They advertise THE BOX. You got the box. They even put some statue there or something. Why so dissatisfied? :)

Does two high profile releases make a trend?

I mean, from Sony's own mouth, it is. They're done with discs, it's the whole big controversy lately. Physical collector editions will be nothing more than a bundle of game tchotchkes that may or may not come with a code to download the game itself.

Idiots will buy anything

Hasn't this been a thing for a while now? Some Collectors Editions don't include the game, because people that buy them usually want to play immediately, but those boxes might only arrive after launch. People would have to buy the game twice, so this way they can get the normal edition first and then "complete" it with the rest of the Collectors stuff.

I think Blizzard has done some stuff, where you get Battle.net credits, when you activate the Collectors Edition code, on an account that already has the digital game. This is a better system imo, but doesn't make sense for every game. Dunno if this is only for WoW or they still do it though.

I really really really want to play this game. I won't though, because fuck Sony.

How detailed is the statue....

Not a new thing with Sony: https://culturedvultures.com/sony-collectors-editions-without-discs-ps5-ps4/