Persona 3 Reload Collection’s Edition Gets Huge Price Cut At Amazon
Persona fans have been eating well lately, and if you’re looking to get your hands on a limited edition of one of the best games in the series, you can check out this Persona 3 Reload deal at Amazon. Normally $200, the Persona 3 Reload Aigis Edition (collector’s edition) for Xbox is down to $144, but you won’t want to wait too long because this special is for a limited time only–Amazon is using its Lightning Deal percent-claimed meter. While the Amazon listing only mentions Xbox Series X, this is one of the many Xbox games that comes with both the Series X and Xbox One versions of the game.
Persona 3 Reload’s collector’s edition comes with the base game, an art book, the Persona 3 Reload soundtrack on CD across two discs, a DLC voucher for extra in-game goodies, and most importantly of all, a collectible figure of Aigis. An Anti-Shadow suppression weapon–and seemingly the last one in existence–this powerful machine gradually awakens to human emotions throughout the course of the game.
While this deal is only relevant to Xbox owners–unless you really want the Aigis statue and art book for your collection, PS5 owners can still grab the base game for $50 right now. Other Persona deals to look out for include the Persona 5 Royal: 1 More Edition over at the Amazon-affiliated site Woot, which is discounted to $50 for the PS5 version and $70 for the Switch version. This one has some nice extras in addition to the game and a steelbook case. You’ll get an art frame inspired by Justine’s Le Grimoire clipboard, Phantom Thieves art prints, a briefcase bag, a full arcana tarot card deck, and a nice treasure box to keep everything stored in. That’s a whole lot of stuff for only $50, so even those who already own Persona 5 Royal may want to consider it.
Persona 5 Royal: 1-More Edition
This is considerably cheaper than the Amazon listings, but in case it’s sold out on Woot, you can grab them there for $109 (PS5) and $90 (Switch).
Berserk Golden Age Arc Anime Blu-Ray Preorders Live At Amazon
Berserk fans looking to rewatch one of the more infamous adaptations of the manga can soon make space on their Blu-ray shelf for a new Golden Age release. Specifically, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc Memorial Edition, a new collection of the 2012-2013 films. Available to preorder now at Amazon and Crunchyroll Store, this film trilogy will be released in the coming months.
Amazon lists the release date as June 18 with free launch-day delivery for Prime members. Meanwhile, Crunchyroll marks the date as August 27. So unless Amazon really is getting the Blu-ray a lot earlier than Crunchyroll for some unknown reason, one of these dates has to be wrong. Preorders at Amazon currently cost $70, and you won’t be charged until your order ships. You’ll get the set for the lowest price offered between the time you order and release, so there’s still a chance that Amazon will wind up matching Crunchyroll’s generous discount that drops the price to $52.49.
The films in this release will feature both English and Japanese dubs, and for extras, you’ll get textless opening and ending songs in the two-disc set. While the cover art says it’s not final, it looks like this release will feature stunning art of Guts in a berserker rage.
The Golden Age arc of Berserk was an interesting experiment to revisit the manga. An anime adaptation originally aired in 1997, but made several major deviations from the source material, something the Golden Age films attempted to avoid. Far more faithful to the manga, the films mixed beautiful animation with CGI to mixed results, but overall, this is still a fantastic retelling of Berserk’s first major arc and it ends during the infamous Eclipse sequence. While the 1997 anime’s take on that brutal event is still horrifying, the Golden Age version is pure nightmare fuel in comparison. Some might say it’s almost as terrifying to watch as Berserk 2016.
Of course, if you’re a firm believer in Berserk 1997, you can get the show in its best format right now at Amazon. The Blu-ray release has regularly sold out several times since its initial release in March, but fresh stock of the 25-episode series is available again at Amazon and Crunchyroll:
Finally, you can never go wrong with the manga. The late Kentaro Miura’s dark fantasy series has been collected in several editions over the years, but the beautifully oversized hardcover volumes are the best of the lot.
Berserk Manga Deluxe Editions
New Study Reveals The Main Reasons People Want To Play Games
GameSpot parent company Fandom has released its fourth annual Inside Gaming report, and one of the key takeaways is that personal expression within games is increasingly important to players. The Inside Gaming report is based on data from Fandom’s 350 million monthly unique visitors, 45 million pages of content, and 250,000 wikis.
The report found that the main reason people play games is to unwind and relieve stress (54%), but a close second was “creation, imagination, and self-expression” (46%). This is up 10% from 2023, demonstrating a growing trend. Within games, the top five in-game customization players seek out to express themselves include character personalization (76%), Gamertags and usernames (48%), communication (35%), signatures and emblems (31%), and emotions and gestures (30%).
The report also found that there is a significant gap between how people express themselves in real life versus online. 80% of respondents said their “gamer personality” is different than their real-life personality. And then 64% said it’s easier to be themselves online rather than in person.
The Inside Gaming report went on to say that 60% of people believe self-expression in gaming is more important than ever before, with the study specifically calling out titles like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox for offering extensive options to personalize their characters. Anyone who has played those games knows very well the depth and scope of what kinds of items, skins, and other in-game wares players can acquire to deck their character out as they see fit.
Additionally, the report touched on how 64% of respondents said gaming communities represent “vital safe spaces” where they feel free to express themselves, unlike how they might be able to in real life.
“From character customization to cosplay and content creation, video games have empowered gamers to explore, express and enhance their identity–nearly two thirds of gamers claim it’s easier to be themselves with a controller in their hands,” Fandom CMO Stephanie Fried said. “With the growing significance of gaming as a means for self-expression and personal evolution, it’s crucial for brands to connect to these motivators to help players bring their gaming personas to life in the real world.”
For more, check out the full study.
