Collector’s Editions of high profile game releases can be something of a mixed bag. For the most part, I’ve found recent offerings haven’t been all that compelling. The two of note I have purchased for current consoles would be for GTA:IV and the Legendary Edition of Halo 3.

The recently announced God of War: III Ultimate Trilogy Edition got a little more of my interest however, as it represents the only current method for the God of War Collection; HD re-releases of God of War I & 2 to be released in the UK. Heralded as a ‘triumph’ by the excellent Digital Foundry and as somebody who didn’t get to enjoy the originals in their hey day on the PS2, their inclusion merits the Collectors Edition serious consideration.

Until today that is, when Sony announced the price. An eye-popping £110.

Pricing of games is a complex issue and I like to think I take a balanced view on it. I take a fair amount of stick for not being against the general raising of prices this generation per se. Clearly, I am not adverse to paying for seemingly inconsequential collectors editions’ content. The Spartan helmet next to my TV is a little bit daft and the Rockstar lockbox tucked away in a cupboard somewhere (though as an aside, I’ve had my moneysworth out of the holdall they chucked in with it).

But these cost me around £70. Even when allowing for the cut-throat price competition this generation in the UK we’re only talking about £30 more than the vanilla copy. (Or about £20 above the RRP). There is no reason to suggest that I won’t be able to pick up God of War III day one for around £35. We’re talking three times that amount for the Ultimate Trilogy Edition.

A three figure price point would raise eyebrows in the US let alone over here and I can’t help but think Sony have overshot the market this time. There’s a reason why I saw piles of Modern Warfare 2: Prestige Editions in HMV the other day and titles such as DJ Hero and Tony Hawk: RIDE have not seen commercial success. It’s an awful lot of money that requires an awful lot of value to go hand in hand with it.

Were Sony ever to the sensible thing and release the God of War Collection in the UK, I’ve no doubt I’d be able to pick it up for less than GoW:III itself. Which is probably about the same cost as it would be to import it (thanks region free!) or even pick up the PS2 originals themselves.

A lot of un-opened Pandora’s boxes indeed.

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