A new look at the Skyrim Collector’s Edition

This week we received a final version of The Art of Skyrim Official Art Book – the massive, 200+ page companion to the Skyrim Collector’s Edition. To celebrate the affair, marketing artist Lindsay Westcott took a new photo of all the CE contents — including a first peek at the pages of the artbook.

In the coming days, we’ll be sharing more from the artbook… keep your eyes peeled!

Reader Comments

      • I agree with this proposal. I would personally pay about $30-40 for an art book along with the $60 for the game. But if I have to pay an extra $50 just for a dragon and a map, I’d have to say it isn’t worth it and I’d rather get the game and wait for someone to upload scans of the art book.

        • Ungrateful non-fans! Remain artbookless, then, and stop your complaining!

          I have already placed my deposit for the Collector’s Edition, 3 months before I knew what’d be in it!

          Furthermore, I *demand* that BethBlog ***NOT*** post ANYTHING from the art book which should be for the exclusive preserve of the eyes of the true believers who forked out! ;-P

    • yes, artbook separate..its really all i want.
      35 dollars sounds very reasonable, considering they will likely sell on ebay for 120-150 if these are exclusive to the collectors edition.
      as an artist…i say shut up and take my money!

    • Don’t assume money is all they are after. Many devs just want to get an idea out in the open. Publishers on the other hand are a different story. However in SKYRIM’s case the publisher is the publishing division of the developer.

  2. I can leave the artbook–I’ll be seeing the art soon enough!–but I’d really like the Making-Of DVD which I’ve heard(?) is included.

    • Making of DVD’s aren’t all that. I’ve seen a few, including Crysis 1, Far Cry 2, Unreal Tournament 3 and of course Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion.

      They’re usually a very short behind the scenes flashback a scene or two of folks working. Todd reminiscing about school Chess Club (or about the last time he reminisced about Chess Club in a Making Of video) (or about last time a fan questioned Todd specifically about his belonging to the Chess Club).

      Pretty disappointing usually, just a brief look behind the stage curtain rather than a structured documentary about how ideas for a game came together and then how the sub-teams conceptualise, realise and polish their ideas.

  3. Looking forward to getting this. I booked a week off work to play it.

    What are the dimensions for the dragon and the box?

    I know the dragon is 30.5cm tall what are the length and the width?

      • That is true, but depends how compressed are those soundfiles.
        Skyrim music, judging form what I’ve heard so far, deserves Audo CD releasea. Really I would buy this Edition just for the CD that I can play in full quality on my audio system.

  13. You could atleast showed this at the GameFest 2011 in Birmingham, you realy wasted people 4 hours waiting for a stupid trailer which could be already seen on youtube.

  14. I am so ridiclously pumped. I can’t believe people actually have things to complain about. I honestly think this is going to raise the standard of video games forever.

  15. Now if you would throw in a poster that I could hang on the wall and adore everyday, BIG Elder Scrolls fan here, but I really think the collectors edition got too little.

  16. I tried to buy from Amazon.com here in Brazil but the freight was at $ 175.00 and Gamestop has serious problems with international credit cards. Too bad I can not have it.

  17. Can’t wait till this comes out…pre ordered it as soon as I found out about it…wish it had more but I can’t wait to get my hands on that art book and the making of skyrim dvd

  20. I pre-ordered the pc version of this, but yeah like others have said, at 150 bucks, would it be so bad to include at least a coupon to download the game’s soundtrack?

  27. Meh, just not worth it to me. An extra $90 for a making of DVD I may watch once, a statue that will just sit there gathering dust and an art book (best part of the deal). The game will be awesome, but the CE is just too pricey for what you get.

  29. First off @Emilio, while i am a smoker i highly disagree with your statement, it would make it look like crap. And since the entire reason i am buying the ce is for the statue i don’t want it turned into some stupid ashtray.

    Have this preordered on amazon with release date delivery, can’t wait for 11.11.11.

    I want to see a picture of the pc CE. I also second the statement about including a soundtrack and possibly a voucher for the first dlc once it’s released.

    • precisely, if i wanted a dragon ashtray i could just make one. it would be awesome. i would rig it so flames would come out of the dragon’s mouth so you could have a light

    • no, no, an optional ashtray or cupholder. customization, baby! also, the dragon should spit fire for lighting up…

      what about a 17th-century Venetian fountain?

  30. This is kind of upsetting. $150+ for this small collection of stuff? I’d basically only buy the CE for the artbook and the map. Considering you can get the map when you pre-order the normal copy from gamestop, it’s sort of like you basically just get the plastic dragon and the artbook when buying the CE. How is a that small dragon sculpture and an art book worth an extra $70ish? The answer: it’s just not.
    I agree with the statement above. Sell the artbook separately and Bethesda will get more money from me. I don’t care about the awkwardly shaped plastic dragon.

  31. i live in new zealand, the collectors edition is sold out everywhere… if any1 has any info on how i could purchase this fine edition in ps3 form in nz please advise.. its not a want its a need ..

  33. Why oh why couldn’t they have just set the price point at $100? I would have snapped it up in an instant. Oh well, no fancy collector’s edition for me.

  35. Unfortunately I am spending an excessive amount of money on this game. I plan to buy three copies (one for each system) and the PC version is going to be CE. I sadden myself…

  36. I hope this comes with some DLC for the price tag … though since I already per-ordered it, its not like it matters, I can’t wait for this game to come out, how ever I’m a little disappointed by the release date since its on remembrance day, and ill be in remembrance day parades and military functions all day :( so I wont be able to play it or even likely pick it up until the day after, I know 11/11/11 was probably to good of a release date to miss but still :( is suppose its just another thing we do for our country :P skip the release date of the best video game ever made.

  40. Not only am I buying this version, I’m buying the regular version. I love the effort you put into this: the statue and art book are a great incentive. Thank you for acknowledging the nerds who aren’t still relying on their allowance to buy games.

  44. Again with the price complainers?

    First of all, I’m surprised it isn’t well over $200, what with that Alduin statue. Normally those things cost an arm and a leg (anyone remember the Diablo III Barbarian statue that was $300 just by itself?). Plus, that artbook is huge; looks like really high quality stuff. I can’t wait to see more of it.

    And besides – if any game is worth $150, it’s a freaking Elder Scrolls game.

  45. I think Bethesda should come out with a separate collectors edition like Oblivion had where it wasn’t that pricey but you still got the making of DVD, the booklet, and extra stuff. I expected to buy something like that for Skyrim around $70-80 but I cannot fathom paying $150 just for the statue. There should be a Normal Edition $60 which is just the game and map, the Collectors Edition for $70-80 which is basically everything here except the Statue (Making of DVD, Art Book, Game, Map) and then make this one called the Dragonborn Edition (or something) for $150 which is everything including the pricey statue.

    • I’m with Cipher8. I really just wanted a limited edition version with “making of” DVD’s. Really just don’t have room for (a very sweet looking) dragon statue and art book.

    • The reason there aren’t 3 price points is Bethesda can extract the most profit with this all-or-nothing strategy. FYI the statue is not “pricey,” it costs them dollars at most to manufacture, more dollars to transport and handle etc. It is indeed, however, the selling point of this bundle. It gives them an excuse to charge so much, because it is something that many hardcore fans see as luxurious, unique, and desirable, even when the amount of investment they made in it is minimal. Example: the game alone is $60 bucks. The book and map and extra dvd could be a reasonable separate purchase for even up to $30-40. That leaves another $60 dollars that you are paying, just for the dragon. Now did Bethesda spend as much time and money making the dragon statue as the game itself? No, they had a Chinese manufacturer make it for nothing. Even considering the lesser demand for the dragon compared to the game, justifying a higher profit margin, the reality is this is Bethesda’s way of making you their sucker. It’s like they sell an extra game to 25% (or whatever it is) of buyers. That’s HUGE profits. To understand why there’s no 3rd price point, think about this. All those people who really love the art book and extras dvd and would pay separately $35 or even buy a 2nd price point bundle for $90, but are not willing to pay $150 for this bundle, would give Bethesda an added profit in that scenario. But, at what cost? All the people who would have paid $150, but who would now settle for the $90 bundle, would be essentially a $60 dollar revenue loss to Bethesda per person. If this number is at least half the number of extra buyers who would pay only for a $90 bundle if offered, then Bethesda would be wise not to offer it. You can bet the bank that they did extensive consumer demand and price point analysis with mathematical/economic modeling to decide on this. This is Bethesda’s biggest profit opportunity ever, one that will not come around again for at least another five years. They will be getting all they can out of their consumers. And you ask why they didn’t include the first DLC free…. YOU WILL BUY IT ANYWAY!!!!

    • I too am with cipher. i really want the ce, but just for the making of dvd and the art book. i dont really want the statue at all, but i REAAALLLY want the art book and the dvd, but like Wolph said, there will probably be a digital copy i could find somewhere for those

    • i have a bad news and a good news for u
      the good news is they made another type for that.
      check it !!
      http://www.ebgames.com.au/search?title=The+Elder+Scrolls+V%3a+Skyrim+Exclusive+EB+Games+Edition&utm_source=website&utm_medium=large_hero&utm_campaign=SkyrimExclusive

      And the bad news is it’s PAL format, not NTSC, not NTSC/J …. additionally, the book include was just a blank book NOT the Artbook (damn !!! i really dont know what they made for ! for writing diary of bug huh ?)
      finally,the price is 88$ for PC and 108$ for PS3,x360 version (AUS dollar maybe)
      Does any1 find the same in NTSC format ???

  48. Me and my homie got this on preorder. Rollin up with $300 like its nothing. Cant wait to play this game! Only reason im buying this is to put $$$ in their pocket to help towards epic dlc! Kinda interested to watch making of dvd too.

  49. Still just way too expensive. It is a nice statue, but art books don’t really have any value after you look at them once, and “making of” dvds would be better produced as free video on YouTube as part of the marketing. Really, this set is worth about $90 max, even with the book and DVD (really maybe only $80 since it doesn’t have a soundtrack disc). And after a lot of us got burned by the completely non-functional pip-boy clocks, well enthusiasm remains low for extra clutter.

  50. Really looking forward to Skyrim but not digging this. Never was a fan of the collector’s edition titles. As expected, the price is outrageous.