Which Version of World of Warcraft Should I Buy?

Which version of World of Warcraft (WoW) should you buy?

There are two versions that were made: the regular "World of WarCraft" & the "World of Warcraft Collector's Edition" (CE). Both are PC based games that will work on Windows or Mac OS. You may want to check first to see if your computer meets the minimum System Requirements.

The good news and the bad news is that the Collector's Edition became tough to find even a few weeks after the game was out. So just buy the regular.

Here is how they differ:

Regular Edition	Collector's Edition
2 Different Covers	Larger Size Box
	Choice of 3 in-game pets
-	Cinematics DVD
-	Soundtrack
-	Cloth Map
-	Art Book
-	10 Day Free Guest Pass
Game on CD Rom	Game in both CD Rom & DVD

In the end, my recommendation is to buy the Regular Version since the CE is so hard to find.

What Version WoW I bought:

I bought the CE and the best part was that I could load it from 1 DVD rather than multiple CDs. The box looked very cool but after that it really had no benefit to me. I do enjoy the little Diablo dude though. He's about the size of my character's knee and every once in a while he blows fire. It's fun to have the mega-boss of my favorite game follow me around, watching me kill more baddies, but that lasts about 5 minutes tops and then he winds up getting stored in the bank so I can have more room in my bag.

Other Considerations:

If you want more than one character on the same server, the good news is that WoW allows up to 10 characters per server for free on the same account.

If you do buy the regular edition and later would like to upgrade to the CE you can buy it and won't have to reinstall the whole game. You can get the special in-game item by entering a code on an account page.

The regular version has 2 covers - one is a male Horde character, and the other is a female Alliance character. If you want to choose which you buy, you'll have to pick it up yourself in a store. If you order online, you won't be able to choose.

What Versions I've bought in the past:

I bought the CE for Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) and Everquest II but neither of them were really worth the extra cost.

What Versions I'll buy in the future:

Unfortunately my impulses tend to do the shopping. If my brain gets smart and takes the credit card from my impulses I'll buy the regular edition. But since that's unlikely, my next game will probably be a CE.
Why do I let my impulses do this? Probably because I know how mad I'll be if I'm walking around the starter area and I see other people, who by definition - are not me, with the CE in-game pet or boots or whatnot that I dont' have. Then I'll do something reckless and buy the CE in addition to the regular version.