Madden NFL 12 Hall of Fame Collector’s Edition Offers Questionable Value

For anyone considering a purchase of the Madden NFL 12 “Hall of Fame” Limited Collector’s Edition don’t jump at the product solely because it is being marketed as something special. It’s important to take a look at the total package and determine its true worth especially considering the difference in price between that and the regular version is substantial. For $90 the “Hall of Fame” edition includes the game, an autographed Marshall Faulk card, an exclusive pack of Madden Ultimate Team cards featuring legends, and Faulk box art. 

Amazon and Walmart are offering $20 promotional credits on the standard versions of Madden 12. Find Madden 12 on Amazon for the 360 here and PS3 here. That makes the game for all intents and purposes $40 new just like last year. Those promo credits are not being applied to the CE making the difference in price essentially $50. That is going to be tough for most people to justify considering items included are limited in their worth.

One thing to really consider is how devalued the items included in the CE will be. Any time there is 125K of something, particularly within a smaller segment as here limited to Madden gamers/football fans, the over-saturation is going to damage their value. In the case of autographed Marshall Faulk cards – expect to see thousands of those on Ebay within days for a few bucks. As to the Madden Ultimate Team cards EA was smart to restrict them so that they couldn’t be traded or sold on in the Auction House. With 125K of each player out there they would have basically been worthless. Still this also means the cards only will matter to those people who want to immediately beef up their team or want the particular players.

If that package is still worth what amounts to $50 to someone then great! Otherwise it looks to be a better bet to buy the regular version and – should any of those items be of interest – grab them on the secondary market.