Coffee Talk #223: Do You Buy Complete Editions?

With Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Editions and Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete revealed in the last week, I’ve been thinking about “collected” editions of videogames. With DLC being so new, it’s a relatively new practice to offer a disc that contains the full game and all the released online content. It’s a great value, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy one. If I’m interested in a game, I’ll snatch it up before it gets old enough to be collected. Bundling it with a bunch of DLC and other goodies isn’t enough to push me to buy a game I wasn’t sure about, no matter the value.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the crap-ass Red Sox buying crap-ass Livepool, Intelligentsia’s Kenya Karimikui, or getting excited for an event in February 2011, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

With Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition and Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete revealed in the last week, I’ve been thinking about “collected” editions of videogames. With DLC being so new, it’s a relatively new practice to offer a disc that contains the full game and all the released online content. I’m curious to see where these things go and how they’ll affect future bundles.

Complete editions are a great value, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy one. If I’m interested in a game, I’ll snatch it up before it gets old enough to be collected. Bundling games with a bunch of DLC and other goodies isn’t enough to push me to buy a game I wasn’t sure about, no matter the value. Besides, game prices almost always drop in a matter of months, so it’s not too big a deal to wait things out.

What do you think of these complete editions? Does the value appeal to you? Are there any that you plan on buying? Will this practice make you wait on buying a game?

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

43 thoughts on “Coffee Talk #223: Do You Buy Complete Editions?”

  1. Hmmm….I bought GoTY Morrowind last gen. I was happy that I got all of the features but I probably wouldn't have noticed their absence either. So far this gen I have not bought any CE or Complete editions of any titles.

    If I were to do so though, I don't think I'd pay $60 for the whole thing. I'd still prefer to get the old game cheap.

  2. I have two game of the year editions fallout 3 and littlebigplanet, I'm likely to wait until Fallout new vegas game of the year edition comes out. I honestly don't like these re-released versions because they screw the people who buy the games day one.

  3. I only get these GOTY or Collector's Editions when i haven't gotten the game but i am interested in getting them. As you can see i'm a little backlogged with games. I'm still on chapter 11 of FF13 so these editions help me out a lot. I can't wait to pick up Uncharted 2 GOTY i think it's next week or two weeks from now.

  4. I don't usually focus on getting those editions of games, but if it so happens that that is what is available whenever I get around to buying a game I will consider it. I didn't buy the GoTY edition of CoD4 when I bought that game though, because I knew beforehand that I could care less about the DLC since they were all online maps and I was only interested in single player campaign.

    If you want everything they offer then they would interest me, but I haven't bought one yet and I'm still alive. Actually I might have to take that back, I bought all the Gold editions of Age of Empires back in the day because it was cheaper than buying everything separately.

    I have heard of some times when all the DLC and everything on a disc would be nice. For military people stationed overseas I often hear complaints about DLC because they can't get it overseas. That would be frustrating I'm sure to not be able to download anything.

  5. @Big Blak

    I'm planning on downloading "The Sacrifice" for L4D2 tonight after I get home from classes (maybe 6ish or so) so let me know if you wanna play.

  6. Usually I end up buying all the separate pieces of the games I want rather than the "Ultimate " or "GotY" editions. Yeah, I know I'm probably wasting money by not waiting. But there's no guarantee that such an edition is coming in the first place.

  7. Crap! i would've been down for some L4D2 action too but i won't be home until much much later.

  8. @ BSU

    Oh snap that's the new DLC, for some reason I was thinking of the Passing lol. I gotta download that tonight.

  9. I haven't bought any yet. Though they do seem appealing. But I generally buy the game day 1. I honestly don't know if I have bought any DLC (levels and such because I do buy extra in-game characters on Pain & HVB) since I got screwed over on Halo 3.

    I had considered getting the DLC for Fallout but just never did. Bought the GOTY edition for a friend, so I tried it out and it was going to make me start my game completely over because they were different versions, so for the most part I will just steer clear of them all together.

  10. @Tokz @Big Blak

    I might not be on the mic all night (only get to talk to the fiance at nighttime) but I will probably be online with L4D2 all night, so whenever you guys are online works with me.

    If I'm not online, send me a message through twitter bcz certain ones get sent to my phone through txt, so as long as I'm still awake I should be able to hear that.

  11. @bsu & big blak

    i just can't tonight but some other time i'm sure we can work something out. plus i have to get some MS Points to get the sacrifice and i don't have the funds for it right now. i just bought tickets for the Blackhawks game Saturday, it's opening night!

  12. @Froyo

    Man what an improvement. It makes my phone feel like its a completely different phone from Eclair. I didn't think there would be much of a difference but its pretty awesome.

    I can't wait for the Cyanogen mod to be released that fixes all the pre-release bugs and speeds it up even more.

  13. @ Tokz & BSU

    No rush guys these games aren't going anywhere. BSU I don't do twitter I can email you my number for texting (@ ALL same goes for you) and Tokz you enjoy the hell out of that game!

  14. @big blak

    i will. i haven't been to a hockey game for a long time. This could be a once in a lifetime thing being there for championship banner raising night. who knows when that will happen again in my lifetime.

  15. @Big Blak

    Yeah I didn't think you used twitter. I think you should have my email from something before, or it might be on fantasy football. If not, one of my emails is soulreaper5000@gmail.com (anyone can contact me through email if they want/need to).

  16. @BB

    I couldn't wait any longer. Once AT&T crippled my phone with the update titled – GPS Fix including other "Enhancements". They took away my tethering and my GPS still didn't work. So I called AT&T and got another phone via warranty exchange.

    So I had 2 phones at the house. I had never tried unofficial ROM for fear of bricking my phone. So since I had 2 I figured it was worth a shot. on Sept 21 a leaked version of Froyo showed up on XDA and someone turned it into a 1-click update. 10 minutes later I had Froyo. It has some glitches but overall it was worth it. If it hadn't have been for the 1-click update I don't know if I would have been able to do it. It seems like it takes lots of software and knowledge to do it manually.

  17. @ Slicky

    Yea I was looking into doing that as well but I don't want to brick my phone but I'm really getting tired of waiting for the official release from Tmobile.

  18. @BB

    The guys at XDA seem to really know their stuff. I'd just research the heck out of it and make sure everyone is having success with the chosen method. I read through nearly 100 pages of comments before I decided to do it. Towards the end of the comments people finally started explaining it were I could figure it out. I had no problems when I did it on my iPhone and my Bold, but Android is a different cup of tea so far.

  19. @Slicky @Big Blak

    I worked on a Sony Xperia X1 and had to flash an English ROM on to it (it was from Sweden). It was in limbo because no company actually wanted to mess with it so a professor of mine asked me to work on it. Most forums that I have run across for ROMs and stuff like that are actually pretty helpful and I haven't seen too many cases of the phones actually getting damaged or bricked from that kind of stuff.

    @Big Blak

    haha it's cool.

  20. @Nightshade

    Yeah, we finally agree. On a side not, how do you get 9 sacks in the first half and only get 3 points to show for it?

  21. The offense didn't play well at all, and they did miss one make-able FG. They made some adjustments in the 2nd half, but still that wasn't an offensive performance to be proud of. Particularly the offensive line which is starting to look old.

  22. @SlickyFats Isn't it crazy that Cowboy Curtis became Morpheus from The Matrix?

    Also, you should have known there would be a huge difference going from 2.1 to 2.2. I've been writing about it since April! :P The JIT compiler is super, super fast.

  23. @Ray

    If I were him I would be embarrassed of being Cowboy Curtis.

    About 2.1-2.2. I read it all but until I experienced it for myself I had no real clue. My phone seemed fast before so extra speed seemed dumb. But now that I have it I never want Eclair again.

  24. @Big Blak

    Ah gotcha…well I just sent you a message through ESPN FF. I have lab until just before 5, unless I get out early, and then I will be heading home and getting online most likely. See you on in a bit.

  25. Wow, you guys just blew my mind. I had no idea that the gay cowboy from Pee-Wee's Playhouse was Morpheus! My world will never be the same again. I guess it's a good thing that I did not make the connection, since that would have totally ruined the movie for me.

    @topic;

    The only collected edition that I've bought (so far) is the Grand Theft Auto (3) trilogy and The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion collection. The thing is that I did not pay full price for them. I bought them used (in great condition) about a year or two after they came out. So in essence, I purchased each game (and/or DLC) for far less than retail. I don't mind being late to the games as long as I get a chance to play them.

    My only complaint is that there is just WAY too much game content to digest at one time. Usually these games and DLC come out over a period of years or months, but when you get them all together, it feels a bit overwhelming to tackle so much of a game. It can also lead to an otherwise good game wearing out it's welcome very quickly because of the repetition (see: GTA4’s length compared to Ballad of Gay Tony’s).

    @Mr. Padilla;

    (You may have done something similar to this in the past year and if so, please ignore this request). I would like to humbly request a future Coffee Talk episode dedicated to answering the question: "Is there too much exposition in games?" I got this idea for a future Coffee Talk by reading a slightly interesting article by the same name on IGN that deals with a comment that Greg Kasavin told a room full of writers at GDC. Here's the story:

    http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/112/1125826p1.htm

    It got me thinking… and I think there are a lot of us here that have our own take on this topic. I, for one, would like to hear what they are.

    -M

  26. @ Everyone

    Sorry I've been absent. despite popular belief, II am a live and well and I'm not dead in a ditch somewhere or pining over the Steelers first loss of the season. Instead, I've just been SUPER busy at work.

    I finally have time to catch up and get in some gaming (YES!!!!).

  27. how the hell am i BACK on a bye week?

    nevermind, who cares…im getting my QB back…its over

  28. @rpad

    let me know what you think. i'm going to watch it again tonight but i was kind of meh on it. I actually enjoyed the Green Arrow bonus short episode included in the Blu-ray more.

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