Well I heard for the longest time that the first 5 chapters are the same so it shouldn't come as that big of a surprise that the games aren't all basically Awakening sized per se. I mean both stories are basically different sides of the same coin. But in the end it seems as though Fates outnumbers Awakening in content though.

I honestly think that the main reason they decided to split up the game versions is that perhaps they knew they would have to charge more or whatever so the decided to keep the costs low. You also have to keep in mind that each version plays differently so they might use this as a way to gauge which direction the series could go.

Lastly, you insist that the Revelations ending is the "true ending". With out spoilers, why do you say that? Has there been someone official who said that or does it just feel that way because it's the neutral route?

From VGChartz, Fe:A in Japan sold 520k! While FE: Fates sold 510k! But VGChartz doesn't count digital sales. Sooooo...... The sales would be much higher if we combined the other versions sales when people download it as dlc. 

The point of the Catch 'em all games is to play with your friends, and there are different versions to impulse that aspect. To complete the game, you must find someone with the version opposite to yours and negociate a trade. Also, Pokemon is, at heart, a multiplayer game, it's main mechanic is to battle and trade with other people. Fire Emblem is, and always has been, a single player game. Splitting up the content like this makes no sense and has no justification.

I'm here still salty I missed on the special edition one

Hiku said: Slade6alpha said: I'm here still salty I missed on the special edition one Is it sold out everywhere or something? My friend said something about that.

yeah, it's been sold out since they announced it and dumb ass Nintendo never restocked once. 

And I'm not paying some scalper BS price on ebay. I wasn't thrilled with this whole FE thing, but three games for I believe 90 dollars plus the extras made it okay for me. Now I'm just going to wait until their re-stock (not happening), or they go on sale (also not happening). 

Hiku said: Slade6alpha said: I'm here still salty I missed on the special edition one Is it sold out everywhere or something? My friend said something about that.

I think accordingin NA it is. But here in Australia there are still taking orders. 

Imagine if Nintendo stocked more of this, who knows how much money they would have gain, from the ammount of comments I see people getting missed out on getting one. 

I can spare the money and i'm more or less indifferent towards the split.

I will buy it, i think. If so, it's all three of them. If i'm going to play a story, then i must finish it.

64$ for a game with 60% more content than awakening and 3 storylines, doesnt seem that bad.

or 40$ for a game with almost same content as awakening.

First off, thanks for putting this together Hiku. Very thorough and objective analysis of the content the game provides.

I think my biggest takeaway though, is that each of the two individual entries are comparable to Awakening in terms of content, and so the graphic in the OP (though understandable a joke) isn't really apt. The issue is more that the value decreases with each consecutive game played. Playing either Birthright or Conquest will leave a similar impression to Awakening, while playing the other game will be around 50% retreading. That's a poor value if you refuse to buy digital, but a wash if you download it, from what I can tell.

Revelations seems to be the bigger issue, since the amount of content is far less than either of the two original games. Without playing it, I can't judge if the the additional story content is worth the added price, but objectively the 3rd version is a poor value based on stages and characters alone.

That being said...I definitely feel there are a lot of intangible factors that are a bit tougher to take into account, which makes me believe looking at characters and stages alone might not be painting the full picture. For example, if the characters and story are more interesting to me, the unique or new classes are well-designed, or if the new objectives add to the gameplay. Mostly subjective, I admit, but it makes the comparison a bit more complicated.

For me, even if I hadn't pre-ordered the special edition, I wouldn't have an issue paying $80, as I know this is a game I'll sink hundreds of hours into on subsequent playthroughs. I think for more casual fans of the franchise who would only want one playthrough, a new $40 game comparable to Awakening is nothing to really worry about. For hardcore fans that need the full experience, I think it depends how you quantify the differences in the games.

The only problem is the third path. Because as you said Fates has a 60% more of content than Awakening, and that was already a big game so it makes sense that they are charging 60$ for the entire thing with the option of buying just one path at 40$, no complaints there, but the third path makes the overall product overpriced at 80$. Do we know exactly how relevant is that path though? i mean is really fundamental part of the game or is just for the most hardcore fans of it that want to know more about some stuff?