The difference 8 months can make!

Less than a year ago, this enormous box cost 150 American Dollars.

I just bought this Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector's Edition for 1/5th of that price. That's right, 30 dollars! There is a very nice sale going on at GAMESTOP where they are trying to get rid of these, so I hopped all over that. To my knowledge, it's ONLY at Gamestop and you have to actually go there physically and buy it (I don't think this sale works by ordering from them online, but don't quote me on that).

Now, The Old Republic is going free to play in the fall, so you may be thinking "Dave, why are you buying what you can get for free?"

Good question! The Answer is, when the game goes free and TOR introduces Cartel Coins, those who have the Collector's Edition will get +1,000 Cartel Coins for free. Also, the box comes with a Month of game time, as well as giving you access to in-game Goodies that I have been wanting since the game launched (Mainly the Imperial Trooper Armor). 

So, to me, getting a month of game time, as well as 1,000 Cartel Coins extra when the game does go free to play, as long as getting a really nice deal for a really big box, I figure it was well, well worth it. 

What's in that big ol' box? Well...not too much. Check it.

Is it just me, or does the ipad take REALLY grainy pictures? Seriously...

We get the game in a nice black tin kinda box thingy (which I think looks very sleek and impressive), the soundtrack to the game, a neat hard cover book (that has some setting info via the Journal of some Jedi fella that I probably won't ever read), a Physical Security Key (to keep your account info safe), and a pretty hefty statue of everyone's favorite False Emperor, Darth Malgus.

You also get access to in game Collector's Edition Vendors, as well as the aforementioned Cartel Coin boost. The box also comes with a Galactic map that is kinda...well...dinky, and a few Jedi Temple blueprints that I don't care about and are not pictured. 

All in all, there is NO way I would ever pay 150 bucks for this stuff. The Malgus statue is okay, but I would have preferred a bust of him with the hood up (Bust-statues, in my opinion, seem more grand and regal that full body stuff). Having a full-figure statue of the guy just reminds me of how much he looks, well, EXACTLY like Darth Vader. Come on, guys, you have to make your signature characters unique, not just lame rip-offs.

Anywho, I would have liked if there were a Darkside Collector's Box and a Lightside collector's box, and the Lightside version of the box could have come with a Satele Shan (or however you spell her name) figure. I would have chose that one instead (I like girls a lot). Having two versions of the Collector's Edition would mean more money for the game (As I could see many complete-ists shelling out 300 bucks to buy both versions), as well as a cool option depending on if you're a galactic tree hugging hippie or a cold-hearted Imperial sympathizer. Woulda been nice!

Star Wars: The Old Republic goes Free-to-Play this fall, which is pretty neat in my opinion, and I will continue with my paid subscription for the time being and see how things go. As for the Collector's Edition, I don't regret getting this for 30 bucks in the least. Thanks, Gamestop!

Note: I play TOR on "The Shadowlands" server. My main characters there are "Naydo" the Bounty Hunter and "Confidential" the Imperial Agent. Come say hi!