I think the publishers / developer didnt anticipate such a strong demand or got such good reviews. What I spoke to retailers here was for the Asia edition :
1. SG total country only 40 pcs.
2. MY you need to buy at least 300 pcs of normal steelbook before entitled to 1 CE.
Sony Asia could have make a killing if they were to produce more but sadly the opportunity is gone for them and now only those retailers who keep and sell at exorbitant prices will gain from it. Then again they probably just recover back if they lose out from UC3 or KZ3.
The hype will only get more once the sequel comes out, together with whatever rights they want to spill over like movies, books, etc. Quite easy to tell when you have mainstream sites such as MTV, Forbes, and US national television talking about it.
This will make this editions even more valuable later. Coz once more people wants something to be a part of it, they will be willing to pay for the value. Sadly though this didnt apply for KZ3 or UC3 since both their CEs can be got for half the price or less now. Only chance for it to increase its value back again if either a movie comes out to rave reviews.