OXM bribes readers with free GRAW Chapter 2
by Ross Miller 
{ Mar 1st 2007 at 5:15PM }
Speaking to Godfree from Gamertag Radio, Official Xbox Magazine writer Ryan McCaffrey revealed that the April issue will include Chapter 2 of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for free (the revelation is found 61 minutes into the interview). Chapter 2 was initially released on Xbox Live in June for 1,200 MS points but has since been halved to 600 MS points, or $7.50 in US dollars.
Early in the interview, which starts about 36 minutes into the podcast, McCaffrey laments the struggle of getting good content on the included disc to justify its existence, especially with Xbox Live Marketplace being an efficient and convenient means to obtain demos for free. Still, with a purported subscriber base of 425,000, they don't seem to be doing too bad. McCaffrey cited an issue from early last year where their disc included a free 6-week trial of Final Fantasy XI, and noted that they will try to have similar goodies whenever an MMO is slated for Xbox 360.
Around the 39 minute mark, McCaffrey also revealed OXM Universe, "a persistent game" found on the disc. The point of the game is to build a probe and spaceship and interact with other OXM subscribers online (presumably online via the computer, though an Xbox Live title would be an interesting test of convergence).
Also available on the OXM disc will be the GRAW2 demo as well as an "exclusive review" of the full game. The April issue of OXM will hit newsstands soon for $10 (or $2.50, if you exclude the standard price of GRAW Ch. 2)
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rinks @ Mar 1st 2007 5:35PM
Give me achievements. That'll make the disc worthwhile.
pandlcg @ Mar 1st 2007 5:37PM
I know this is way off topic and Joystiq competes with Kotaku, but check out what Sony did. Kotaku commented on a rumor and Sony has banned them from all future sony events. Holy Shit!
http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/sony-blackballs-kotaku-240860.php
logikil @ Mar 1st 2007 6:02PM
Actually OXM has done a couple things like this. I have two sets of content from Oblivion that are a direct result of an OXM disk, and i am glad to have them.
Oh, and yeah what Sony did to Kotaku was pretty crappy and frankly every Gaming Site and Blog should be standing behind them on this.
Game Artist @ Mar 1st 2007 6:17PM
Still costs $2.50 more than the level alone. No thanks. Ill pass on the outdated print media.
razer @ Mar 1st 2007 7:04PM
I don't understand why they don't move the magazine to a completely digital format and sell it on the Marketplace and via a website. I find it hard to believe that anyone who subscribes doesn't have an internet connection. This way they can rake in big $$ without all the overhead and they can release the issue closer to when the news is "fresh". If anyone hasn't checked out the Xbox 360 Zine, you should check it out. Give it a few more months and it will rival OXM and the best part, it's FREE!! Being zine based it has audio, video embedded right in the articles. Make's OXM look like an old newspaper..
And while on this subject, I want to know why I pay $10 for the magazine and then they MAKE you watch commercials in order to gain "points" to unlock the content on the disc. I paid for the mag you idiots, let me just have all the content without jumping through the hoops. I know they try to make it like a game, but it's annoying and why I cancelled my subscription. Drop your OXM sub and go here: http://www.gamerzines.com/360zine/
Measure @ Mar 1st 2007 8:01PM
360zine, eh? Funny how you should rant about print but then recommend a publication that clings to the PDF format. I don't want to read something on a system-resource hogging viewer, and if I print it out I've lost any advantage over a paper magazine in the first place.
No way I'm going back to print or PDF magazines. Give me blogs, and give me lots of 'em.
h.solo @ Mar 1st 2007 9:35PM
Some of us actually like to read "print media". Laptops are no good in the restroom.
Eric @ Mar 2nd 2007 4:42AM
Yeah, the one problem with that though is that the magazine itself has gone to complete shit. Not to mention that the demo disc is completely worthless if you have live. They had decent bonuses at first. That quickly vanished. It is simply nowhere near worth the money anymore.
KilgoreTrout XL @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:58AM
Call me old fay-shunned, but I like reading gaming mags. I've been reading them for about twenty years now. It'd be a shame to see them go.