Vinnie Bartilucci (10:37 AM on Fri May 9, 2008)

I find it hard to believe they'd burn a separate version of the game just for one store - I'm sure it's a code or something you have to enter, which means they'll be available to everyone in a couple of hours after release.

Different characters in different platforms' versions of the game I could definitely see. They did that with Soulcalibur III and I believe they're doing it again for IV.

Karl Cramer (12:33 PM on Fri May 9, 2008)

Depends on how savvy Sega is. If it's an open code, then yeah, everyone's going to share it. If each game comes with an unique 5x5 code like they did for people buying the Guitar Hero 3 soundtrack, then it will be one per customer. An exclusive disc is not impossible either, as we've seen with CDs and DVDs. All three methods have been done in the past.

Allyn Gibson (3:09 PM on Fri May 9, 2008)

Based on my knowledge of GameStop, as a former employee and the emphasis they put on pre-orders, it's probably just a cheat code to get the character, not a special edition of the game. GameStop will lie, cheat, and steal to get pre-orders, and they're not above telling customers that they get special stuff for pre-ordering a game, even though there's actually nothing special about the special stuff. So, I'm calling shenanigans on a special edition; it's just GameStop's modus operandi.

Matt Raub (8:55 PM on Fri May 9, 2008)

Here's what they do: They SAY it's a "retailer exclusive" but 9/10 times, its something that is already in the game that comes with a retailer exclusive code that allows you to unlock it right away. Sega would be immensely stupid to pigeonhole themselves in each system, because if somebody is going to buy the game, they will buy the game for the system they own. So in other words, I would need to spend $600 to play as Maestro hulk when that money isn't going to Sega, and I've already spent upwards of $60 on the game to begin with? hogwash.