3rd game, 3rd press kit. The weakest of'em all...

Another example of stupidly high prices for an item that's not THAT special is this Resistance 3 Press Kit. Just a folded cardboard sleeve holding two separate discs that resemble downscaled vinyls. Look at the number on it... this basically means over 7000 have been made, yet people still pay over 70 for this thing. Ah well... It cost me half that price with shipping included and that's the only reason why I got it in the first place. No matter how much I love these editions, the fact is that I don't have that much money to pay for them. Always digging the best deal out there. It's getting harder and harder to collect these things nowadays... This was supposed to come with toy soldiers on a separate package, but I consider that more like a bonus item since the press kit itself is only the 2 disc case. Besides, I didn't really confirmed this but I believe these toy soldiers are exactly the same that come with the Survivor Edition... if so, then I really don't mind.

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That's fast!

One of the best racers on PSP and one of the reasons why owning the console really is worth it. I don't know why but I really like to see wipeout games on the PSP, they seem to fit the console pretty well. I don't think the same about many other ports or spinoffs that seem more suitable to be played at home with a big screen. This is the Wipeout Puls Press Kit, still factory sealed.

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Persona 2

Persona is one popular RPG series released in  japan for... a long time. The series only arrived in Europe way too late and as usual it didn't get the same treatment in Europe. We get some of the games once in a while, when certain independent publishers randomly decide to bring these titles to Europe. This one was borught by Ghostlight. I am very happy to know that these companies exist in Europe, otherwise we wouldn't be receiving such games... Persona 2 Collector's Edition for PSP, directly from Ghostlight's website.

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Game and Watch Reborn

Managed to grab this Nintendo DS console press kit. Looks pretty good, the only problem is that it doesn't come with games. It's basically a dossier with pages that contain information about some of the exclusive titles, such as Trauma Center, Braintraining, Tetris and a few others. Some of the games have their own press disc included in the dossier, which is great! Loved it

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Dreamcast portuguese bundles: controller + game!

Just like Master System received the Purple Editions and Mega Drive received certain variants with Mega Drive covers but Genesis carts and manuals (no comments...) and the warranty sticker directly printed in the official cover, Dreamcast also received these little bundles. I believe these weren't available in other countries or if they were then they're extremely scarce and I have not been able to target but a few of them.

The one I recently bought is Crazy Taxi + Controller bundle with themed sleeve. The only thing that provides some exclusivity to these bundles is actually the sleeve. So far I got Crazy Taxi, Virtua Tennis and Another one with just a sticker and the game Rainbow Six included. I know there are others such as the Sega Rally and Space Channel 5 bundles but I am yet to find out more. These were available very cheap when stores decided to get rid of the DC stuff after it died but unfortunately I totally ignored them and now they're much harder to find.

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Saint's Row again... The Third Platinum Pack arrived

I never really paid much attention to Saint's Row, but I have bought the 2nd game's CE and now this particular Platinum edition that dropped to 50% during Amazon's Black Friday's lightning deals. I must say that... The edition is quite weak... The headphones can't be directly connected to the console to be used on live and their quality is... well they say it's good but I'm not quite sure how good it is. The package on PS3 is pretty bad because there's no window showing the headphones and the box is far more simplistic -I'm talking about the PAL UK version. I'm glad I have the 360 version. The contents are nothing more that the OST and a few DLCs also available on other editions. I really didn't like this edition that much, so I rate it 6.5/10 considering its expensive price. Play.com said this was exclusive to them, but Amazon also has it. However, when I heard there was actually a PAL version of this particular edition it was already sold out on Play.com and amazon was selling it for *only* 99.99 pounds. Considering the contents, this is trully only for serious fans in my opinion cause that things' damn expensive!

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Happy Birthday Zelda =)

25 years after the amazing legend was born, we received a special edition 3DS Console to celebrate. I'm not the sort to collect limited edition consoles, but there are too many Zelda nut fans and I decided I should buy this thing before those nut fans go nuts again and prevent me from getting a goodf deal for this console in the future. Better now than ever.

And it's not just the console alone, there's also a special edition of the game with a wiimote bundle. For the price being asked and knowing this is a Zelda game I'd be stupid if I let it go. I have been playing the game and it's pretty good in fact. However, I can't get used to the controllers so for this particular reason the game is not as enjoyable as it could be. Graphically speaking it's good but not THAT good, after all we've been recently spoiled by a game called Xenoblade and its amazing scenarios. The character design in Zelda is quite better though, at least in closer view. Overall, if I was a reviewer I wouldn't give this game the uber scores it's been getting but I'd still put it on my Wii all time favourites chart. I'm halfway through the game already and I'm enjoying it! This game, Xenoblade and hopefully the upcoming titles in Europe (Pandora's Tower and Last Story) will certainly be the best moments on the Wii for me =).

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Kingdom Hearts pain to get...

With the newly released Collector's Edition titles for PSP (I'm talking about Persona 2 and Trails in the Sky...) I remembered I have been missing a particular PSP Edition for a long time now and it was becoming a pain to find a factory sealed copy. It's the Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Special Edition in factory sealed condition. Damn it was not that easy to find a good price for this thing as all the deals I've found for a seald copy were usually 50 euros or more. Finally I found a place selling that for almost half the price. It was now or never folks... so I got it =)

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Press stuff that doesn't look so good

Not all press kits are great. Not even close. The most sought after are amazing but over the years I also collected some stuff that I never showed because I thought it wasn't worth it. But now I'm trying to put all my stuff together and take pictures of everything so I might as well take the chance to show the other stuff I have but never even mentioned.

These are the weakest press kits I have, which are basically nothing but books, dossiers or press papers with a promo disc or a press disc... Most were provided with a press disc I didn't target these things in particular. I have plenty of pics of those that I decided to post here.

08/02/2015 update: I obviously never ended up posting pics of these, unfortunately... hopefully some other time in the futre...

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Assassin's Creed Revelations, just one of 100 different editions made

Yeah... they did it again. How many different versions of Assassin's Creed Revelations exist around the world? Too many. I got what seemed to me the best version of this game. The package is great, despite not being your regular rectangular box. This one's a little b*tchy to store... The 3D effect isn't the greatest but heck it's just the package and looks good overall. The Encyclopaedia is amazing. The rest of the contents are the same as the regular Collector's Edition. Haven't tried the game yet as I just finished Dead Space 2 and will move on to other games now, so this one will stay for later. How would I rate this edition? The package is good, or should I say instead, looks good. It's a big box. The encyclopaedia is awesome but unfortunately it seems it's available for sale separately but I still have to confirm if it really is the same book or not. Considering its price I'd rate this as 8.0, mainly because of the book, since the contents are basically the same from the CE which is cheaper.

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It's all about MONEY. That's all there is to it.

Okay, so for the first time in my life I came to the point where collecting is becoming more and more a matter of business that's ruining the love that I and many other gamers have for this hobby.

When I first started to buy games from ebay and forums, I'd usually go there to avoid paying so much for the games that were sold for higher prices in shops. I also resorted to ebay to find games that either weren't released over here or were in fact rare. After all, you could find some second hand copies around, some of them still mint, for lower prices than the RRP. Recently, when the huge amount of limited edition started being released for almost every important game, this behaviour of buying multiple copies for making a profit is going sick. A bunch of no-lifers decide to preorder several of these limited editions, making shops run out of stock faster. And even if they are not sold out, they immediately pop up on ebay for higher prices. When certain editions really become limited, they are sold out on preorders but once you go to ebay, guess what... you find several copies for sale at ridiculously high prices ON PREORDER.

The greatest example of this greedy behaviour is what's been happening with the Collector's Edition of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, limited to 4000 units worldwide and only available for sale at one of the dorkiest retailers I've ever dealt with: www.zavvi.com. Considering their terrible costumer service, how they do even get the rights to sell something exclusive like this??

In only two days this edition was sold out. The next few days however, several appeared on ebay. The first ones started selling for nearly £100, but when the sellers realized they could make even more money because desperate fans who missed their opportunity to get that edition at the fair price are desperate to get it, prices went up to 200, 300, even 500... Several weeks or even months after this edition was sold out, even to this day the game still keeps popping up on ebay.

Even collectors ordered more than a copy claiming they want one to play and another one to keep sealed, using all kinds of excuses to prove that their attitude is perfectly justifiable. In the end, most people who do that are only thinking about how much this will be worth in the future and the profit they may do. They don't give a damn if they're stealing someone else's opportunity to get this game for the retail price. Whenever I just want another copy to play, I don't go wasting money on two expensive special editions. There are 4000 units of this one only, yet how many people will actually have one for the RRP? Not 4000 for sure. Not even remotely close to that. Who cares anyway? Those who missed the preorder and can't afford to pay 200 or 300 for it just go find something else to buy. People usually say "the value of certain games and editions depend on how much people are willing to pay for them". In the end, it's something more like "the value of certain games and editions depends on how much money you have to spend on it, because whether you like it a lot or just a little bit it's irrelevant cause you may/will not be able to buy it anyway".

This is a common fact not just for videogames, but nearly everything in life, including basic needs. But who cares? The only important thing is MONEY. You don't have it? Nobody cares. People die because they can't buy food and we just pretend we care about that. Then why the hell would we care about something as irrelevant as VIDEOGAMES? That would be ridiculous, right?

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How many Dragon Ball games are there already?

A lot... When I started to see the series at age 13, I never expected to see so many games still being made even 16 years later. That's quite impressive I must say.

I loved the PS2 titles, especially the Budokai series, but I wasn't so impressed with Tenkaichi games. I recognize they are good, but I liked Budokai's battle system most. I didn't play the recent titles for PS3 and Xbox besides the demo of the first Raging Blast but I really did not like the gameplay at all. I'm still missing Raging Blast 2 LE but I hope to find a cheaper copy when the price finally drops (stil waiting for it to happen...)

Now finally a new Dragon Ball game came out and this one has a bigger Collector's Edition boxset. It includes a regular copy of the game and a Limited Edition Gohan statue. The statue looks pretty good and is quite stylish, with enough detail for what you would expect from a Dragon Ball figure. I certainly am not sure why they added Gohan with that suit instead of a different figure, like Goku's. Anyway, I'd rate this edition 6.5/10. It's limited to 10000 copies but it isn't numbered and it's hard to tell if there are really 10000. The price of 80 euros wasn't that bad at all, considering the game's RRP and the price these statues usually cost. But, honestly, it lacks contents. The only thing this has is a statue and nothing else. Thankfully, the statue is good and overal this edition is still far better than Raging Blast 2 LE, that had almost nothing but a cell and a cardbox scenario.

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Sonic is back, and better than ever!

Oh boy... Sonic is one of the most famous videogame characters from the 2D era that couldn't deal very well with time. Ever since Sonic became 3D, the games were never the same. Most games were considered average or good at best but hardly any of them was a hit like the original Mega Drive and Mega CD titles. This time, however, I believe SEGA did a great great job! Sonic Generations is by far the best and most impressive Sonic game I have played in a long time and I simply love it.

To celebrate Sonic's 20th anniversary, this game also received a Collector's Edition. And I must say that this is another one of my favourites. It comes inside a very simplistic, yet great looking box with both Sonics facing each other. The game included is nothing more than the retail version with a slipcase. Inside the box there are two figurines, not very big but Sonic figures don't really need to look big because there really isn't the need to add too much detail on them and the bigger they are the plainer they look. These figurines are quite better that the one included with Sonic Colors, although the later is an articulated action figure but looks too cheap. They have a stand with the 20th anniversary logo and there's also a small ring from the game, really shiny, with its own stand. The fact that they made a figure for each Sonic is really sweet! Classic Sonic figure brings so much nostalgia and looks amazing. It also comes with two bonus discs: a soundtrack disc that includes a selection of music and a dvd with Sonic's history. Finally, there's the artbook, which isn't half bad either. Overall, this edition really fits Sonic's 20th anniversary. The contents are pretty nice too! I love it and I give it a 9/10. I's limited to 12000 units worldwide.

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Manbat

When Arkham Asylum came out, I was quite surprised to see that it was so good. It really is a great game. It's been a while since I played a Batman game and I must say that I never imagined a game like this would ever be done. Its sequel is quite impresive as well. And it deserved another Collector's Edition and several steelbooks etc. So far I only bought Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition and I'll probably not get the steelbooks any time soon.

Anyway, This edition gets a 7/10 from me. The edition itself is not very big, which is a good thing because lately most major games receive very big boxes that take away a lot of space. The figure is small, yet heavy and quite detailed. Again, it's not impressive but does the job. The artbook is pretty small, not the sort of artbooks I love, and I really can't stand the fact that the game disc doesn't have its own box but comes inside the artbook. I really don't like that too much... Finally, the top piece of card inside the box that identifies the console cannot hold its place inside the box and as a result you can usually find that edition with the top card piece slightly off its place. However, a good thing about this edition is its release price, which is frankly quite good.

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It may be Drake's Deception, but it's not my deception for sure

Finally, Uncharted 3 came out! And with it, another incredible edition. The explorer edition, exclusive to Europe. I really had to get that one, and it wasn't as easy as I expected.

Overall, I rate this edition as 8/10. The figure is quite detailed but not as good or impressive as others like we've seen in Assassin's Creed or Gears of War 3 and Halo Reach. They surely could put some more effort on that figure in my opinion. The figure should also have a better box instead of just the plastic inserts, but that's a personal opinion. The necklace with the ring and the buckle are pretty cool items, especially the ring, and their quality is quite good. The 3d lenticular card is a little useless, not quite sure why they added that. It would be more interesting if they added a postcard set with or without these lenticular effects. The outer box is quite amazing, FAR superior to AC:B Codex Edition or GowIII Pandora's box. It's so much better it's hardly comparable. It does NOT look cheap, it's quite detailed and combines several materials, including wood. I liked it a lot, the only thing I don't like too much about these editions is when they come with a box and all items are loose inside it. The special edition included (also available for sale separately) is quite original as well because it really resembles Nathan's notebook and it's a small art book. The only let down is the way the disc is placed inside the notebook, which is quite stupid in my opinion. Still, it's one of my favourite editions, I like it a lot.

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Where are the pics dude???

I needed some time for myself because I was really tired from the daily working routine but I finally have some time to settle down a few things.

I'm working on updating this blog. First writing the stuff that goes in my mind. Pics will come later, hopefully by the weekend. There are plenty of things to add besides the ones I already wrote about. It's now 1:30 AM and here I am, writing crap about my collection, knowing that it will be a pain in the arse to get it off bed to go to work within a few hours. It's always the same thing but I can't go to sleep sooner, I need a couple of hours every day to do the stuff I love so I have to sacrifice a little bit of sleep. I have some friends at work who do nothing but work, go home to take care of all the daily tasks including taking care of their children... Phew... Life should be more than that :(

Just a bit longer, just a tiny bit longer and you'll have your pics added to each post.

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Professor Layton

Three games later, Nintendo decided to offer a special trilogy box for those who register the V.I.P. codes from the three games on Club Nintendo. Thankfully I have some really nice friends who sometimes sacrifice themselves in order to help me achieve happiness. Almost. Not quite... at all...

Ok, that sounds gay but I must thank Johnny for offering me his box after he knew that I really wanted to keep my copies of the game sealed (although I did play the games). It's nothing special at all but I am happy with this box. Took him a couple of months to give it to me, but I didn't try to buy it and he decided to offer it to me on his own. I wasn't really expecting that at all, but I feel this guy deserves some love!

Here I go being gay again. But thanks a lot Johnny bro!

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Two Collector's Editions, one that sucks and another one that doesn't.

The one that doesn't suck is Agarest Zero. The price was fair and this is another one of those unexpected titles to see the daylight in Europe. I'm quite glad this actually came out over here.

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The other one is Arcana Hearts. While the regular limited edition doesn't suck and the price is pretty nice...

...THIS STUPID SUGGOI OPPA FAN EDITION WAS PROBABLY SIMILAR TO HAVE A TERRORIST HYPNOTIZE YOU AND MAKE YOU PAY FOR THE CRAPPIEST LIMITED EDITION EVER MADE, EVEN WORST THAN THE SHIPPING BOX EDITION OF BLAZBLUE CONTINUUM SHIFT, CLAIMING THERE WERE ONLY 500 MADE AND YOU THOUGHT YOU'D BE MISSING SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT.

I basically paid nearly 3 times as much as the regular limited edition for a mouse mat and a keyring. Once again, this is NOT a special edition of any sort, because there is NOT a box to hold all the items together. This is just a £30 limited edition with a bonus mouse mat and keyring for £60 more! Just terrible! Seriously, I really thought those guys from that weird online store I hardly ever heard about had made their homework with the Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus Boxset, which is a really great collector's edition, expensive as HELL but really worth to own. It may be overpriced, but I could easily overcome the price when I saw the quality of the box and the items included. The numbered box alone, the canvas art, the artbook, the soundtrack disc and the game, plus the t-shirt and the keyring are more than enought to satisfy me. But this Arcana crap? Give me a break will ya???

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Castlevania and Megaman

Some people who know me a little better already know that my main goal at this moment is to try and collect all the retro versions of Megaman and Castlevania while keeping up with the latest limited and collector's editions. Due to the stupidly demand on press kits and the fact that I'm quite low on cash at this moment and I don't know what will happen in the future with my job, I am leaving the press kits behind for a while. I already missed many but I can't buy everything anyway and the massive amount of exclusive and limited editions being released at the same time make it impossible for me to keep up with everything so I have to make decisions...

I usually don't show just single games unless they're that special, but this is my blog and I post whatever I want to.

Getting all megaman games will be a pain. I have a complete NES PAL Set and X2 for the SNES. I still need to buy a lot of games for the GBA unfortunately. But at the very least I found an important game in a pretty good condition: Megaman IV for the original Gameboy. All games from Laguna seem to be a PAIN to get, and this one and V are by far the rarest for the Gameboy. Same goes with X3 for the SNES which will be my worst nightmare...

As far as Castlevania goes, I got a mint copy of Castlevania III that seems to be the hardest to find for the NES. And for the Gameboy I'm now missing only Castlevania II Belmont's Revenge because another nightmare was over when I found a copy of Castlevania Legends for a fairly decent price. As for Belmont's Revenge, it's not easy to find a complete copy but due to lack of money I failed to win a recent auction for a fair price. However, it's only a matter of time until another one pops up. I'm glad to have found a copy of Legends because that was the game causing me the bigger head ache.

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And since we are talking about rare games...

... I will also talk about another nightmarish game it took me years to find for a decent price. Several years ago I would be able to buy this game for a certain high price and I wasn't really willing to pay that much for it. But now? That price is now twice as much on almost every auction and that's unacceptable. Soon I figured I had to get this game once the opportunity showed up and that's what I did. This game is not THAT RARE, in fact is far more common than a few others I've recently bought. But its price is insane and just keeps rising...

I'm talking about Mega Man The Wily Wars for the Mega Drive, another pain of a game to get. I was expecting to find it one day at a second hand store or in an auction site besides ebay. But the thing is... this damn game never ever appeared! Even after several years searching. So yeah it's another title that was a pain to find. I finally got it. Another one to scratch off the list...

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