Gamer's Edition is a new service offering videogames stuffed inside cardboard boxes and sold as limited-run collector's editions. It's similar in many ways to the IndieBox, which we looked at up-close last year, but instead of using a subscription model, Gamer's Edition essentially crowdfunds each of its proposed physical releases. The designs for Gamer's Edition releases are created in advance, but actual production doesn't begin until there are enough orders.
The service launched today with two games on the table, Hotline Miami 1 and 2, and Papers, Please. Both editions are very well stacked: The Hotline Miami package includes both games on DVD and Steam, a C90 mix tape—apparently an actual audio cassette tape—a trade paperback of the Hotline Miami 2 comic, five "Cameo" trading cards, a 50 Blessings spraypaint stencil, and a custom art card, all put together in a DVD case with packaging designed by Dennaton. The Papers, Please release is comparably loaded, complete with Arstotzkan passport and paperwork, a Labor Lottery keyring, posters, stamps, a pin, and separate "Approved" and "Denied" stamps (and even an inkpad).
They don't come cheap. Hotline Miami is $60, while Papers, Please is $70; that's not out of line compared to regular retail prices for triple-A releases, but it is a big premium over the $10 that each of them go for on Steam. Of course, people don't buy editions like this just for the game; we do it so we can gaze pridefully at the deck of Dishonored tarot cards sitting on our shelves and think, "Boy, I wish I could open that and see what those things actually look like."
The Hotline Miami and Papers, Please Gamer's Editions will be available for ordering/funding for another 30 days. A third title is expected to be announced soon.
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