Behold the contents of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 “Prestige Edition” pack. Now maybe you didn’t notice right away, but sitting there right in front of the (pretty standard) metal case and art book is a pair of FULLY FUNCTIONAL NIGHT VISION GOGGLES.

Seriously?

Now, as an avid gamer, I’m all for collectors editions. If there’s a game that I particularly am going to enjoy, then sometimes the extra stuff is a great little touch. Companies have done some creative stuff with pre-order and collectors edition stuff recently, ranging from in-game bonus content (missions, vehicles, etc.) to fun props (such as the lunchbox and bobblehead from Fallout 3), but this pack bothers me a little for two reasons.

First, it bothers me because it’s probably going to be pretty damn expensive. I mean, it almost has to be with a pair of working NIGHT VISION GOGGLES. And because the first Modern Warfare was one of the best selling games ever, and because the demand for this one is going to be bananas, it’s still going to sell. I feel like Activision sat down and said “Hey, what ridiculous thing can we package with the Ridiculous Edition so we can charge a Ridiculous amount for it?”. Bingo, we have a winner!

The second reason is that the “cool” factor of this has a limited reach. Sure your friends/family/spouse (maybe not if you bought this) will think you’re the man, but no one else will ever know. Gamers love looking cool, and most other gamers only see you in the game. So how about you offer a sweet extra gun? Or an exclusive character model like Bungie is doing with Halo ODST.

But even as I write this, I know this thing is going to sell out. And that’s okay. I’m sure you’ll find all sorts of practical uses for your video game branded NIGHT VISION GOGGLES.