Ever since the beginning, I've been pretty against the Xbox. I will never own an original Xbox, mainly because all my good Xbox games are now backwards compatible, the controller is rather horrid, and the overall bias the Japanese games are far superior to American games.. definitely on consoles.
But the 360 has changed a lot of things. It's a very robust machine that IS changing gaming, and some good games are actually beginning to appear on the console.
I've been absolutely blown away by Mass Effect, but one cannot ignore Halo 3.
I have decided to buy Halo 3 on launch day, but main rationale behind owning/playing it, is to re-live an old past-time that Justin (my army pal) and I shared nearly a decade ago.
Back in the day, Justin and I played the living crap out of Goldeneye. In the morning, we'd have school, and in the evening we'd meet up at our jobs at Toys R Us. I ran the video game section there, and the manager's usually made him do crap work.
As the store came to a close, and I hid the last of my re-shop, He and I would get back to his place around 10:30pm, and end up playing versus Goldeneye until 1 or 2am on a school night. We'd do this damn near every night, and occasionally drag other co-workers along for the ride.
Our video game days were pretty much over when he decided to join the military..
Several months ago, he picked up a 360 and have found a new love in video gaming. He's played the crap out of most of the major releases such as Rainbox 6 Vegas, Ghost Recon, and Bioshock. He is eagerly anticipating the release of Halo 3, so he pushes it onto me.
At this point, I was teetoring either way, but what really clenched it for me were these Best Buy midnight parties, with free stuff. Video game events are badass, so why the hell not. The rationale outweighs the irrationale.
So, I'm gonna preorder Halo 3, BUT which copy do I buy? I've got 3 to choose from. Legendary Edition comes with 4 discs, a bunch of artbooks and a Spartan helmet all for $130... Absolutely not. So, really I have 2 choices: Regular Edition or Limited Edition.
Well, this is a tough decision for me. I will always think twice, thrice, etc on whether or not to get the slightly more expensive Limited Edition versus the a stale 'ol Regular Edition. It's collector nature for me.
My main distinction is that this is Halo. It has already sold more than one million copies prior to its actual release. It is going to be the most common, most played Xbox game ever. This game will basically be worthless several weeks after release. It's "collector" value with plomit faster than a fat guy into a buffet.
In a long enough span of time, the Limited Edition will retain more than a $10 lead on the Regular Edition. The Regular Edition will probably be $20 around this time next year, whereas the Limited Edition will never be printed again.
BUT, is that really true? I can still find copies of Halo 2 Limited Edition in used game stores for around $20, whereas the normal edition is $14. The Limited Edition MAY be limited, but there are still around 500,000 copies of it floating around. It's no where near rare.
Obviously, the collector's argument is not valid at all.
Let's look at this argument from a different perspective. Regular Edition is $60, and Limited Edition is $70. You get raped by the inane price no matter which way you face.. So what's the difference between the 2 versions.
Regular Edition nets you Halo 3. Limited Edition nets you Halo 3, hardcover Halo 3 artbook, Halo 3 fiction book, extra disc with "making of" features and HD calibration details, and a hardcover case that'll fit everything inside of it. You get a ton of stuff for that extra $10. Almost enough stuff to forget you're paying so much for the most common game you'll ever find in a year.
That's in a year though, and I've got two choices.. so the decision has been made on the Value argument.
So yeah, today I picked up the preorder for Halo 3 Limited Edition at my local Best Buy, which will be having its midnight release party in 13 days.
I find it rather ironic that Halo 3 will be the first Xbox 360 or Xbox game that I'll be purchasing at full price.. Mass Effect will no longer have that honor. Unless you count those Burger King games, which were bought at the full price of $4 each..