Unwanted Toys Part 1: Saints Row The Third Collector’s Edition Concept

One of the best gigs I ever had was designing video game collector’s editions for European distribution. My geeky site caught the eye of Port Plexus, a company which has apparently folded in the past few months. I had an NDA with Port Plexus not to reveal the work I have done for them, but they are gone and other artists who did concepts for them are posting their work, so I will too. Plus most of the games I have made concepts for have since been released.

This is one of several design I made for Saints Row The Third, which was released a few weeks ago. It is by far my favorite, because it is a portable casino and minibar. It was like a swiss army box.

It featured a drawer that would hold the game, soundtrack, a few decks of cards, dice, and a few smaller items. The drawer turned into a pit table, as the bottom was lined with a felt carpet featuring a roulette layout.

Two front drawers held shot glasses and drinking coasters, and these would swing out to reveal a roulette wheel and some mirrors. The drawers were held closed by a THQ logo latch. It swiveled on the ‘Q’ while the ‘T’ and ‘H’ would latch onto a knob.

The rear of the box had a compartment for storing a poker chip rack, to complete the gambling motif.

This case was designed to be mobile, hence the handle on top. Everything stored neatly and snugly in the case. The drawer had a tiered design for the game to sit on top of everything. The swinging front drawers clasped the roulette wheel spindle. The shot glasses had cup holders even.

It was and still is an ambitious design. I wrote a list of ideas for the game, and this one had so many items I was surprised it was commissioned. Not just because it would be pricier, but it offered a lot of stuff to play with that might distract from the game itself. It also promoted alcohol to an extent, but hey this was Europe. Don’t they serve beer in movie theaters there?

It was among the first I have done for Port Plexus, and it was in the running for a good while. It was a bit sad when it didn’t make the cut, though not unexpected.

Some notes: See the middle and bottom images? That’s when the game title wasn’t revealed yet, so I forged my own ‘Saints Row 3′ logo. I swapped it out for the final branding (top image) later. Also, I didn’t know the game would be leaving Stilwater City for Steelport City, so I branded all the items with a Stilwater Casino theme.