Special Edition Zunes. Stupid or Genius?

Posted by Chris Leckness on 10/2/08

Remember when you would visit a company and they would throw you a pen or keychain complete with their company name and phone number? That was a win/win right? I mean, you get a free pen and they have their phone number in your hand for easy retrieval. Well, I know the Zunes aren't inexpensive enough to give out to customers like a pen, but the rate at which Microsoft is cobranding Zunes kind of reminds me of this.

Is it smart to have all these special edition Zunes or do you think it cheapens the appearance of the product? I like special edition things, but only when they are indeed "Special". I eluded to my opinion on this a little in my post announcing the Gears of War II Zune yesterday. I think that they are putting too many branded Zunes out there. Hell, I can't remember them all either.

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6 Responses for "Special Edition Zunes. Stupid or Genius?"

ACE October 2nd, 2008 at 9:20 am 1
I totally agree Chris.Â This has got to be the umpteenth ‘Special’ edition Zune.Â I really think Microsoft originally thought these things would help get the brand ‘out there.’Â Like getting gamers interested in the Zune by offering this GoW2 Zune.Â But what you ultimately end up with is a dated and, in my opinion, cheapened deal (unless they’re like those Gold Zunes).Â When the game’s beat and it’s a year later, does the added value of an old game still hold?Â I think not.Â Instead of branding another tattoo on another piece of hardware,Â ZuneÂ should refocus and reinvent that hardware - now that will seriously turn some heads…
Shado October 2nd, 2008 at 9:56 am 2
know what else they could do to get the brand out there…MAKE A DAMN COMMERCIAL THAT ACTUALLY SHOWS THE DEVICE AND TELLS PEOPLE WHAT THE HELL A ZUNE IS! Feature it on the front page of Microsoft.com or something!
Tablet PC User October 2nd, 2008 at 11:47 am 3
It doesn’t bother me. Technically, it isn’t a different zune since the hardware is the same; the outside and preloaded contentÂ are different. GOW2 isÂ MS/CliffB’s product and they are just making people that like GOW2 have a reason to try out a Zune.

To me, this is no different from when Apple released a red iPod nano for breast cancer back in 2006.

@Shado - 100% agree. It is going on 2 years and I haven’t seen/heard 1 Zune ad on TV/Newspaper/Radio or anywhere. I’ve said this before and I’ll repeat it again…MSFT can not adverstise! They wouldn’t even be able to sell to a fellow human why oxygen is needed!
Ricardo Dawkins October 2nd, 2008 at 6:02 pm 4
Can you remember all the colors and variations of the iPod, Mini, nano, shuffle, etc ?

Do you know about those Fox branded iPod ?
Did Fox cheapened (sp)Â the iPod brand ?
ACE October 2nd, 2008 at 6:19 pm 5
^^Â Yeah, but how many ’special edition’ iPods were there?Â I can count them on one hand (Product (red), U2 iPod, Fox), not to mention this is in the iPods whole 7 years of existence.Â No, those didn’t cheapen the iPod, ’cause they were actually ’special’.Â You don’t maintain that ’special’-ness if every 6 months you come out with yet another ’special’ Zune…IMHO…
Weird October 3rd, 2008 at 2:00 am 6
^^ Well said ACE… I totallyÂ agree with you here… Zune Special editions are no more special as they come up with a Special Edition every 3-4 months. iPod comes with a special edition once in a while and that makes people eager buying them and thinking what new thing would this special edition have in it. IMHO Zune should come up with a Special Edition only if it is really special and has got something out of the world in it that would make buyers desperate buying them.