THQ announces an Austin 3:16 Collector's Edition of WWE '13 video game

Are you looking forward to THQ's latest WWE video game, WWE '13, which is set to be released on October 30th, 2012, Cagesiders? If you weren't interested so far, then maybe the latest news will force a good ol' Hell Yeah out of your cynical lungs?

The latest marketing gimmick that THQ and WWE have rustled up is an Austin 3:16 Collector's Edition of WWE '13, which will be available exclusively from shopTHQ and WWEShop.

So what extra goodies do you get for the extra bucks? A unique cover featuring "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's iconic skull logo, a collectible art card personally autographed by the man himself, exclusive in-game attire and ATV ring entrance for the playable character, a DVD/Blu-Ray disc from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time, and access to Mike Tyson as a playable character.

Pretty cool, eh, and a perfect fit for the reliving the Attitude Era theme that THQ has come up with to market the game. Pre-orders are already up over 250% from last year, perhaps in part due to CM Punk being revealed as the cover star of the game in a high profile angle on Raw two months ago. With this announcement, early sales should be boosted yet further.

Speaking of Austin and Punk, it isn't looking likely at the moment that the much teased dream match between the two of them will take place at WrestleMania 29 next year, so the fictional video game world of WWE '13 may be the only place you will ever see that eagerly anticipated feud.

I'm guessing that isn't something lost on the creators of the game, who somehow managed to obtain the services of Brock Lesnar for the WWE '12 video game while he was still working for UFC, wanting to capitalise on the worked confrontation that Lesnar had with The Undertaker after his loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 a year prior.