XBLA Texas Hold 'em to be free for 48 hours [update 2]

Too bad my effing xbox is defunct. I won't get it back for another week and a half at least.

Cool!! Now I just have to remember to get online!

My dvd drive just went kaput and MS is taking my 360 to the repair center. Great timing.

Sorry to hear that man.
My Word of advice to anyone, don't delete demos on your hard drive while downloading files in the background, it busted my 360.

"Too bad my effing xbox is defunct. I won't get it back for another week and a half at least."

Man, that sucks. I thought I had it bad when my 360 broke during XBLA Wednesdays, but you've got it far worse; at least I wasn't missing out on free stuff. I feel for ya, man.

And next, you'll be updating that article again, because they also announced that UNO would be getting a new theme deck, based off of Project Gotham Racing 3, for 100 MSP, on August 16th as well.

Am I the only guy not excited for Texas Hold Em, but very excited for the PGR3 Theme Deck for UNO? I don't know a single poker game on any console that has succeeded to be the standard for console poker games, because they're very uninteresting. You sit there and press buttons, and play based completely on instincts. Texas Hold Em in real life is always going to be so much better.

Now as for the free 2 days, do I sense that there might be a mad rush to get this game before the 48 hours ends? I'd begin to worry what that might do to the Marketplace download speeds.

New deck for uno is good to hear. I'm more excited about uno than poker. But then again, its free!

Ya, my Xbox 360 broke just as I read this news item. I was just sitting here, and it exploded. Man, MS better fix this thing.

Is anyone buying these trolling "My 360 broke again" posts? I read them all over forums and community sites, mostly by people who join message boards THAT day, and have 4 posts to their name, then are never heard from again.

NOTE: I know that the previous posts might have been just a fluke and all may be true. But come on. :)

Hmm, they all die.. mine overheated..
Now i have one from the Feb-2006 line, i wonder how long this one will last.

Yea 3 in a row seems abit strange....

I'm happy for a free XBLA game for free. I believe it's the first free game, I may be wrong because I don't go on often, but having SOME free games wouldn't hurt MS too bad. Anyways, I'm just ranting.

Wait, is this free to download for the first 48 hours, then you can keep forever? Or is it free for the first 48 hours, then you have to pay to continue playing it?

It is free to download (and own forever) if you download it in the first 48 hours.

After that, it costs you 800 points to download it and own it forever.

I think that this is a fair move from Microsoft, that meets the hardcore gamers who had heard that the game would be free (via sponsorship) where they need to be met, and then those who didn't have the expectation of free texas hold'em and who aren't regularly checking the marketplace (and you can expect banner ads this week for THP too, I'm sure), will pay a price that is in line with other XBLA games.

Good PR.

Also, I think that that first 48 hours is really the major spike for downloads. After that, things cool off and you have your long term, "catalog" game downloads.

Don't make me take a picture of my 360 and the wonderful "Dear Xbox Enthusiast" repair sastisfaction form; because I will. :P

Way to go, Microsoft. August 16 just turned into bullshit capitalism Wednesday, (read: Cloning Clyde picture pack). The expect us to believe that pushing the release dates of their games back so that they can release a bullshit download - which isn't free - is acceptable?

Who is out there looking at their newly released XBLA blade and thinking, "Thank God! I've always wanted my gamertag to be a fat guy with a blonde pompadore. And now Microsoft has secured me with that desire."?

If blasting a duke on a machine actually ment Microsoft understood the lack of joy this brings, I'd have squeezed one off hours ago. Thanks again, for nothing.

Wow ms is really generous 48 hours that's a lot , too bad there are a million pokersites were you can play for free. Ms has you all where they want you paying for stuff that is free.

STOP WRITING ABOUT YOUR BROKEN Shi* TAKE CARE OF THINGS AND THEY WONT BREAK. this is about TEXAS HOLD'EM not broken xbox's. I bought my 360 almost only to play this game as Microsoft did say at e3 2004 that it was a LAUNCH TITLE, but hey it's free next week so thats cool. GREAT JOB JOYSTIQ, AND ALSO MICROSOFT. FINALLY SEEING THE FRUITS OF THE LOOM...

"Microsoft isn't bluffing: Gamers can log on to Xbox Live within the first 48 hours after launch and download 'Texas Hold 'em' -- completely free of charge!"

Imagine that! ZOMG!

Next, they'll announce a free, yes, TOTALLY free, (we're not lying here...), 48 hour period of Mine Sweeper!

Microsoft, they're so loving... and generous.

K, he may have -4 stars, but that comment by darryl was pretty damn funny.

Unfortunately chez bippy, we'd be happy to play this game if our Xbox 360 wasn't broken. And it's not about "taking care" of it, because that had never happened with any console I owned before. Hopefully Microsoft is returning my console back this week with no cost of repairs.

12, go play Dead Rising or Chromehounds so I can laugh at you for not taking care of your things, 'kay?

On-topic, this IS pretty cool, but I wonder how much they'll make off of it from sales... According to Capcom, SFII (probably the only other game as anticipated as this) became the "fastest selling" game with a "phenomenal record of downloads" within the first 24 hours alone.

Microsoft already broke my 360, stole my girlfriend, got my dog pregnant, garnish-eed my wages, and got me jailed when they told me to wrap myself around that rack of DVDs and smoke while I am doing so. So this free shit is the last straw.

People, people, the game is free FOREVER if you download it in the first 48 hours. There is no "free period" of play. Download it, keep the full version free of charge if you download it within that time frame. It's right there in the article. Reading comprehension must be at an all time low these days.

WHat are you talking about, NOBODY is arguinig the free fact moron. The only thing I wonder now is for the game to be FREE is thier going to be tons of ads or what? I thought I heard a long time ago that a certain poker playing either casino or web site has top honors and thats why its free, because they will have thier logo on the table and what not.. does anybody know..JOYSTIQ???

How does this news affect me?!?! I don't play poker or even have an XBOX.

Thanks for the tip, Joystiq... I will pick this up next week.

" 'Texas Hold 'em' has an innovative new feature called Persistent Bankroll. "

Since when is having a persistent bankroll innovative? I've had a persistent bankroll since I was three and got a piggy bank.

I'm really starting to hate the word "innovative" now that so many companies are using it to describe their mediocre ideas.

"Is anyone buying these trolling "My 360 broke again" posts?"

I'm buying them. My Xbox worked perfectly for seven months, and then died without warning last month. When I started looking through the forums, other people were reporting very similar symptoms and experiences, so it seems very credible to me.

Since general Microsoft policy is to replace the units with refurbs, it does not surprise me that several people report that they are on their third or fourth unit.

I love my 360, but I am not blind to the fact that there are serious production problems, at least with the first batch of units.

If you get a 360 or a PS3, get the manufacturer's extended warranty (NOT the retailer's extended warranty).

sweet, more XBL good ness, good times

If your xboxs are broken, go to a friends house with xbox 360 and log onto his xbox with your gamertag. Then download the game. Delete the game after so that way your friend can download it under his gamertag too.

This way when your xbox comes back from repairs, you just log in with your gamertag and you can dl holdem for free.

hmm...the 48 hour free period is not just for pr. What good is a poker game when there are only 20 people online as opponents? I feel the objective here is to get enough players online so that XBLA holdem has the initial momentum to remain popular until the camera is released in november.

Is there a way to transfer files like game demo's from one hard drive to another? do you use a PC or the xbox or what? does it take forever to transfer demo's? thanks

I have a question about the "persistent bankroll." When you go bust, how do you get more money?

Mookie,

I was told by Canessa that when you run out of money you simply enter free tournaments to get your bankroll back up.

That's pretty cool--I was wondering if that's where they were planning to make up for all the free downloads...

The Texas Hold em date was right after all. Just over a month ago Microsoft posted that date at the release for Texas Hold em on xbox.com, then removed it the same day.

dead 360 as well... getting my coffin soon...

i wonder if there's a time bomb in december-purchased 360s because i see a lot of people on the internets having their 360s go kaput and they acquired it in the "second wave launch" like i did... just weird is all.

Yes why does every 360 post get over-run by whining babies crying that their 360 is broke. I've got 2 had no problems, and have about 10 friends all with 360's and no problems. People who are reading this DON'T CARE and you are not accomplishing anything by publicly acting like a spoiled brat demanding this and that. Please do us all a favor and go buy a PS3 we won't miss you!

---Way to go, Microsoft. August 16 just turned into bullshit capitalism Wednesday, (read: Cloning Clyde picture pack). The expect us to believe that pushing the release dates of their games back so that they can release a bullshit download - which isn't free - is acceptable?

Who is out there looking at their newly released XBLA blade and thinking, "Thank God! I've always wanted my gamertag to be a fat guy with a blonde pompadore. And now Microsoft has secured me with that desire."?---

Listen up, dude. It's the developer, not Microsoft, who is providing the gamerpics. And I'm all for it. I don't mind paying a nominal fee so that I can have a Killer Kenn gamerpic. I realize a lot of people have issues with paying money for what essentially is an ad for a video game. But how is this at all different from buying a T-shirt with a musician's name, professional sports team or corporate logo on it? (I realize that you can actually wear a T-shirt, but you can buy a logo-free T-shirt for a lot cheaper than you can buy a St. Louis Cardinals T-shirt.)

If you think it's stupid, don't buy it. But don't get on the rest of us who want to give a little more of our money to an independent developer whose games we happen to really dig.

Razer,
My 360 is broken. I cannot download the free version of this XBLA game. I was merely stating that in the comments. I have a right to say what I want within reason in this comment section and i thought people might be interested to know how my 360 broke. So what if you and your 10 friends have had no problems? Does that mean that no one else will? And how do you know I'm a spoiled brat? What did my post have to do with that comment? Seriously, you should go post somewhere else if you want to act like your 12. I hear the Attack of the Show forums are accepting invitations.

DUDE SHUT UP!!! NO ONE IN THE TEXAS HOLD'EM FORUM CARES IF YOUR 360 IS BROKEN, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, GO PLAY PRETTY PRETTY PRINCESS AND GET OFF THE WHOLE WHA WHA WHA RIDE....AND YOU KNOW WHAT., HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH MY 360'S BOTH WORK 110% PERFECT BIZNITCH!!!!!!

You remember my comment about the UNO theme deck? That information has been retracted from the article by Microsoft. What is up with that!?

Great news that Texas Holdem is coming soon. Why are they releasing it the week that Madden 2007 comes out? Why not release it this week? The game has to be done.

I'm sick and tired of all the idiots that rather remain blind to Microsoft's crappy products instead of actually giving us their support. There has NEVER been a console with such poor quality as the 360; I've had every Nintendo and Sony consoles, a genesis and a game gear, and they never broke. Coincidence? It appears that I'm not the only one of my friends with a broken 360; I only know other three 360 owners, and one has a faulty 360 too. That's a 50% ratio, the same ratio of defects that IGN got. That's unacceptable, and if I get a refurbished unit (and it malfunctions until I have to buy another one), the only thing Microsoft is going to win is me to stop buying 360 games and switch entirely to PS3 (and Wii). I'm *not* buying a second 360. Ever. Oh, and now that I'm at it, Microsoft's employees are pieces of shit... they've been cynical about it when I told them: "That never happened to me before with ANY console in the past" and they said: "The 360 is a very special machine with very delicate parts". They also told me that I bought the wrong "Wireless Adapter" because I bought it outside my country... guess what, I had to solve my problem all alone... and guess what? The Wireless Adapter I originally bought DID work with my 360, but the retards at Microsoft could only think I should have bought another one. Fortunately I didn't, but Microsoft can kiss my ass and go to hell if they keep up with this piece of shit service.

Wii and Ps3 will own everything 360 related, at least when it comes to quality.

Putting aside how evil MS is for a moment, this is a brilliant marketing strategy. Part of the temptation of buying a game is the fact that everyone else has and likes it, so the slowpokes who wouldn't have gotten it anyway now have a reason to. And, as has been mentioned, an established user base is important to any online multiplayer game.

@ Boots

Ever heard of a coincidence?

You're a fool if you think that 50% are defective. Chances are you're illiterate and those friends that you have abuse the 360. Shut up and read the manual.

Yes, that's right Cody S, deny the reality with as much fanboyism as you can. I don't need to read the manual, never had that happened to me with another console before. Do you think it is a coincidence that so many 360 users are complaining in this particular thread? It seems that it was actually rushed. If you don't believe it with these thread, read 360 fanboy:

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/08/15/dead-rising-makes-360s-dead/#comments

Even OTAM, comment number 20, one of the strongest Xbox supporters I've met @ Joystiq and its sister blogs, is complaining now. He says he is in his 7th Xbox 360 right now (of course he hasn't bought 7 Xbox 360s, but he had to send 6 times to repair that píece of garbage).

Still hard to believe? How about this one?

http://xbox360.qj.net/Is-Dead-Rising-Out-to-Take-Your-Xbox-360-to-the-Grave-/pg/49/aid/61720

Or this one?

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/08/02/chromehounds-and-the-ring-of-death/

Look at how many people complaining! That evidently reflects how Microsoft is lying when they tout "Only 3% of defective Xboxes". 3% my ass. This is out of control.

Did you know that 50% of IGN's intial 360s broke? I'm not saying that's the global ratio, learn to read... funny that you call me illiterate though.

It's really sad because I was really enjoying my 360. I thought "maybe the Xbox 360 fanboys were right, this console is good". Now I have to wait till I get it back... and who knows if it'll still work. Who knows if all my friends 360s will keep working. Which is funny, because you know what? My NES, SNES, N64, PS1, PS2, Gamecube and PSP still work fine. They are all older than my 360, and they have all been treated much worse than the 360, because I knew that the 360 was "delicate" (read: not well designed).

Deny it all you want, we're all angry at Microsoft for letting us down with such poor quality. I recommend nobody to buy a 360 until PS3 and Wii are both out. Don't be beta-testers like we are.

Alright then "boots", you've got us in a bind. You're saying more than 3% of 360 consoles are defective, then let's look into this theory further. And, might I add, this article you're bashing is about Texas Hold Em on Arcade, and you're talking about Xbox 360 users being beta-testers for a console...

(All numbers are much less than actual figures, because of rentals and gamertags not registered at MyGamerCard.net)

MyGamerCard.net tracks that 58591 people on their leaderboard have Chromehounds. 3% of that is 1757. It makes sense that 1757 people would all bitch about it publically, and then that would make the news. Dead Rising has 33004 registered players at MGC. 3% of that is a little under 1000. Assuming there's some overlap, about 2500 defective consoles sounds me to like a drop in the bucket.

Get over it, do what you want, and quit yer bitchin'. It's maybe your fault for buying an Xbox 360 first-generation unit, because like the Xbox, the newer units lacked problems. I've NEVER had a hardware failure, and I bought my 360 console in March, for the simple reason I knew the first batches of 360 would have problems (thus why IGN's had problems, they had early batch models).

Common logic would suggest that people ask MS to replace the entire console, and not just get it repaired, if they're having problems with it 7 times in a row. I'm in no way a fanboy of Microsoft, but you know something? If this happens with PS3 or Wii, I will laugh in your face, for suggesting that it's only Microsoft's fault for having defective units.

How much did we hear about disc read errors in PS2 units? How much did we hear about dead pixels in PSP units? How much are people complaining that their DS Lite cases are cracking at the hinge? Go whine about that garbage somewhere else and stop wasting our time. If you have all of those other consoles, you're missing out in a TON of great games you could be playing, instead of posting slander.

"Alright then "boots", you've got us in a bind. You're saying more than 3% of 360 consoles are defective, then let's look into this theory further. And, might I add, this article you're bashing is about Texas Hold Em on Arcade, and you're talking about Xbox 360 users being beta-testers for a console..."

First of all, I wasn't the first one, nor the only one complaining about it. Second, microsofts reps actually read Joystiq, so it's a way of them to notice how shitty their quality is.

"(All numbers are much less than actual figures, because of rentals and gamertags not registered at MyGamerCard.net)"

I will assume that the info obtained from "MyGamerCard.net" is valid, even if it most likely isn't.

"MyGamerCard.net tracks that 58591 people on their leaderboard have Chromehounds. 3% of that is 1757."

Isn't that one of the newest games anyway? That's not the only game that causes the 360 to crack. The 360 brakes independently of the game, it just so happens that in some cases, Chromehounds was the beginning of it all. In my case, it was SF2 (so it's pretty recent).

"It makes sense that 1757 people would all bitch about it publically, and then that would make the news. Dead Rising has 33004 registered players at MGC. 3% of that is a little under 1000. Assuming there's some overlap, about 2500 defective consoles sounds me to like a drop in the bucket."

You are saying that I happened to find only part of those 1757 or of "a little under 1000" people in the few sites I've checked? LOL, that would make my samples the most biased samples of all, despite the fact that they were taken out of random. But don't worry, this is not a sudden outburst of complaints, it's been happening on and on since the Xbox 360 first came out.

"Get over it, do what you want, and quit yer bitchin'."

More like STHU and don't read if you are not pleased. The internet is a place for freedom of speech, and I was standing for the guys that stated here that have the same problem I have: a defective console. It's a shame gamers aren't being supportive...

"It's maybe your fault for buying an Xbox 360 first-generation unit, because like the Xbox, the newer units lacked problems."

O RLY? Well, it just so happens that all my consoles (except my PSP) were first generation units, and they all worked perfectly. I'm not saying it doesn't happen with other consoles, I'm saying it never happened *as much*.

"I've NEVER had a hardware failure, and I bought my 360 console in March, for the simple reason I knew the first batches of 360 would have problems (thus why IGN's had problems, they had early batch models)."

Lucky you, and unlucky IGN. But the ratio is too damn high to be ignored.

"Common logic would suggest that people ask MS to replace the entire console, and not just get it repaired, if they're having problems with it 7 times in a row."

How could you possibly know it's the same console? I said he sent it to repair, but I never said it was the same console. I couldn't possible know, and neither could you. The guy never stated it was his refurbished one. So it was perhaps refurbished some times, and perhaps some times it was another console... who knows, but if you ever dealt with tech support morons over the phone, you'd know it's tiring and that you can't really ask for anything because "there's nothing in their hands that they can do at the moment".

"I'm in no way a fanboy of Microsoft, but you know something? If this happens with PS3 or Wii, I will laugh in your face, for suggesting that it's only Microsoft's fault for having defective units."

Go ahead, LAUGH IN MY FACE. That's one of the most immature responses I've ever gotten... as if it matters. Anyway, who cares if I'm suggesting it's Microsoft's fault? Perhaps it is, isn't it? Perhaps they did rush it, and perhaps it has the most defective ratio in gaming history? I don't say it can't happen in the future worse, but that's not the point... the point is, Microsoft is not doing their job as good as they should (i.e. get some quality going on there... or ask Nintendo on lessons about it for a change). Oh, and please, you think the Wii will have any chance of having such a high defective ratio? Pffffff.... don't kid yourself. The chance of having a chance... well, it's almost improbable.

"How much did we hear about disc read errors in PS2 units? How much did we hear about dead pixels in PSP units? How much are people complaining that their DS Lite cases are cracking at the hinge?"

Definitely not as much as the ratio of defective 360s! That's the damned point!

"Go whine about that garbage somewhere else and stop wasting our time. If you have all of those other consoles, you're missing out in a TON of great games you could be playing, instead of posting slander."

Excuse me, nobody is wasting your time. You are the one wasting your time by reading stuff you are not even interested in. So if you don't have anything that can help me or anyone complaining in this thread, then don't say anything (well, if we go by your logic of not saying anything you don't want to read, because frankly I don't give a damn; after all, there's freedom of speech here, right?). At least stay on topic, as you just said as I should have done. Isn't it hypocritical to say I should stay on topic when you just didn't? Hmm....

And by the way, the little free time I got today, I used it to express my support for other gamers that were complaining. This time wasn't enough to keep playing Kingdom Hearts 2. Or whatever... I can't play much lately... like you give a damn anyway.

Haha, nice one boots, I like the quote by quite rebuttal you wrote there. There are a lot of people that feel the "whiners" are just trying to get attention and make Microsoft look bad. That's not the case at all. I stand by my reasoning that the Xbox 360 is one of the buggiest electronic devices I have ever owned. My computer has never froze as many times as the Xbox 360 has and nothing I own has simply failed to turn on because of a software problem. With a computer, I can simply reinstall an operating system and im ready to go. With the 360 i get these stupid lights that mean nothing to me. The system doesn't even have the smarts to at least show a diagnostic screen on my tv that says "Sorry please call so and so to get your unit replaced". It just blinks these lights that mean nothing. Anyways, my 360 was not a first generation. I actually purchased it in March at Costco and the thing would freeze quite frequently. It froze in Oblivion, it froze in the hitman demo, it froze in the Test Drive Unlimited Demo, it froze in GRAW, and it even froze in Smash TV. I think something that costs 400 dollars should last just a little longer than 5 and a half months, don't you agree? For those getting angry with people like Boots and I, we did nothing to you but share our story. We are angry at the situation and maybe a bit at Microsoft for such a faulty system, but we are not mad at gamers that haven't shared the same problems as us. Why all the hate?