A missing Hobbe figure does not automatically make Fable II's Limited Collector's Edition incomplete. That sounds like a very convenient excuse from a seller, until you read what happened before launch. The figure was removed from the retail package. So were the five printed fate cards and the originally promised premium box.
For this Wait, How Rare Is This? case study, we mean the US Xbox 360 Limited Collector's Edition from October 2008, not a PAL set, a standard copy, or an unusual promotional package. The useful question is what the retail edition actually became, and what evidence supports paying extra for the copy being offered.
Featured visual: the complete North American Fable II Limited Collector's Edition retail front, including its NTSC and ESRB markings. Reference packaging, not a photograph of a seller's complete contents. Used with permission from Microsoft.
The contents changed before the game reached shelves
Console Monster's October 1, 2008 report reproduced Microsoft's announcement that supply-chain issues had forced a revision. The North American estimated retail price dropped from $79.99 to $69.99, with the premium box, Hobbe and printed cards removed. Ars Technica's contemporary reporting also records that change.
The revised offering retained the game disc, a making-of bonus DVD and bonus digital content. The announcement listed the Hall of the Dead dungeon, Wreckager cutlass, and Spartan armor and energy sword. Those are historical launch inclusions. They do not establish that a used code remains unused, redeemable or included with a particular purchase today.
This changes the shopping checklist considerably. An old preview of the planned package is a poor inventory for the released retail version. Ask which version a seller is describing before treating an absent figure as a defect, or treating an extra figure as proof of a special retail variant.
Identify the edition without inventing a rarity count
Best Buy's archived US listing identifies the Limited Collector's Edition as model 9CS-00001, UPC 882224694155, and describes its making-of disc. Those identifiers are useful starting points when comparing an advertised copy. They are not an authentication certificate.
Request the back, spine and interior as well as the front. Match the edition wording and regional markings across the actual pieces. A photograph of familiar artwork cannot tell you whether the discs, paper insert and outer packaging originally belonged together.
The sources checked here do not establish a production total or a surviving US population. We therefore cannot turn the word “Limited” into a numerical scarcity claim. It names this edition; the buying decision still needs evidence about its contents and condition.
What the dated sale records actually say
On November 11, 2026, PriceCharting's US edition guide showed calculated estimates of $20 complete and $149.95 new. Its separately reported eBay completed-sale history included these opened-copy descriptions:
| Recorded date | Advertised copy | Recorded price |
|---|---|---|
| November 6, 2026 | Complete, tested working | $20.00 |
| November 6, 2026 | Complete in box, tested | $34.99 |
| November 3, 2026 | Advertised complete in box | $20.00 |
| October 31, 2026 | Slipcover included, described as mint | $45.00 |
The original sale pages could not be opened, and the tracker's archived sale photos require a subscription. We did not inspect either. Contents, region, condition and shipping treatment remain unverified at the individual-sale level. These are attributed transaction records, not authenticated sets or asking prices. The guide estimates are calculated values, not additional sales.
Our reading is that this sample gives little reason to buy an ordinary opened set purely because somebody calls it rare. The spread makes the precise package worth examining. It does not prove that a slipcover caused the higher price, or that every copy described as complete contains the same things.
The bonus DVD needs its own test
Ask for a contents photograph with both labeled discs visible, plus the manual, case and any outer sleeve or inserts included in the offer. Then get a written list with the labels identified, so you can distinguish the game from the making-of DVD.
Request a separate test description for each. Starting the game says nothing about the bonus DVD. If the documentary is why you want this edition, a missing or unreadable bonus disc changes the purchase even when the adventure itself runs.
For paper and packaging, ask about tears, crushed corners, creases, stains and writing. For the case, ask about its hinges and disc holders. Have the seller disclose replacement cases, reproduced artwork and mixed-region components. These are inspection recommendations, not a claim that any pictured copy is counterfeit.
Buy the version of the collection you actually want
Some collectors want the revised retail package as it was sold. Others want an attractive game-and-case copy and have little interest in a documentary. Decide that before comparing prices. The removed launch extras are a reason to research the edition, not a reason to assume every surviving set is an exceptional discovery.
If somebody offers a figure, cards or another unusual combination, treat it as a separate provenance question. Ask how those objects were obtained and what connects them to that package. The retail revision alone cannot authenticate an unusual set.
Shopping for the game itself? Zypher's standard Fable II Xbox 360 listing lets you check the selected condition and included items. It is not a Collector's Edition listing, and a disc-only option does not promise a bonus DVD, sleeve or digital extras. For a closer look at the adventure, read our Fable II deep dive.
Making shelf space? Sell your old games through Zypher's general Buy List, checking its current eligibility and condition requirements.
Sources and listing checked November 11, 2026. Historical contents are attributed to the contemporary reports linked above; sale records are attributed to PriceCharting. Collector assessments and inspection advice are Zypher editorial judgment. All three images are complete Microsoft product box fronts or backs, reproduced whole and proportionally under Microsoft's box-shot guidelines. Featured front sourced from a public retail image; standard comparison fronts and backs from Zypher's native catalog. Used with permission from Microsoft. Microsoft does not sponsor or endorse Zypher.
