Free XBLA game ... if you follow the rules
by Ross Miller 
{ Dec 23rd 2008 at 4:00PM }
- Live in the UK.
- Sign up for 12 months of Xbox Live Gold between now and January 5. It must be done directly through Xbox Live, meaning you can't use that prepaid card your mom or significant other bought you as a gift.
- Decide what game you want free: Zuma, Marble Blast, Sonic the Hedgehog, Assault Heroes or 3D Ultra Minigolf. Do this step in your head.
- Download a gamer pic or theme related to the game. Only the first one counts, so make sure you didn't skip Step 3 before downloading a picture of a putter when you're hoping to nab Sonic.
Update: Sorry, one more caveat folks -- it's UK only.
[Thanks, Richard]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ZB @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:05PM
Uhm if you are going to use a Heinlen Ref at least get it correct. TANSTAFL :Their Ain't No Such Thing As Free Lunch:
panickedthumb @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:14PM
You too! It's TANSTAAFL. Two a's. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL
But I, like you, signed in just to correct the TINSTAAFL.
WiredKnight @ Dec 24th 2008 2:56PM
Also, It's Heinlein.
Henry @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:05PM
That game is as addictive as crack.
rTwelve @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:06PM
My Live doesn't expire until like April...
and I'm low on money...
ScottG13 @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:07PM
Should count pre-paid cards. Jerks.
WEGGLES @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:55PM
Yeah. I don't really like giving out CC info for subscriptions, as they're usually a bugger to cancel... that, and I don't have a Credit card :S
Jim @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:08PM
Hmm.. Amazon sells 13 months for 38.99.
With this deal, you pay 49.99 for 12 months and you get a 5 dollar game.
Courtney @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:20PM
You win! +1 to you.
eNrique @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:13PM
4. ???
Marek Hryc @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:21PM
5. Profit
Markez (Anti-Panda Death Murder Squadron) @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:31PM
Well I think the next step is just to apologize to those you've hurt and you're cured!
BxGT @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:18PM
So rewards the new member but fuck your loyal fanbase, am i getting this correctly?
Shmil @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:34PM
just like the xbla sales.
I already own most of the games that were going on sale
offday @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:44PM
Yep. That's pretty much it.
D-pad @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:05PM
Spare the drama.
It's a promotion to get new Xbox Live users.
That's like saying you got royally screwed by Apple because they started a free i-Pod promotion after you already bought a shit load of MP3's off their iTunes store.
That's how business works.
BxGT @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:47PM
LOL you said buy songs.
Ellianth @ Dec 23rd 2008 11:03PM
I bought a year subscription like 2 weeks ago. Imagine how i feel :p.
Anthony @ Dec 23rd 2008 11:25PM
Who buys music from iTunes when they don't have a iPod?
CB @ Dec 24th 2008 3:27AM
"LOL you said buy songs."
That statement always irks me. Some songs just cannot be found illegally so I always try various online music stores.
Heyyou27 @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:19PM
Even if I couldn't get a card off Amazon for $39, I wouldn't ever pay for Xbox Live Gold with a credit card again. It took me literally MONTHS to get my credit card information removed from the account due to some bullshit "processing" period in which Microsoft tried to figure out a way to convince me to keep the card on the account.
vvu001 @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:24PM
yeah i hate that. i want to be able to remove my credit card and cancel an xbox live subscription from the dashboard.
horngreen @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:19PM
They've taken $50 a year since I was a BETA tester. The only free game I got was for losing two weeks of LIVE during the launch of COD4. Gee M.S. keep up the "good" work! Oh and I had NO choice as to what game it was. I don;t even remember the name of it...Scuba diving and shooting...ZZZZZZZ
Joseph @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:26PM
With the money you save getting a prepaid card from newegg, you could get an XBLA game and perhaps even ... lunch!
JoeTheBlow @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:30PM
Puzzleloop?
Its free on the iphone/touch appstore.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:41PM
2:1 that gold becomes free at some point in January.
They are just trying to get people to prepay before they do so.
Moptimus Slime @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:41PM
Fisty swore he would never be like those tadpoles that grow up and shoot colored gems out of their mouths, but he wondered what it might be like.
-The Sign Painter
offday @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:43PM
What a stupid offer.
My XBL just renewed itself on Dec. 12th, so I can't get a game? Retarded. Let's reward those who renew their subscriptions in the time span of a coupe weeks and screw everyone else. Great offer MS.
Evan @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:47PM
It's not "free" if you have to pay $50.
Snowblind @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:11PM
The $50 is how much Live always costs, you are getting the game for free, you just have to renew your subscription to get the deal.
izekial27 @ Dec 23rd 2008 4:53PM
Source?
343 Guilty Fart @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:07PM
Located at the bottom of the article?
izekial27 @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:28PM
yeah, found it after, lol,
i totally missed it on first 2 read throughs.
deaftly @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:15PM
I DON'T follow the rules
Ethan @ Dec 23rd 2008 5:34PM
The new rule of free stuff is to make you feel like a scavenging beggar with arbitrary requirements.
silverfox @ Dec 23rd 2008 6:00PM
you can play this game on msn messenger
http://zone.msn.com/en/luxor/default.htm
merry Christmas.
BlackBeltJones @ Dec 23rd 2008 6:24PM
Sweet, my subscription runs out on Christmas. Looks like I'm renewing a couple days early.
Spoonman @ Dec 23rd 2008 7:18PM
I was planning on getting a new subscription so I did today. I went ahead and got the Assault Heroes theme. It's still not letting me download the game. What am I missing
StarFoxA @ Dec 23rd 2008 6:42PM
Sweet, I was just about to renew my subscription.
Infe @ Dec 23rd 2008 8:05PM
I love my 360, but I regret signing up with a credit card after I heard about it being a bitch to cancel. I go out of my way to avoid places that do that. So anyway, to me, it isn't worth it, stay with the prepaid card if you can.
Wookieehugger @ Dec 24th 2008 2:49AM
Um... According to the mass e-mail that Microsoft sent to me, the freebies are WAY different than the once Listed here. To me it says Hexic 2, Hardwood Spades, Poker Smash, n+, E4, the Crackdown: Getting Busy Pack, and the Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/promotions/2008/holidaygift/default.htm
I don't see assault heroes or zuma listed anywhere...
BlackBeltJones @ Dec 24th 2008 3:29AM
Wookie's right. Joystiq is posting the Great Britain deal, not the US. You'll notice their link goes to http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/ not http://www.xbox.com/en-US/. You should probably fix this Joystiq, you're costing people money on wasted sonic themes.
BlackBeltJones @ Dec 24th 2008 3:37AM
Also, the US deal is for new members only. Seriously Joystiq, you owe me 50 MSP for the crappy Assault Heroes theme taking up space on my hard drive.
Okänd @ Dec 24th 2008 3:03PM
Dammit! My live renews itself on January 24th!
I guess I'm not eligible to this.
Billy @ Dec 24th 2008 6:09PM
Sorry but this is a mega lame promotion. You shouldn't have even posted it.