Hey all, Scott here. You may be asking, "Woah, are you sick sick, or just siiiiick?" I went to the doctor and they said, "Wow, you look sick, you should go see a doctor." I've been officially diagnosed with... Well, what else is there to do other than consume more humidifier and talk about limited edition game consoles or whatever, while everybody else is playing outside and talking about whatever non-sick people talk about? *exhales in mild congestion* There's a certain beauty to, "Yeah just spank some Zelda sh*t on it, we gotta get rid of these things." To really spice up your relationship with a console, limited editions may just do the trick. Varients on systems and a specific color with special art, sometimes in commemoration of an event produced in limited quantities. You can pick them up at the stores, or maybe just win them in a giveaway. The whole concept of these things took a while to truly catch on. Most Atari 2600 owners back in the 70s didn't know what limited, edition, or console meant. These things truly caught on when the 90s swung around. It was obvious then that video games were becoming a large fandom, with people looking into collecting them. Limited editions either appealed to people who needed just one more Nintendo 64 and could stop whenever they wanted to, or people who needed a reason to finally pick up a system for the first time. And then the 2000s happened, and they wouldn't stop wouldn't stopping. What one man needs this many 3DS? I personally really only pick up limited edition systems when I already don't own said system. Like, when Smash for 3DS came out, these slick 3DS XL systems barged in, and while I really liked how these looked, I already had a 3DS XL. Now with console upgrades, that's a different story. I didn't have a new 3DS XL, so when I saw the SNES edition on Amazon, let's just say I stimulated the hell out of the economy that day. In general, I'd say I like things pretty vanilla with how I prefer my game consoles to look. I like them to look exactly how it was always intended, how all the promotional images are. I have a black PS4 Pro and I'm proud of it, damn it! However, I must admit, it's pretty fun to get wacky sometimes with limited variants. They're always fun to gawk at, even when the term "limited edition" is used all the time with systems that are anything but. Oh yeah, limited edition platinum GameCube! Yeah, I bathe in these things, they really weren't limited. Now I got a lot of the initial info on these limited edition consoles from consolevariations.com, and I highly recommend giving them a looksees if you're into this sort of thing. Now back when limited editions started out in the early 90s, they were definitely pretty different compared to how they are today. They weren't bombastic, well-designed variants featuring iconic characters or something, they just used to be t o y o t a Looking back at the majority of the Game Boy limited releases, many of them just had logos plastered on them, one of my favorites being the CAT edition. Now there were specific game-themed editions. This Wario version was given out as a prize during some game show in the UK. Weirdly enough, all it says is limited edition on the box, but when you take it out it's literally just a black Game Boy with Wario on it. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. A good chunk of the limited Game Boys were just that, prize giveaways, like the Ford one, V-Drink one, this pink heart one. There's the Play It Loud series, but that was primarily just different colored Game Boys, with some being rarer than others. Manchester, Milka, Planet Hollywood, EB Games, some silver one. The Game Boy had a ton of crazy limited models, but, barely any are legitimately interesting. Most just have a logo of some company on them and that's it. You see, that's one thing the Game Boy and the Atari Lynx have in common. The only limited edition of the Lynx was exactly this, but I prefer it to all the Game Boy editions because this one is the Marlboro edition! You ever ask anybody how they got hooked on cigarettes? Yeah, the Lynx. The Game Boy Pocket was an improvement compared to the original in the limited release department. We got some of the same simple l o g o o n t h e f r o n t But we also got this marble design only in Japan, gold edition, this Japanese atomic purple one that looks exactly like the Game Boy Color. Game Boy Light... Well this is already more interesting than the original. A Pokemon Center Store exclusive, which consistently happened with future Nintendo handhelds. Astro Boy -- Jesus f*ck. The Nintendo 64 definitely took some queues from the handhelds and did a ton of limited editions. There was the Funtastic series that was more or less the 64's equivalent to the Play It Loud series on the Game Boy, but this time with translucent plastic. Yeah, the N64 has no shame, it had nothing to hide! And while the Funtastic series wasn't necessarily always advertised as limited edition, some definitely became some of the rarest Nintendo 64 systems you can buy today. The gold version was a Toys R Us exclusive; I always thought this was a cool one. Most gold Nintendo systems feel the need to plaster the Zelda logo on them, and while thats fine; they're definitely some of my favorite limited variants, I think just pure gold can look awesome, and this N64 is no exception. Yeah, Star Wars Episode I Racer Limited Edition! It's just a regular N64 isn't it? At least just sneeze a picture or something on the console to make the customer feel better, god. The Pokemon craze was hitting the big time during the Nintendo 64 era, so Nintendo acted upon that not by making a full Pokemon game for the N64, but just by jamming some Pokemon stickers on the system and calling it a day. Alright let's be fair, the Pikachu editions of the N64 are crazy unique. They went above and beyond most other limited editions which were simply just different colors with new designs on them. This one used a new, funky-looking mold that was longer to compensate for a giant Pikachu on the top, how resourceful. His cheeks light up when the system's on, the power button's a Pokeball, the reset button's his foot, I wouldn't have it any other way! This blue one was for all the world to have, but the orange one was exclusive to Japan. Of course, if you're not into fun, you could've gotten the European Pokemon Stadium version instead. I can't even be bothered to yawn. Game Boy Color, now this was really where Nintendo realized, "Ooh, me like this." I can't tell you how many mornings I woke up thinking Delka Game Boy Color. It was a shoebrand in Austria, and it was won in a contest. That's fun. More Pokemon editions this time around, that's for sure. There were the Jesco editions with Mario on them, The Lunchables edition is the last thing I think of when I hear "Lunchables," Gartner? The GameCube, did somebody order multiple MTV designs? Giveaway prizes from Europe, really the only way I can imagine playing Resident Evil 4. Yep, these beat out the Resident Evil 4 edition. A few GameCubes went with just a simple replacement of the jewel in the middle here. Tales of Symphonia, Metroid Prime, Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes, Pokemon XD. However, I'd take the Pikmin 2 bundle any day. It comes with a free Pikmin, f*ck any other object on store shelves. But come on, the full blown custom variations of the GameCube are where it's at. This Hanshin Tigers edition, Gundam Char, this one for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, which is different from other white GameCubes, but looks almost identical. That's pretty annoying. You save up to get a Crystal Chronicles GameCube only to have people assume it's a much more common white GameCube. But the one I think I think is the coolest to own would be the Thank You ATI edition. A version given to the people working at ATI for their help on developing the system. Game Boy Advance! Yeah, we're only going to be able to do some highlights here. The NES edition of the GBA SP. It was awesome because they put so much love and attention into this one. Even the texture of the design was similar to the original NES controller. That's great! The Game Boy Micro had a similar NES throwback, this time for its Japanese equivalent, the Famicom. Weirdly enough, they released this in North America in addition to Japan. It's meant to look like the Famicom's Player 1 controller and... My God, this thing is beautiful. My only problem with it is that I'm worried I'm gonna get it all scratched up if I'm not careful. Now in Japan, there was a Famicom variant of the GBA SP as well, alongside a Mother 3 Game Boy Micro exclusive to the territory. Again, absolutely gorgeous. But hey, we got the Disney Channel edition over here, so it's okay. The Dual Onyx edition of the GBA SP always weirded me out. Like, yeah, it looks cool, but it more so looks like a fan mod, Something you'd get by unscrewing two differently colored GBAs and jamming them together. Nowadays, it's absolutely ridiculous to have a Nintendo handheld without a Zelda edition released at some point, and the GBA obviously had this beaut. The Rockstar Games themed one was a European exclusive, I love it! But not as much as the Tribal tattoo variant. This is the only way to tell people not to f*ck with you. There was a real 24 karat gold version of the SP made for a contest, but this advertisement, to my knowlede, is the only time it's ever been seen. Nobody's claimed to officially have this thing for realsies. The contest may have never ended up happening, or the people who won just never cared to show it off to the world, who knows? Golden Sun edition from CoroCoro magazine, even more Pokemon editions, and a bunch with retailer names plastered on the consoles themselves. The Game Boy Advance was a tie-in in the limited edition industr-- Ok, I'll say this now, this is the beginning of a bit much. But it's fine! I'll always take time out of my day to talk about the 50 Cent DS, not to be overshadowed by the Hot Summer Donkey release. So many systems released to coincide with games, anniversaries, events, the Seattle Mariners, a baseball team Nintendo used to own. Even more effin' Pokemon, Who looked at the Love Plus Plus model and said "Yeah, looks like I'm finally going to buy a DS"? But things get even crazier with the 3DS. With Nintendo selling so many concurrent models, they did multiple limited variations of each. which was probably a nightmare for 3DS system collectors. The original release, no problem. Not much going on here. You got this slick Zelda one that came with Ocarina of Time 3D, these versions only released via Club Nintendo, a handful of others... whatever. The 3DS XL gave light to an even slicker Zelda model. This thing was one of the limited edition consoles I always looked at with envy. It's so well themed around A Link Between Worlds. Lorule is represented by the dark upside-down Triforce on the bottom, I love this design! And like I said, the Smash Bros. one was cool too. In Japan they actually got a New 3DS XL version of it, which I actually think looks a bit better. The Animal Crossing: New Leaf model looked like a Pop-Tart. (HA!) Pikachu has nipples. (HA!) Year of Luigi, Mario and Luigi: Dream Team, Pokemon, Mario, Tomadachi, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Yoshi, Persona, (voices overlap) The NES edition is stupid. The GBA SP has the outside mimic the console and the inside mimic the controller, just like it should be. The 3DS XL version just spanked a picture of the NES controller on the outer shell, and the inside, well, what do you know, it has red buttons? Lame. Now the New 3DS featured interchangeable faceblades meaning those were kind of the replacement for limited editions. Of course the Game Boy Micro also had interchangeable faceblades but that didn't stop them! There was the Ambassador Edition sold to Club Nintendo members in Europe, way before the official release date. This thing looked so cool! But the New 3DS XL definitely had more limited versions. A few Zelda editions, one Majora's Mask, and the other just with the Triforce. Not a big fan of either of these. When I think Majora, I think purple. What the hell is this? Metroid, Monster Hunter, oh man what else, how about Pokemon? Not as many editions as the original 3DS XL, but still some cool designs here, that's for sure. I do like the SNES edition mainly because it didn't have that glossy coating on the outside like most other New 3DS XLs have. How about the 2DS? There were these cool Pokemon ones, shocker! They were translucent and made to commemorate Pokemon's 20th anniversary, even coming in boxes reminiscent of the old school Pokemon Game Boy games. This Zelda one looks tart to me, and hey, wouldn't you know, I have the Super Mario Maker edition! This is hideous. The New 2DS XL limited editions did a lot of extra stuff on the outer shell. Minecraft, a Hylian shield, Dragon Quest, a Pokeball, Pikachu, all these had special 3D designs that weren't just simple splashes of artwork, and it was really cool. Now with the Nintendo home consoles, there really aren't nearly as many editions as their handhelds. The Wii had a one of a kind gold-plated version given as a gift to Buckingham Palace. I've been scouring the Ohio Craigslist for this thing, I will find it one day. There was a red Wii release for Mario's 25th anniversary, and who could forget the Glee Wii? The Wii U didn't have much. Literally the only Wii U release outside of the standard black and white consoles was the Wind Waker edition. It pairs nicely with the original Zelda 3DS, but the GamePad was the only special part about this package. The Wii U console itself, wasn't any different. One cool thing about all the various Wii U bundles though was that they all had unique artwork on the boxes, putting a cool spin on the U logo. They're all super neat, I'd love to see a full collection of these boxes someday. Since the Nintendo Switch is a handheld and a console, you'd bet Nintendo has been more willing to spit out new limited editions. Diablo, Monster Hunter XX, Pokemon, Smash Bros., but easily the coolest one, is the Nintendo Labo edition. All the other ones kind of generally follow the same idea, just a white tracing of an image on the back of the Switch or the dock. The Labo release gives everything the essence of cardboard, it's great. Sadly, it is pretty limited though. These were for winners of a Labo-themed contest. Well, those are all the limited edition consoles, damn it. Sega had a few, primarily with the Game Gear and Dreamcast. The Game Gear's limited editions weren't crazy, a few different colors, Coca-Cola, you know, typical stuff. But the Dreamcast had the Sega Sports black version. How did this thing fail? Look at this Hello Kitty one, we have x-ray vision! This platinum model was sleek, there was this banging Sonic anniversary one, the Maziora edition I like just for the box alone, look at this guy! And you couldn't have special edition Dreamcast without a Seaman release. Even a special Christmas variant came out too. If only it had a Coca-Cola version, Oh f*ck. PlayStation time. We got a console in commemoration of 10 million PS1s sold, consoles in commemoration of 20 million PS2s, consoles in commemoration of Monsters, Inc: Scare Island. Sony really liked to do the whole "commemoration of certain number of units sold" thing. They did this a lot more, even recently with the PS4. Man, this gold edition is great. There's a few standouts, but overall the PlayStation brand didn't get super wild with limited editions. Most were just different colors or simply released alongside a game. The PS4 has been having a lot though. Who else better to give away a gold PS4 than Taco Bell? Batman, Dragon Quest, Call of Duty, Spider-Man, Kingdom Hearts, God of War, this amazing throwback to the PS1, so many editions. But just like Nintendo, Sony went berserk with their handhelds, especially the PSP. Tons coincided with games, but only one was a Hannah Montana edition. I love the God of War: Ghost of Sparta one. Black and red is one of my favorite color combinations. There was another God of War release, but I like the other one a bit more. This one's great too, though. The PS Vita, honestly couldn't compete. Most designs are kind of boring here. It's all about the color with this handheld and not much else. I kind of like the Persona 4: Dancing All Night edition but other than that nothing really sticks out. Xbox! You ever consider just taking it easy? The original Xbox had some of the most iconic limited releases. The Mountain Dew version is one I always think of. Getting it seemed like a bit of a hassle though. You had to drink a lot of Mountain Dew just to have a shot at winning it. It wasn't guaranteed. And hey, if you don't like Mountain Dew there's always the Hulk. An Xbox for the launch team at Microsoft, a Panzer Dragoon Orta one, my God. Halo's special edition is a super well-known one, and the Atari Xbox makes me want to crack out a thesaurus to see all the synonyms for the word "wrong". The Xbox 360 had the Simpsons Movie edition that was crazy limited, Taco Bell back again with another release. The Star Wars edition looked fantastic, and I'm not even a big Star Wars guy. There were so many 360s released. Many came out alongside big games, The Xbox One kind of continued the trend, but not nearly as much. While there are a ton of pretty good looking ones, Microsoft has mainly been focusing on controller variants this generation. Which, hey, I'm not complaining too much. Microsoft can make a mean-looking controller. Great talk, guys! Limited edition systems are fun to gawk at, but you know what else is fun to gawk at? This official statement from my doctor! Let's see what this illness is officially doing to me. Oh no. If I don't do anything about this mild congestion, I'm going to die in 60-70 years!
BTW no peepee so we're becoming a marshall doe stuff subreddit.