Gaming subscription boxes - value for money?

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Popularised by Loot Crate, there's a growing market for services that offer monthly deliveries of random merchandise themed around a subject of your choosing. Zavvi recently launched their Gamer's Edition ZBOX, so we picked up the first offering to see what exactly it had to offer gamers.

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​by Sam Sant

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​@pass_controller

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Promising £40-£60 of value amongst it's contents, the £20 asking price seems like a steal. When those contents are entirely random, however, the value for money is subjective; if you aren't a fan of the represented gaming franchises, then you're simply out of luck.

This month's Gamer's Edition ZBOX includes:

• Halo: Hunters in the Dark novel by New York Times bestselling author Peter David
• Pixelated Ryu from Street Fighter money box
• 223 piece Blanka from Street Fighter Pixel Bricks model
• 188 piece Ken from Street Fighter Pixel Bricks model
• 175 piece Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog Pixel Bricks model
• Lemmings heat changing mug
• Lemmings fridge magnet set
• Plush Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat
• "Gooage Spewing" Pac-Man toy
• Masha and the Bear clay character modelling kit

To address the elephant in the room, a quick Google search revealed that Masha and the Bear is a children's animated series originating from Russia. Why this belongs here, we have no idea.

The box itself is pretty snazzy.

 The Halo novel, Hunters in the Dark, seems an intriguing enough read based on the opening. I'm not personally au fait with the universe's lore, but once you get past the slight sprinkling of cheddar, it seems to stand as a compelling enough story of its own. That said, I'll be sure to catch-up on events via The Master Chief Collection before continuing.

Moving onto the Pixel Bricks models, we elected to jump straight in at the deep end by putting Blanka together. Bad idea. 223 tiny pieces that don't attach to one another fantastically robustly, coupled with somewhat unclear instructions, made the construction more frustrating than fun.

​It's likely too difficult for children, whilst the pieces are impossible to handle with adult-sized hands, so we aren't entirely sure who Pixel Bricks are intended for.

The prospect of putting Ken and Tails together is slightly nauseating, but we'll get to it, because they do look good when completed. At the end of the day, that's what matters most. 

​Grab a gander at the finished article below, along with the Hadouken-ing Ryu money box. The latter does its job - what more is there to say?

Screw you, Step 6!

You're probably still wondering what a "Gooage Spewing" Pac-Man toy is - perhaps even why anything would adopt such a revolting name.

The Sub-Zero plush, specifically modelled on the latest Mortal Kombat X variation, is a sweet little thing. He's surprisingly huggable for a stone-cold (har har) killer...

You're probably still wondering what a "Gooage Spewing" Pac-Man toy is - perhaps even why anything would adopt such a revolting name. Rather than trying to explain the toy's workings, we'll let this video do the talking.

Because that's what Pac-Man's famous for, right? We're lost for words on this one.

An encompassing gift to a person that's incredibly hard to buy for. You might get lucky and make them happy, whereas if it's full of shit, they get comeuppance for being so difficult.

​That brings us to the Lemmings swag. It's charming to see the heat changing mug come to life as you pour in the contents of a kettle, whilst on the flip side, somewhat upsetting to see them die off with each sip of your chosen hot beverage. At least they'd be just fine with taking one for the team. A set of fridge magnets completes the Lemmings kitchenalia, with a range of assets allowing you to build your own levels in a momentarily amusing distraction.   

So was this collection of random gubbins worth the money? Technically, yes. A little research revealed that buying just a few of the items individually would quickly amount to a higher figure, but that's pretty irrelevant when you wouldn't buy most of the stuff in the first place.

A one-off novelty purchase hasn't left us with a sour-taste, but we are left somewhat baffled as to why anyone would continually partake. The one legitimate use for a subscription box that we can think of, is as an encompassing gift to that one person that's incredibly hard to buy for. You might get lucky and make them happy, whereas if it's full of shit, they get comeuppance for being so difficult - win-win. ​