Limited, when did it begin? The first limited editions?

[Nicola]

I am wondering...all these limited editions...consoles, games...but how did it begin? Which has been the first console to be made in limited edition? The Game Gear? And the first game?

How did this trend begin?

[McBacon]

I believe the first Collector's Edition was

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Limited Edition Collector's Set

in 1990 (1990-06-15), but I could be way off.

I'm probably waaaaaay off.

[MrRoboto19XX]

I too am probably way off...

Earliest I recall is the game boy pocket "Ice Blue" edition.

But then agin thats only after I started really looking into games.

[tom]

look here for SMS Lucky Dime Caper LE

http://videogamecollectors.com/gallery/album1-for-Tom

Apple ][ had LE computers, eg Wozniak signed editions, also as Mac versions.

Epoch Cassettevision had a LE Ladies set in 1985.

Those Psygnosis games had T-Shirts (Shadow of the Beast), don't remember if they were LE though.

Atari XL had a LE game, can't remember the title.

I bet lots of Japanese games had LE versions, even in the 80s already

[KingCobra]

Have to be some Atari/Activision games back in the day, they had score attack contest for L.E. games and patches, shirts and whatnot, and ofcourse NES games.

L.E. Consoles? Not sure? 16bitt days maybe?

Edit: 32/64bitt for sure, Sega had a butt load of L.E. Saturn consoles and the N64.

[Haoie]

Of course, in a broad sense, everything is a limited edition. There aren't unlimited numbers of anything after all.

Don't you just hate it when you notice the so called 'limited editions' are seen in greater numbers than the non?

[anagrama]

look here for SMS Lucky Dime Caper LE

That was released pretty late in the SMS's lifespan - somewhere around '94/'95, I think. ;)

Earliest ones I can think of off-hand are the coloured versions of the original Gameboy.

[Nicola]

Yes, but limited marketed as limited? GB were just colored, but no LE in publicity..

[ubersaurus]

I can't really think of many "limited edition" game systems that were advertised as much until the game boy color and it's bizarre "Tommy Hilfiger" model.

For games I suppose that would depend on your definition. Wasn't the red-cart version of Maximum Carnage supposed to be an LE? I've never seen in in any other, though. Mario All Stars+World was a limited edition game, but not a variant.

In fact Power Strike is the first one I can think of that had a standard release and an "LE" version, but that was really more a matter of availability.