Update: Oct 22, 2004
In Japan, good games usually enjoy three lifetimes. The best enjoy up to four or five before they succumb to the rigors of time and market satiation. The first lifetime is the initial release of the game at full price where 100,00 to a few million copies are sold. The first release is where the publisher hopes to make most of its return on investment. Nary six months (or thereabouts) later, the publisher submits the game for "the Best" collection which is Sony's budget banner for older but still good games. Other than Sony's standard fees and printing costs, Best games at Y2800 are pretty much pure profit - the development and marketing costs have been factored into the first printing of the game and product awareness is already out there. Should the publisher want to sow its oats for a third time, they'll normally release the game under its own in-house budget label. In Konami's case, it's called the Dendou Collection and this week, we bring in three Dendou games and one "the Best" game culled from Konami best sellers. The Dendou version of MGS2: Sons of Liberty includes a special slipcase which houses the normal game DVD package.
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