XIII - Nintendo Switch

This is probably the only physical Switch ESRB release this game will ever have. Read on and I’ll share everything I know. It comes in a plastic, transparent slipcase with a raised, orange logo of the game’s title on its front. Within it is the game inside a standard Switch case. Interestingly, when I ordered it from Best Buy on September 17, 2022 it did at the time say Limited Edition but that specific descriptor has since been removed yet the SKU remained the same, likely meaning that they omitted Limited and Standard designations when it was decided to release only as one version. I had originally pre ordered the Limited Edition for Switch from Best Buy two years earlier on September 14, 2020. That order is still open and I imagine will always remain so. Here is why I believe that to be: Microids originally hired PlayMagic to remake XIII and while the Switch version was delayed the other versions that were released reviewed horribly; allegedly the second worst reviewed game of 2020 according to a prominent review aggregate site. Microids issued an apology, let PlayMagic go and instead partnered with Tower Five who, “…reworked the entire game from art direction to the AI and added numerous technical improvements,” in a what could be called a re-remake of XIII which has been released as a free digital update to current owners of the 2020 version, a new physical copy for Xbox and PlayStation and its first (and probably last) appearance on Switch. New SKUs were created to differentiate the physicals, never mind that one of those had yet to see an initial release. This is what appeared as the aforementioned, originally differently branded (as Limited) current SKU at Best Buy that you’re viewing now. Elsewhere all mentions of a Limited Edition have either been removed or on a certain online ‘Everything Store’ is listed as “Currently Unavailable” with no price given. The original LE was $59.99 and at Best Buy its pre order was advertised to come with a free $10 e-gift card. The $39.99 “regular” version listed on another prominent (and notoriously ‘stocky’) video game & collectible retailer’s site is listed as “Currently Unavailable”. I had forgotten about my LE pre order here, was never notified of it upon impending release due to reasons detailed above- actually spotting it accidentally in my order history only recently -and had since pre ordered the standard $39.99 copy for in-store pickup at said other retailer. It never showed up. I suspect it won’t, either. This MSRP $49.99 copy is likely the only physical Switch ESRB version of XIII there will ever be. It also reviewed rather favorably so, version-confusion aside, was worth the wait!

September 13th 2022