Fez Gets $100 Collector's Edition Three Years Too Late

[Tommy1138]

So you get the game, the OST, and a hard-cover note book.

How is this even remotely worth 100 dollars?!

I'll agree with that. Unless it's some big shit concept art/behind the scenes stuff, the book is otherwise just a fancy case. The game can be had for ten bucks on pretty much any platform these days and Steam is selling it bundled with the OST for $20.00. Even if it was filled with awesome stuff, that collection is worth closer to $50.00 at best. Sorry but no sale.

 

[flying_whimsy]

I see this failing, and I see Fish going 'see, you all just don't appreciate my genius. This is why I got out of the industry. Also something gamergate's fault something something.'

Nevermind the guy has shown nothing but contempt for his audience and has done a number of really sketching things in regards to the IGF. Nope, let's just have an overpriced special edition for an old game whose target audience probably consists of people that won't actually play it.

I got fez as part of a humble bundle, and the damn thing gave me a headache with how tedious it was. That special edition would be neat if the book had more to it, but really it just reeks of pretentious bullshit disguised as a cash grab.

 

[Strazdas]

Wasn't this canceled a wile back? Or were there blowups, or fake twitter accounts or something like that?

Honestly I tried to forget about him as quickly as possible after that whole incident.

It was Fez 2 - the sequel - that got cancelled when the creator Phil Fish decided to Rage-quit the internet.

i don't personally like fish and i only moderately enjoyed fez (so i won't be buying this), but i would much sooner support somebody like fish, even if he whines, than somebody like uwe boll who proudly displays his art

while Uwe Bolls movies were nothing to write home about, his attitude to moviemaking is something ill always miss in that industry. He was the last real "independend high budget movie" developer that didnt give in to outside pressure, for better or worse. But then there was that problem with German tax evasion.

There ought to be some third-party organisation that 'certifies' collector's editions, because otherwise I'm not sure what is meant by 'collector.' Be much easier if it wasn't just developers or publishers snapping their fingers and saying, "Of course! Collector's Editions can be as expensive as we want!" without having to have anything worth collecting in the first place.

collector collecting isnt so much about the worth of the item or its usefulness as it is about rarity and exaustiveness. collectors want this not becuase they want a mostly empty book, but because it is "1 in 500 in the whole world" or because "this is the only thing about Fez i dont have".

 

[Bat Vader]

I'd never support a whiny bastard like Fish, in any way. Can't take criticism, don't put your work out there in the public eye. Its not victim blaming, its a fact of life. You have to have stones/balls/tough skin/whatever to publicly display whatever art you do, no matter what the medium. Sorry.

i don't personally like fish and i only moderately enjoyed fez (so i won't be buying this), but i would much sooner support somebody like fish, even if he whines, than somebody like uwe boll who proudly displays his art

I'd rather support neither and instead just laugh at both of them. Boll has proven no better than Fish with how whiny he has been lately too.

 

[Dalisclock]

That reminds me, I still haven't played the version of Fez I picked up on sale. That was before I knew what an asshole Fish was, or else I probably wouldn't have bought it.

Not sure why he thinks people gonna play $100 for the fancy version of it though.

 

[Thyunda]

There ought to be some third-party organisation that 'certifies' collector's editions, because otherwise I'm not sure what is meant by 'collector.' Be much easier if it wasn't just developers or publishers snapping their fingers and saying, "Of course! Collector's Editions can be as expensive as we want!" without having to have anything worth collecting in the first place.

collector collecting isnt so much about the worth of the item or its usefulness as it is about rarity and exaustiveness. collectors want this not becuase they want a mostly empty book, but because it is "1 in 500 in the whole world" or because "this is the only thing about Fez i dont have".

Well, yeah, but for that you would have to be a massive Fez fan in the first place. I guess I was looking at it more for posterity - a collection you can hold onto and basically have a 'best of' selection from your gaming years. If you compare it to music, a Beatles vinyl collection is going to be worth a lot more than anybody else from the period (not because the Beatles were the best, they were just oddly the most popular ever) and, indeed, there'll be bands from the 60s and 70s whose vinyls will be absolutely worthless because the bands' legacies didn't outlast the era.

 

[R.K. Meades]

There ought to be some third-party organisation that 'certifies' collector's editions, because otherwise I'm not sure what is meant by 'collector.' Be much easier if it wasn't just developers or publishers snapping their fingers and saying, "Of course! Collector's Editions can be as expensive as we want!" without having to have anything worth collecting in the first place.

collector collecting isnt so much about the worth of the item or its usefulness as it is about rarity and exaustiveness. collectors want this not becuase they want a mostly empty book, but because it is "1 in 500 in the whole world" or because "this is the only thing about Fez i dont have".

Well, yeah, but for that you would have to be a massive Fez fan in the first place. I guess I was looking at it more for posterity - a collection you can hold onto and basically have a 'best of' selection from your gaming years. If you compare it to music, a Beatles vinyl collection is going to be worth a lot more than anybody else from the period (not because the Beatles were the best, they were just oddly the most popular ever) and, indeed, there'll be bands from the 60s and 70s whose vinyls will be absolutely worthless because the bands' legacies didn't outlast the era.

Not exactly true. I own dozens - possibly hundreds - of records from the 60s and 70s that eclipse basically any Beatles release's value on the open market.[footnote]The most notable exception would be the original 'butcher' release of Yesterday and Today.[/footnote] Sometimes, if a contemporary artist samples an old track for a hit, the original's value skyrockets-- genres like soul and disco are a great resource for savvy collectors and selectors.

Few games will ever have the staying power of a great recording. The visuals and systems can depreciate at a staggering clip. If I put a release like Black Sabbath - Paranoid on the turntable now, it has aged wonderfully. The same cannot be said for an old game like, say, Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz.[footnote]For the record, I loved that game.[/footnote]

 

[Thyunda]

There ought to be some third-party organisation that 'certifies' collector's editions, because otherwise I'm not sure what is meant by 'collector.' Be much easier if it wasn't just developers or publishers snapping their fingers and saying, "Of course! Collector's Editions can be as expensive as we want!" without having to have anything worth collecting in the first place.

collector collecting isnt so much about the worth of the item or its usefulness as it is about rarity and exaustiveness. collectors want this not becuase they want a mostly empty book, but because it is "1 in 500 in the whole world" or because "this is the only thing about Fez i dont have".

Well, yeah, but for that you would have to be a massive Fez fan in the first place. I guess I was looking at it more for posterity - a collection you can hold onto and basically have a 'best of' selection from your gaming years. If you compare it to music, a Beatles vinyl collection is going to be worth a lot more than anybody else from the period (not because the Beatles were the best, they were just oddly the most popular ever) and, indeed, there'll be bands from the 60s and 70s whose vinyls will be absolutely worthless because the bands' legacies didn't outlast the era.

Not exactly true. I own dozens - possibly hundreds - of records from the 60s and 70s that eclipse basically any Beatles release's value on the open market.[footnote]The most notable exception would be the original 'butcher' release of Yesterday and Today.[/footnote] Sometimes, if a contemporary artist samples an old track for a hit, the original's value skyrockets-- genres like soul and disco are a great resource for savvy collectors and selectors.

Few games will ever have the staying power of a great recording. The visuals and systems can depreciate at a staggering clip. If I put a release like Black Sabbath - Paranoid on the turntable now, it has aged wonderfully. The same cannot be said for an old game like, say, Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz.[footnote]For the record, I loved that game.[/footnote]

Ah, well, I'll concede on the vinyl point because I actually know basically nothing about the collectors' market in terms of who is more valuable than who. But the principle's roughly the same. But on the second - the existence of collector's editions as it is renders this point kind of moot.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

I like Fez a lot and don't really care about Phil Fish on a personal level, but $100 for a blank book, the game and soundtrack? It's ridiculous. If it was some kind of artbook, whether it was concept art or art inspired by or based on the game after the fact, that would be really cool. But even then $100 would be way too steep.

Swing and a miss Mr Fish.

 

[R.K. Meades]

There ought to be some third-party organisation that 'certifies' collector's editions, because otherwise I'm not sure what is meant by 'collector.' Be much easier if it wasn't just developers or publishers snapping their fingers and saying, "Of course! Collector's Editions can be as expensive as we want!" without having to have anything worth collecting in the first place.

collector collecting isnt so much about the worth of the item or its usefulness as it is about rarity and exaustiveness. collectors want this not becuase they want a mostly empty book, but because it is "1 in 500 in the whole world" or because "this is the only thing about Fez i dont have".

Well, yeah, but for that you would have to be a massive Fez fan in the first place. I guess I was looking at it more for posterity - a collection you can hold onto and basically have a 'best of' selection from your gaming years. If you compare it to music, a Beatles vinyl collection is going to be worth a lot more than anybody else from the period (not because the Beatles were the best, they were just oddly the most popular ever) and, indeed, there'll be bands from the 60s and 70s whose vinyls will be absolutely worthless because the bands' legacies didn't outlast the era.

Not exactly true. I own dozens - possibly hundreds - of records from the 60s and 70s that eclipse basically any Beatles release's value on the open market.[footnote]The most notable exception would be the original 'butcher' release of Yesterday and Today.[/footnote] Sometimes, if a contemporary artist samples an old track for a hit, the original's value skyrockets-- genres like soul and disco are a great resource for savvy collectors and selectors.

Few games will ever have the staying power of a great recording. The visuals and systems can depreciate at a staggering clip. If I put a release like Black Sabbath - Paranoid on the turntable now, it has aged wonderfully. The same cannot be said for an old game like, say, Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz.[footnote]For the record, I loved that game.[/footnote]

Ah, well, I'll concede on the vinyl point because I actually know basically nothing about the collectors' market in terms of who is more valuable than who. But the principle's roughly the same. But on the second - the existence of collector's editions as it is renders this point kind of moot.

The Beatles' popularity works against them-- their albums have been re-issued numerous times, so the demand is met by available supply. A collector's package for a record can be quite good. Premium gatefold covers, coloured vinyl, and custom sleeves can add a special touch to the product. Most of these gaming releases feel like a tacky marketing gimmick-- cheap trinkets, butchered soundtracks, and shoddy booklets, all packaged in flimsy boxes.

For every good collector's edition that I have seen - The Witcher 2 was a great example - there are about a dozen that can't justify the price. People who throw their money at something like this Fez release (because it is 'limited') are as easily duped as the suckers who jump at genuinely awful black metal releases with presses limited to 666 copies. There's no value in this crap as a fan, and there's definitely no value as a collector.

 

[TristanBelmont]

I am so happy to see this thread hates the douche as much as I do ^-^

Rot in poverty you side burn-ruining prick.

 

[Jaqen Hghar]

If I had the money I would buy this. The game is on my "top ten games of all time", and I wouldn't mind having yet another version of it. The soundtrack is also brilliant. Having it come with a notebook is pretty great, as this is the only game I actually used a notebook to solve. I got several pages of notes I used to find the secrets.

I know people hate Phil, and sure, he has said and did things that where downright stupid. Don't really like the guy myself, but I am grown up enough to separate the artist from the art. A lot of the comments here seem to come from hateful people I would never want to hang out with though. Which is also the only reason why I make this comment, to balance out all the hate coming from people who have nothing better to do than talk shit about someone they don't even know. Such a shame that adults have to behave like this.

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

The Beatles' popularity works against them-- their albums have been re-issued numerous times, so the demand is met by available supply. A collector's package for a record can be quite good. Premium gatefold covers, coloured vinyl, and custom sleeves can add a special touch to the product. Most of these gaming releases feel like a tacky marketing gimmick-- cheap trinkets, butchered soundtracks, and shoddy booklets, all packaged in flimsy boxes.

Great point!

It's like this - you would be VERY hard-pressed to find a copy of a 1967 UK first-run print of Sgt. Pepper that sells for more money than the 1982 or 1986 Japanese red-vinyl mono versions of the same album. Why? Not so much because of the gimmicky red vinyl, but because those 1982 and 1986 releases are considered among collectors to be the best-sounding versions of that album ever released, boasting the highest audio fidelity with the least amount of surface noise. Despite being released 20 years later, those Japanese versions are worth more than the original.

However, none of those sell for even a fraction of a first-state butcher cover [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkIkRfBgr2k] of Yesterday and Today despite the fact that most of the Beatles' Capitol Records releases sounded like they were pressed on flattened dog turds rather than vinyl.

Like albums, some games hold (or increase) their value over time because said value is determined by a quality that's innate to the product. Non-collector's-edition physical copies of great old games can sell for triple digits simply because their greatness/unavailability increased demand and, therefore, current prices. Sometimes (like a second-state butcher cover that was originally pasted over by the Paul-is-Dead "coffin" cover (not joking [http://www.goldminemag.com/wp-content/uploads/Beatles_YesterdayToday_HA_Lot89272_WEB.jpg])) fancy packaging doesn't do much to increase the value of the product because, regardless of the owner's perception of rarity, the market for the product is non-existent. Anybody who thinks they're making an investment by purchasing the latter is in for a sad wake-up call down the road.

All of those points are moot, however, if someone buys a collector's edition because it means something to THEM. That's the best reason to buy these things. But for those looking to flip their purchase for profit due to an ill-informed sense of rarity, be careful - your "investment" might be as valuable as a VHS tape of unreleased episodes of The Cosby Show.

"Well, it said 'unreleased' on the cover and everybody loves Bill Cos... oh, shit."

 

[pacouranga]

I refuse to bankroll Fish's addiction to the smell of his own farts.

 

[chocolate pickles]

I'd pay $100 to kick Phil Fish in the balls. Otherwise, the cretin ain't getting a penny from me.


On a side note, i'd pay $200 if could do so with a steel-toe capped boot.