Collector’s Editions Good for the Industry?

Oh, collector’s editions.

Loved by the few, envied by the many, the past few years have seen an impressive number of increasingly extravagant collector’s editions being released onto the market. Most recently, Epic Games announced the release of an Epic edition for Gears of War 3, which comes with a large, high-quality character model of Marcus Fenix, a book of concept art, a display box and medallion replica, a COG flag, five custom skins for in-game weapons, an unlockable Marcus Fenix skin for multiplayer and some other odds and ends for a total retail price of $150. It goes without saying that such an edition represents both a lot of content, and also a fairly high sticker price.