The good old BGII Collector's Edition - NAM vs. Europe
AndreaColombo
Member Posts: 5,525
I've finally managed to acquire a content-complete European CE of the original Baldur's Gate II to go with the North-American one I already possessed, and figured I'd put together a comparison—in part for the sake of nostalgia, in part for it could be informational for those seeking to acquire these boxes and trying to decide which to go for.
The Box
NAM CE
EU CE
While the North-American CE has a similar box to the standard edition—with the exception of a "Collector's Edition" plaque under the game's name and a golden sticker showing the box's number out of the total 62,000 that were produced—the European CE sports a unique box design in an odd square shape. In general the European CE box looks and feels cheaper than its NAM counterpart due to a more flimsy cardboard and a lower-quality print.
European boxes aren't numbered and I do not know how many were produced. However, they tend to be harder to come by for two reasons: 1) Contrary to the North-American edition which is obviously English-only, the European CE comes in various languages and your search is likely going to be limited to the language of your interest, which means you're searching a comparatively smaller pool; 2) One of the extras in the European CE was a t-shirt, which most people probably used, washed, and either ruined or lost; it is very hard to find a CE that still has a t-shirt (if you're the kind of collector who absolutely wants their CE to be content complete.)
Game discs
NAM CE
EU CE
The European CE shipped with the exact same jewel case and game discs as the standard version. The NAM CE, on the other hand, shows the same "Collector's Edition" plaque as the box on the jewel case and sports color prints on spiffy golden discs.
Game manual
NAM CE
EU CE
Again the European CE has the same manual as the standard edition, whereas the NAM CE goes the extra mile with a bigger and sleeker ring-bound manual.
World map
NAM CE
EU CE
While the European CE comes with the same paper map as the standard edition, the NAM CE comes with a bigger map printed on cloth. Print quality tends to be crisper and more saturated on paper, but the cloth map isn't as sensitive to creases and feels better in your hands.
Other extras
NAM CE
EU CE
Here is where the European CE shines a little brighter.
Both boxes come with the same set of collectible trading cards. Besides the cards, the NAM CE comes with a thick writing pad with artwork from Interplay games and a bonus disc in a CE-marked cardboard sleeve. The European CE comes with BGII postcards, a double-sided BGII poster, a BGII t-shirt, the same bonus disc (although in a transparent plastic sleeve; it is the same disc that came with standard edition pre-orders) and an Icewind Dale demo disc.
Arguably the European CE has the most extra content, although you don't really get to pick the size of the t-shirt (it's an L) and its print is admittedly low quality. Both boxes also have a Quick Reference guide (which is slightly bigger and more sturdy in the NAM CE), and the European CE has a little excerpt from Prima's strategy guide.
Overall I have a preference for the NAM CE as it feels generally more well-finished, although both have their merits and are great to have for hardcore fans of the series.
The Box
NAM CE
EU CE
While the North-American CE has a similar box to the standard edition—with the exception of a "Collector's Edition" plaque under the game's name and a golden sticker showing the box's number out of the total 62,000 that were produced—the European CE sports a unique box design in an odd square shape. In general the European CE box looks and feels cheaper than its NAM counterpart due to a more flimsy cardboard and a lower-quality print.
European boxes aren't numbered and I do not know how many were produced. However, they tend to be harder to come by for two reasons: 1) Contrary to the North-American edition which is obviously English-only, the European CE comes in various languages and your search is likely going to be limited to the language of your interest, which means you're searching a comparatively smaller pool; 2) One of the extras in the European CE was a t-shirt, which most people probably used, washed, and either ruined or lost; it is very hard to find a CE that still has a t-shirt (if you're the kind of collector who absolutely wants their CE to be content complete.)
Game discs
NAM CE
EU CE
The European CE shipped with the exact same jewel case and game discs as the standard version. The NAM CE, on the other hand, shows the same "Collector's Edition" plaque as the box on the jewel case and sports color prints on spiffy golden discs.
Game manual
NAM CE
EU CE
Again the European CE has the same manual as the standard edition, whereas the NAM CE goes the extra mile with a bigger and sleeker ring-bound manual.
World map
NAM CE
EU CE
While the European CE comes with the same paper map as the standard edition, the NAM CE comes with a bigger map printed on cloth. Print quality tends to be crisper and more saturated on paper, but the cloth map isn't as sensitive to creases and feels better in your hands.
Other extras
NAM CE
EU CE
Here is where the European CE shines a little brighter.
Both boxes come with the same set of collectible trading cards. Besides the cards, the NAM CE comes with a thick writing pad with artwork from Interplay games and a bonus disc in a CE-marked cardboard sleeve. The European CE comes with BGII postcards, a double-sided BGII poster, a BGII t-shirt, the same bonus disc (although in a transparent plastic sleeve; it is the same disc that came with standard edition pre-orders) and an Icewind Dale demo disc.
Arguably the European CE has the most extra content, although you don't really get to pick the size of the t-shirt (it's an L) and its print is admittedly low quality. Both boxes also have a Quick Reference guide (which is slightly bigger and more sturdy in the NAM CE), and the European CE has a little excerpt from Prima's strategy guide.
Overall I have a preference for the NAM CE as it feels generally more well-finished, although both have their merits and are great to have for hardcore fans of the series.
13
Comments
Over the years I've seen a couple of such country specific "limited" Collector's Editions. They're especially common for older generation games.
But back to the more common boxes. I got my German "standard" CE for something less than €20 back in the days. The T-Shirt survived less than seven years. And I still remember the critical hit gore bits being censored. Good times.
[Addendum] Found an unboxing video, where the guy unwrapped the trading cards and shuffled through the cards and there was only 16, so the back of the box must be a misprint.
There was no standard edition available, so I never really regretted it. Played it so damn much, and I know I still have a few things to do in the original that I never did. Mine was NA version. I had that map on my wall in University.
the pre release that has Joluv as bonus merchant, label 000906_1001, stamp CD-C95-1098-BON
the collector's edition that has Deidre as bonus merchant, label BG2_CE, stamp CD-C95-1098-BPP
these discs are for euro version, maybe american version has different serial/content
however you can install bonus merchants without these discs retrieving on the net the necessary files, and if you have installed throne of bhaal over shadows of amn you should already have Deidre