What is it? It is the Halo 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360. Can we call this a blatant marketing ploy? Sure thing. But that is what I like about it. I used to get really pissed off at Microsoft, and retailers in general, about Limited Edition products. Bonus material DVD's, Collectors Edition games/CD's in a tin, blah blah blah. It used to really aggravate me.
What happened to the rage? Well, it hit me recently when I went to purchase a new book. I bought an unabridged version of a classic Stephen King novel. Both the unabridged and original release were on the shelf, and the one I bought cost 3$ more, but I still bought it. I bought this version because the story never seemed quite finished the first time I read through it and I wanted to see where every character was supposed to go. Then I started thinking about this idea in general. Perhaps the limited edition is not merely a marketing ploy. (I am sure that is a large part of it) But think just in terms of this Halo 3 Xbox. How amazing is that going to feel the first time a person loads in their limited edition game, turns on the muted green system, flips on the surround sound, and jams that camouflage ear piece in? I'll tell you this: That person is going to feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Hell yes, warm and fuzzy.
There are a ton of different ways to look at this. Marketing ploy, crazy fanboy warm spot, whatever. The point is, I finally get it. The point is choice. Choice is what keeps cranking out the multitude of different versions of the same product. And choice is damn important. I may never want to see the 800 hours of extended footage and deleted scenes from any of the Lord of the Rings movies, but someone sure as hell does.
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