Unboxing [UK]: Steins;Gate - Limited Edition (PS3 + Visual Novel)

First of all, I feel we should all thank the game publisher pqube for being able to release Steins;Gate onto the PlayStation format (PS3 and Vita) in both digital and physical retail form! It's the first time I've seen this happen for quite some time.

Here's an overview of the UK retailer GAME exclusive limited edition set that pqube have brought out for the release. There is a standard edition version for both formats not to worry!

Steins;Gate is a visual novel and the second title in the Scientific Adventure series created by Nitroplus. It's considered to be one of the best visual novel titles out there and one of the few to be released onto consoles first before the PC version (therefore it doesn't have any eroge scenes whatsoever). Steins;Gate's popularity also resulted with a spin-off (not officially available in English), a sequel (called 'Steins;Gate Zero') and also an anime adaptation (a 26 episode TV series plus a movie).

2015 seems to be the year that visual novels are getting the attention it deserves. Not only did we have kickstarters for Clannad and the Grisaia trilogy but also upcoming releases for various otome games like Amnesia and Code:Realise and also a European release for XBlaze Code:Embyro. And of course Hatoful Boyfriend 1 & 2 because the world hasn't got enough pigeons already.

This release is the PlayStation 3 version of the visual novel, published by pqube who also handled a couple other Japanese games like Persona 4 Arena for the UK. A PlayStation Vita version is also available in standard and limited editions by pqube, in addition to the PC version released by JAST USA a year prior. The limited edition version comes with an artbook that covers various pieces from the series including the characters and buildings that are set in the story. There's also some spoilerific scenes and fanservice (not too much but can be NSFW) art included.

Visual Novel Specs:
Format: PlayStation 3 (also available on PlayStation Vita and PC)
Language: English text, Japanese voices
Exclusive: No
DRM: Free on PC, Region Free on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita
Eroge Content: No

PlayStation 3 Specs:
Version: UK/Europe
Local Players: 1
Online Players: None
Resolution: NTSC 720p, 1080i, 1080p [This is based on the video output, resolution in-game may be different]
HDD Space: 10MB Minimum [This is based on the save file]
Trophies: Yes

The packaging itself is pretty tight and it took me quite some time to get the contents out of it.

The standard edition version for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita are available on Amazon UK.

And here's some of the pages featured in the artbook:

Steins;Gate is available on PC by JAST USA and on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita by pqube. The PS3 and Vita versions are available for SRP £29.99 (I managed to pick up the Game Exclusive on offer for £19.99).