Xbox 1 owners: Buy Xbox 360, receive Halo 3 free [update]

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 16th 2007 at 6:00PM }

Much like singing sensation Sonny & Cher, the Xbox 360 and Halo 3 form a highly entertaining and nigh inseparable duo -- this despite one's lower life expectancy and the other's habit of keeping fans satisfied by getting a face lift every few years. No enormous corporation is more aware of this than Microsoft, which has revealed a new incentive for U.S. shoppers considering its sphere-stamped system.

[So much for that: Microsoft has reworded the promotion, clarified the stipulations and made the offer a lot less magnanimous at the last minute.]

If you're an original Xbox owner with a paid Xbox Live account and purchase an Xbox 360 between November 21 and December 21 of this year, you'll be entitled to a free copy of Bungie's sci-fi opus. As it's not present inside the console's packaging, you'll have to wait for Microsoft to mail the game to you (it arrives by January 18, 2008). After unpacking your new system, you'll be expected to convert your Xbox Live account to a Gold subscription, and enter your details, including the system's serial number, into this registration page before December 21.

While you await the arrival of Halo 3, be sure to scope out some of the other reasons that make the system worth owning this holiday... assuming you haven't already been swayed by the fine offerings from competitors.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Tags: Bungie, FPS, Halo, Halo3, Holidash, XboxLive

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

the_game_master @ Nov 16th 2007 6:08PM

This is deal is epic. I was just mentioning how Microsoft should do this as Sega did this back in the day with the Genesis when they started giving Sonic the Hedgehog away with every Genesis purchase. Now Microsoft needs to pick up a new advertisement campaign to hold on to the masses.

B1gC72 @ Nov 16th 2007 6:11PM

lol that avatar is great. Did I do that?

B1gC72 @ Nov 16th 2007 6:09PM

wow. that will move some consoles.

i always have so much trouble with that 'buy this now and we'll send you that later' dealy though. im still waiting on my Blu-ray movies from my August PS3 purchase (sent the form off beginning of September)...

name123 @ Nov 16th 2007 8:34PM

No, it probably won't.

Halo 1 and 2 both sold very well yet the XBox peaked at a 25 million (and that was only because Microsoft kept it alive by taking a loss for 4 straight years).

People don't understand how poorly the Xbox 360 is doing because the PS3 and Wii are just getting started. By the late 2008, people will see that Microsoft had absolutely no chance of beating Sony, and getting beat by Nintendo as well is even more humiliating.

gonk @ Nov 16th 2007 8:37PM

if the xbox is doing poorly, how does that make the ps3 sales? xbox has sold more

name123 @ Nov 17th 2007 8:41AM

@gonk

You're right, it did, at a 33-50% lower price.

You guys really aren't that bright. The real race didn't begin until all 3 consoles were released. That's what developers are all watching. It's obvious that the PS3 has a lot more momentum and a longer potential lifespan than the Xbox 360. That's why Peter Moore bailed before the peasants (you) caught on.

B1gC72 @ Nov 17th 2007 10:49AM

@name123

how will a free game not move some consoles? promotions usually push the fence sitters (the entire concept of a promotion). example: i bought my PS3 when they dropped the 60GB to $500 and had the 5 free Blu-ray movies deal. i was already going to get one, but those promotion made me buy it then. so it may not move many, but it will move consoles. and yea i hate 360 as much as the next fanboy but im not blind, when comparing PS3's and 360's first years, they are similar but 360 had that head start. plus 360 turned the first profit with Halo 3. so that means that it is doing decent if it dug them out of hole that was Xbox. i would love to agree with your comments, but im not a BLIND fanboy, just a fanboy.

NATO_Duke @ Nov 16th 2007 6:11PM

Pretty nice deal for them to give. Whether you hate Halo or MS, you have to admit that its a nice perk to give.

mr mobius @ Nov 16th 2007 6:12PM

Surely the catch is that you have to register with XBox Live before the 21st December to show you purchased it before then, and that Christmas Day isnt early enough to do it. This means any Christmas presents aren't getting Halo 3 free surely?

Karen @ Nov 16th 2007 6:14PM

That will sway me...but US only. Seriously in Canada we pay $50 extra for the 360 compared to the US Microsoft please give us Halo 3 for free.

Vince UK @ Nov 16th 2007 6:14PM

It's another way of doing a bundle.

Shattercross @ Nov 16th 2007 6:15PM

Good deal for the anyone who's poor and loves halo.

Darthpoontang @ Nov 16th 2007 6:18PM

Does anyone read between the lines? You can't do this with the arcade bundle; why? You need a hard drive (looks like they pulled the ad) and an xbox live account in order to do this. So it looks like only the people who buy the premium only qualify; Awwwww.........what a shame; lol; I suppose Microsoft is scrambling to correct this as I brought it to their attention and laughed at them in various forums.

the_game_master @ Nov 16th 2007 6:29PM

Get your facts straight. You CAN do this with Xbox Arcade, you don't need the HDD to play Halo 3 or to get on to Xbox Live.

darthpoontang @ Nov 16th 2007 6:35PM

No u get your facts str8. Joystiq didn't report the fine print and people like me saw the ad earlier today and brought it to Microsofts attention about having to own the hard drive and why? This is why the ad is down; LOL; Microsoft has to give Halo away to sell a console. That's hysterical!!!!!

Bluebrake @ Nov 16th 2007 6:37PM

You brought it to their attention? They didn't know the conditions of their own offer?

Bluebrake @ Nov 16th 2007 6:38PM

And yes, very hysterical. Microsoft "has" to give Halo away kind of like Nintendo "has" to give Wii Sports away and Sony "has" to give Motorstorm away. Everybody's sure desperate, huh?

gonk @ Nov 16th 2007 7:05PM

don't trust anyone named "darth"

darth poontang and darth balls are ps3 fans, and darth vader killed your father

Ally @ Nov 16th 2007 7:36PM

Noooooooooooo!!!!

Ryan Hamilton @ Nov 16th 2007 6:24PM

Anyone here remember getting Reggie Jackson Baseball free for Sega Master System? I also got Double Dragon free for the SMS as well. Sega did that a lot back then. So it's nice to see that returning here.

Karen @ Nov 16th 2007 6:48PM

Super Mario World for the SNES was the best pack in I ever got! I played that game every day till Castlevania IV came out.

Sean D. @ Nov 16th 2007 7:14PM

Best included games I ever got were with my original NES- Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, and Gyromite! Those three games kept me busy my entire winter break...

Hashbrown_Hunter @ Nov 16th 2007 6:25PM

Good deal...just add Bioshock and I'll be happy :)

nah I'm joking. This is a phenomenal deal for all the XB360 buyers this holiday.

darthpoontang @ Nov 16th 2007 6:26PM

LOL; hysterical; still no link. Are they gonna give the value xbox 360 w/ no hard drive walmart shoppers a free copy of halo 3? Doubt it! They are definitley changing the wording of this special promo because it specifically said you had to have the xbox 360 hard drive and and xbox live account in order to participate in the offer.

Gavin @ Nov 16th 2007 6:28PM

Just bought a 360 the other day with the Marvel Alliance/Forza 2 Bundle. Went to the link and entered my info and it went through. Just waiting to see if I get an email confirming it went though but I did get a confirmation screen that said the following:

"Registration Successful. Thank you for participating!

Thank you for your registration"

flameofdoom666 @ Nov 16th 2007 6:29PM

I think Microsoft has just gotten another purchase.

the_game_master @ Nov 16th 2007 6:30PM

Here's a link
http://www.neoseeker.com/news/story/7334/

bounchfx @ Nov 16th 2007 6:30PM

so this basically means 3 free games when you buy a 360.
that's an insane deal. people don't have much excuse now outside of money.

no one in their right mind would buy an arcade system anyway darth, nice try anyway.

darthpoontang @ Nov 16th 2007 6:32PM

Again; the original ad stated that you needed a hard drive and an xbox live account. This is why the site is down dude! It was a quick find and Microsoft is backpeddling and trying to fix the ad.

Ludwig Kietzmann @ Nov 16th 2007 6:44PM

Most likely to correct the error stating you need a hard drive specifically for Live -- any storage suffices. Don't let that defray the conspiracy, though! Also absent from the fine text: You will require electricity to play the game!

ikiryou @ Nov 16th 2007 6:33PM

Perhaps MS is trying to counteract a possible holiday sales spike for the lower cost BC-less 40GB PS3's. Regardless of their motives, it's a nice deal.

Trev @ Nov 16th 2007 7:03PM

That was actually the first thing I thought of too.

Obie @ Nov 16th 2007 6:34PM

Would it have killed em just to pack the damn disc in the box? I hate these cumbersome deals.

Clack @ Nov 16th 2007 6:40PM

It probably was a spur of the moment decision. They need several months to prepare a new SKU.

Gavin @ Nov 16th 2007 6:38PM

If you buy the Pro of Elite right now, it already comes bundled with two great games. Plus I got a couple of arcade games free as well. It beats the hell out of what comes with a Wii or PS3.

Clack @ Nov 16th 2007 6:35PM

It's going to be a blue Christmas for Sony this year.

Matthew @ Nov 16th 2007 6:35PM

It said I successfully registered with my info and I got my 360 in Sept. Am I golden? How far retroactive is that thing? Anyone else?

SPARTEN II @ Nov 16th 2007 6:35PM

The link doesn't work...Page not found.

darthpoontang @ Nov 16th 2007 6:39PM

the original ad stated that you needed a hard drive and an xbox live account. This is why the site is down dude! It was a quick find and Microsoft is backpeddling and trying to fix the ad.

Silent Xenocide @ Nov 16th 2007 6:38PM

So I purchased my 360 back in November 2005. That means I got it before December 21st and can participate right?

LaughingTarget @ Nov 16th 2007 6:45PM

Same here, I'd hope that it would work for the launch group. However, I already crushed through Halo 3 when I rented it (one day) and the online is too 1997 for me to get excited over. Still, a free copy to sell is fine by me.

rom @ Nov 16th 2007 6:48PM

I was thinking the same thing. While I probably can't participate, since I bought my 360 a year and half ago, there are probably a lot of people not sure whether they qualify or not. Since I can't access the page, I don't know the cutoff.

rom @ Nov 16th 2007 7:01PM

Hahaha... I just registered for the game anyway. I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen- That I DON'T get the game? Oh well, time to wait and see.

LaughingTarget @ Nov 16th 2007 7:04PM

Nah, they'll send you a bill and if it isn't paid, it goes on the credit report.

darthpoontang @ Nov 16th 2007 6:38PM

Microsoft--------Please buy our console and please sign in to live even if it's the free one so that live can look alot bigger than it is. Do this in this time frame so that we can impress pachter and rig the NPD numbers and we'll mail you Halo 3 after the holidays. LOL; what will they do next christmas?