The last time it was free, I already owned it. :( Anything I don't own would be welcome....

lionkitten

$100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 for Carrcassone

dragonridr33

Games I've gotten for free so far: UNO, Joust, Robotron, Carcasonne, Totemball (does that count?). Carcasonne and UNO are great. The others, not so much.

I guess we'll wait and see.

mindinrewind

That wont help much, seeing as how my 360 just Red Ringed. :( I hope the game is not Rez or anything good. LOL. Sorry, but I had to go through those tough times on XBL and then my console RED RINGS! It's a pity really. Woe is me.

CONFUSEDgam3r

I hope its not a game i don't already own.....since I own ALL OF THEM

GoonieGooGoo

@Groovy_Guy: 2 weeks worth of credit? what a deal. . . with 52 weeks costing you a mere $49.99 at most retailers. . . sweet, like a $1.92 which is like 100-200 MS Points.

eddw1n

@Tiberian: "Carcassonne was not a great game... Just because YOU liked it, doesn't mean other people did."

See what I did there?

KidU

100/1 it's a shitty 400 point game.

Import98

i'm with the money crowd. why not just give us the 400 or 500 points instead?

thaKingRocka

Thats it?? SHould just be ms points, lameo's Microcheap!

MountainCool

Just saw this story on CNN Headline News as well.

Question: Won't all these free downloads just crash the system again?

:p

elpierce

Well guys remember. Technically speaking its NOT a free game. We all paid for our XBL service and its been down for two weeks.

Not to mention my paid Halo maps wont load anymore even when I go to theater to load a saved film from one of the new maps.

Anyway Compensation is entirely different for something "free". Compensation is what were getting for paying for a service which has been on the fritz for two weeks. This game better NOT SUCK. Its NOT going to be points though, they MAY change their mind but probably not. They will make it a game so people will use those points on XBLA instead of buying maps, other game content/movies/whatever.

Japanese_Monk

@HeyApples:

I'm for this idea; some MS points so we can download what we want instead of getting some 'consolation prize' game no one likes.

Here's hoping! :D

HAL9triple0

Right after I buy my first arcade game (Metal Slug) this is announced. x__X

Dudemeister3

It should be a choice.

yashichi8bit

Lemme Guess.. Since my Xbox didn't come with a free month card and since they are mailing me one and I only have a silver accound I am going to be SOL on this deal..

At least I shelled out the cash to buy Carcassone already

tarpo

Although I already own it, I wouldn't complain if it is Undertow. Then I might be able to play multiplayer in it finally. ^_^

Way too many people missed that game.

wired_fenix

@huginn: I think even M$oft knows that free vista would make everyone more angry. (a $5 copy of carcassone or joust would be better than that $400 failure)
If they fix the service soon and give me free REZ HD without having to jump through hoops to get it then all will be forgiven. as long as REZ is out soon.(maybe give it out early?)PLZ!!!!

mferrari

I'd like to applaud MS for their gesture, well done.

And no, I don't own a 360.

WiNGSPANTT

MS: The free game is Contra.

Kotaku: But I already HAVE Contra....

MS: Fine. Super Contra then.

Knoxximus

it can't be a free game for Gold and Silver users of your choice, otherwise I'm going to create 12 more silver accounts and download 12 different games that I want to play.

ghostyghost

screw points. I want a T-Shirt that says "MY XBOX LIVE GOLD ACCOUNT was DOWN and ALL I got was this LOUSY T-Shirt"

ExistentialEgg

What if i didnot log on for a couple of weeks, do i still get a a new game?

latinogamer

Goddammit, I want to be compensated for the time it was down, not an arcade game. Weak.

KaneRobot

Plz microsoft, GIVE OUT 800 points to every XBOX live ACCOUNT and Ill be happy! * I have 3 accounts lolololololololololololololololololololololololol.*

Gekopa

Strangely, they're going to offer Warhawk as the game.

No, I don't understand the logic either.

FanDam

This isn't going to blow over if it is another free game like Carcassonne...

Hillyard

LOL

DELETED

All I have to say is it better not be something I already have.

I have alot of XBLA games they should just credit everyone with MS points instead or a FREE week of Xbox live gold.

Japhei

It's probably be one of the Arcade hits games, I'm hoping for Lumines if this is true.

DamienMagi

Do you guys not see the insolence in their "apology?" I'm a 360 owner with Gold Live and this is about the worst apology letter I have ever seen.

The free game is a token of appreciation for helping them break records for Live usage. It is NOT a form of compensation for them fucking up the service over what is arguably the busiest gaming time of the year.

Such bullshit.

DangerChimp

$10 says it's Yaris!

Heyyou27

I agree with the previous posters praising Carcassonne. It's a great game, and I'm really happy it was free for a while, or I would probably never even have thought of trying it out.

Harteex

Oh no... I just downloaded a bunch of games. If the free one is one I just bought, I'll be pissed. Maybe they'll just let everyone choose which game they get?

Also, I hope it's sooner than 3-5 business days for the free game. I've got a coffin on the way, and would like to download this before sending my 360 out.

weggles90

@Zhai:

God bless Carcassonne! Its fun to play and it has totally converted my video game hating girl friend she can't get enough of it!

execrationist

as much as i'd like rez/puzzlequest/ikaruga/ whatever, we're not going to get anything that's from a major third party. Sega / Treasure / whoever is not going to be happy if their profits are screwed because MS had to make up for their mistake. Of course, I assume MS would just have to fork over the money to the third party, so who knows.

catapult37

I have not tried this morning but does anyone know if gamertag recovery is still unavailable?

zombiefrank

@KidU:

Carcassonne was a great game... Just because YOU didn't like it, doesn't mean other people didn't like it.

Tiberian

I'm sorry Microsoft, believe me I'm on your team, but the quality of your products should be your #1 priority moving forward. If my xbox moves while powered on it completley ruins the disc in the drive, if it doesn't have its own little area the thing will overheat and RROD, and now the service I pay a subscription on doesn't work like it should. My system froze 6 times last week during Halo 3 matchmaking - and everytime I restarted my dashboard was all jammed up (couldn't even access livearcade). I actually went out and bought Wii games last week!!! You can compensate us large or you can kiss me and mine goodbye - go big or go home says I

ErickTheRed

The Lost Vikings!
Battletoads!
Come on, MS, surprise us! Don't do what we expect here.

Sphinx

Actually, lemme go on record saying that I just want them to fix the darn problem.

And if they're gonna give me something, give me free time of XBL service to make up for the lost time.

Apples for apples...

AceSpeed

I also prefer the idea of giving us points so we can choose what we get.
A free piece of shit is still a piece of shit.

Plus, what if you already own the PoS that they offer for free?

Now, what upsets me is that after experiencing 2 weeks (and counting) of XBL issues the wording on the communication doesn't even acknowledge that this is a peace offering and instead aims to make us believe that this is a "thank you"...

Are you kidding me?

AceSpeed

Yea...I wish MS would just give us 400 MS points or something. If they pick a game that completely sucks, or everyone has then it was a bad gift to gamers.

Figcoinc

This is lame. They should give us 400 or 800 MSPoints and be done with it. They will shovel some crap game nobody is downloading on us and act like they did right by us. At the end of the day these incompetent overpaid monkeys at Microsoft should have been more prepared for the holiday - where the heck does my $50 a year go??

ErickTheRed

Look guys, they wouldn't cover up a big problem with a PR fiasco like giving away a shitty game. They're gonna make it a good one, or let people choose themselves.

Roadkill

This has the potential to backfire further. Free is free? No it isn't, this is compensation, I've been without Live service for almost two weeks. I don't even play most live games for more than a week.

Only way this might work is if we get to choose.

Other than that, it's BS.

Tuxy79

Honestly, I'd love this for Every Extend Extra Extreme... or to hold onto it until SSFII HD - but fat chance that will work.

WreckTheLaw

Definitely a $5 XBL game that no one touched or another game developed by interns.

How about giving us all a free month of XBL service instead of a game no one will play?

Vicviper

@Foggynotion:

yep, same with demo's, sometimes i get just as much satisfaction in trail games as i would the full game.

i only bought 1 XBLA game, rest are trails

Dakobah

I'm wondering how many more
"it'll be something i already own"
or
"___$ says its (old game here)"
or
"ROFL YARIS LOLZERSKATES!!!1"
we'll see before people realize
ITS BEEN SAID ALREADY!

For the love of mike people, read posts before posting yourself.

And for the record, you are not original.
ftw
(see? not original.)

WildWon

I hope we get Shenmue for free. That'd be strange and satisfying.

TearsandScreams

They should just give everyone 400 ms points that way we could do whatever we want with them

WordMan

@danfilth:

Read Bursers reply 4 comments up from yours. Also, I couldn't play Final Fantasy 11 on the Xbox 360 either.

RPGr

Microsoft will most likely choose it since they've done this every single time. It sounds like your going to get to choose and then, BAM, your stuck with Joust and Robotron. The reason they keep offering some of the worst, and oldest games for free is because they have permission from the developer to do so. So, basically don't expect access to the full XBLA library. We are most likely to get a selection between all the publisher approved games (check the 10 free games they offered recently).

Chris

I don't think silver members should get anything.

They are using up bandwidth and not paying, so why should they get anything free?

danfilth

awesome!

painkiller87

MS reminds me of a rickety old codger, kinda like Mr. Howell from Gilligan's Island. The right thing to do would be to add credit in terms of 400 or 800 pts to every live members walllet so they could choose the game they want so that everyone gets something, but no..they will likely dump on us a game that has stopped selling for them on live anyways. I gotta say we should all move our love over to PSN.

Maximus9

I DO hope that they give and extended period to download whichever game it is, as I can't do it while in college, so at least one day of weekend, I demand!

Valshar

Instead of a free game, it should be free points, but hey, free is free. Unless if you own it already. Then you get boned.

Proto_Man

@SUGARAY: Because Silver members who couldn't log in, wouldn't have been able to play the full versions of the XBLA titles that they have paid for.

Having to be signed into Live in order to play the games is a joke. Ofcourse if you haven't had your console replaced, it shouldn't make any difference whether Live is up or down. But for those of us who have been through multiple consoles, it's a PITA.

bursar

If they don't offer a game that you like and satisfy you as a customer, you don't have to take the deal. Just call them up and work out some other option, up to and including a refund of the money you've already paid for the service. It is they who have to make right by you, so in this situation, you are the one who holds the cards.

Likewise. This thought doesn't apply to cheap ass Silver members since they don't pay anyways.

thinkfreemind

Why should XBL Silver members be entitled to ANYTHING when they don't pay a dime for the service and don't have access to multiplayer game features anyway(which is the main point those of us hold Gold memberships anyway).

If they don't throw Gold XBL memberships a extra bone(like their choice of what free game they get, or maybe a free movie download or simply credit our accounts for the 2 weeks XBL acced like a spoiled child
throwing a tantrum)then i think there will be MANY thinkign about canceling their memberships.Why pay for somethign when even those who don't pay get thigns they don't deserve..

SUGARAY

The only problems I had was actually recovering my account back from home to my flat. As soon as I waited til all you Yanks went to sleep and tried again, BAM! Instant recovery.
Still wouldn't say no to a free copy of Rez HD though :)

Mattz_m

OMEGA 5!!!!!

JakeDunn

Hopefully they'll offer gamers a choice from 10 - 15 games, as I've already purchased at least 25 XBLA games and being able to download the full game of something I already had wouldn't be much of a token of anything. I pray to God it isn't Joust, again. And hopefully it will be XBLA games of any value, not just the 400 point titles.

Sloopydrew

@KidU: Except it wasn't a complete outage. I myself only experienced problems one time, and that's when my Dashboard wouldn't load and I couldn't play Puzzle Quest when I wanted to.

So I just played Eternal Sonata instead.

Revenge_of_Nekojin

I'm not complaining. :) I would be happy with a choice, but hey, it's a cool thing on their part.

Camzor

@KidU: Actually, someone posted above my first post to the effect of... "MS would only have to provide a 5 dollar download or so to meet their terms of agreement."

Spiffyness

I'm not too impressed as I see some users getting screwed over this "free game" deal. Now if its a game of our choice, I'll be quite happy but if I own the game their offering for free then how have I been compensated? They should give us the new go-kart game for free :)

omghi2u

My bet - they'll pick a game that hasn't been released yet, and make it free - that way they bypass all the issues with people who already own it. Hopefully it's something good - haven't been disappointed with poker or Carcassonne - and there are plenty of known awesome games coming up on the horizon.

4dSwissCheese

That's a fucking great deal - as long as you get to choose of course

syl1985

Any game is fine with me, free is free. I haven't even used Live more than once this christmas.

Alazar

Here's how business works. If there's a major fuckup, offer consumers a snack. Most consumers will be satisfied by the snack...they may still be disgruntled, but they won't leave.

A small minority will call customer service and complain that the snack isn't enough, so those people may get two snacks.

People that complain further are thanked for their input, and they're sorry to see you go. These people will cancel their service, then many will renew it within a month of cancellation.

So unless there's a major shitstorm by the Live community, which I don't expect, we will have to make do with snacks...maybe two of them!

Islandkiwi

I havent downloaded any arcade games in a while, so if its a recent game, or even not that recent I will be happy!

IanC

@nutmaniv: But...but... if it weren't for Robotron, there'd be no Llamatron! And nothing compares to robotic llama games. Nothing.

It is a hard fact that robotic llamas make anything and everything great. Every bad thing in this world can be attributed to a lack of robotic llamas. I defy thee to disprove this.

World War 2? No robollamas.
Daikatana? No robollamas.
The Bush administration? No robollamas.
Jack Thompson? No robollamas.

And that is why Robotron shall henceforth be known as: The game that inspired Jeff Minter to bring us robotic llamas.

ShaggE

FEEDING FRENZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

pikachumariachi

I hope Street Fighter HD will be out in time for this compensation.

2SBs

I can almost guarantee they'll allow us to pick which game. My guess is that it will come in the form of MS points. What if the game they've chosen has already been purchased by most of the userbase? That wouldn't be very nice, now would it?

ThisCharmingMan

since this has turned into a wish list, I'll take Uno or bejeweled to make the fiance happy.

velvet396

I'm fully expecting it to be a game I already own. Like the "free" Carcasonne I had already plonked 800pts down for.

BigWeather

@Pornosaur:

I dunno about rez being the free game. I doubt its frogger either. :P

Id say Pacman: CE, Sonic, or one of the casual titles such as Texas hold em,bejeweled, or puzzle quest. Although I think texas hold em was free at one point already....

nutmaniv

"Robotron a shit game? Where's my dueling glove?"

Lets just say that If I had to pick between the 5 worst arcade titles to get for free I would stay far away from robotron. Its a fun game for 3 levels. Then its just stupid.

nutmaniv

@adamcole: That is precisely where I have been having trouble lately. I couldn't recover my account for days on end, meaning I could not log into my profile, meaning I could not load my save games, meaning I essentially could not do shit with my 360. It was a bitch.

KidU

I've been having trouble with CoD4 on Live today as well.

Current Live Status (I just checked):

Users may experience issues performing transactions dependent on Windows Live ID availability including but not limited to: Xbox 360 and Zune account creation, renewal, recovery, and logging into or creating Windows Live ID accounts.

We apologize for any inconvenience."

adamcole

They should just give 800 pts at least that way we all can pick whatever we want.

Witzbold

While I know it'd be like Frosty shaking hands with the Dark Lord Satan himself, I'd LOVE it if I could get Pac-Man Championship Edition out of this somehow.

Peaugh

C'mon, Carcassonne's great!

kryo

Dorito's game.

Doomstink

I'm still getting XBL failed on my connection tests.... so.... fuck compensation for the downtime, END THE FUCKING DOWN TIME..... [/cruise control]

sophist

@Lot krotan: I'm not being anti-MS, just stating the obvious. I have had XBL ever since the original Xbox, and until now I have never had a problem with the service. In this case however, something got screwed up. Because it is a paid service, people that pay for it have a right to complain. And in fact, according to the XBL TOS, all Gold subscribers have the right in this situation to seek damages worth up to one month's subscription fee. Stating that fact is not being anti-MS, it is just knowing your rights as a consumer. Like if your cable went out for two weeks, and instead of refunding you for that time your cable company decided to offer you a free PPV movie, would you be "anti-cable" if you noted that your contract says you should be refunded for the lost time? What this boils down to is that giving away a XBLA game for free is no money out of MS's bank account, whereas making $4.17 reparations to every gold subscriber would suck for them financially. I am more than happy with a free XBLA game, as long as it doesn't stink. You are a stupid consumer if the TOS of a service says you are entitled to something, and you accept something inferior as reparations instead. A game I do not want would be inferior to $4.17 in this case.

KidU

What a twist. Now if only they can let us pick which XBOX Live Arcade Game. Because I swear if its crappy I am just going to get pissed off...

I fully expect The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers The Movie Game lmfao..

but seriously Microsoft.I want My TMNT:Turtles in Time!!

kingme

Seems like a decent gesture to me…

tejstar

Simple fact: Carcassonne is pure win. Get over it. I love it - intelligent duel between players.

I SAY "NO" TO SPACE GIRAFFE!

Zhai

@Pornosaur: Well there certaintly were moments all through the outages where I could use Live just fine. It just made it worse when I got on and couldn't.

I hope it is something new and good but I am not going to complain about getting something for free.

Deux_ExMachina

I really wish it was points instead of a game. Because then I could spend the points on sweet sweet Rock Band tracks.

dowingba

@lifeinthefridge:
Come on! I got GW and GW2 in my shitty PGR 3

Zhai

Ha i wouldn't hold my breath on REZ, your looking more into the Frogger region. I think with the advent of internet communication(going on 15 years) and sites like Kotaku if Mircosoft really wanted to make a statement they would give us something like REZ for free. For whatever reason though companies haven't grasped that yet, how every single thing they do is put under a microscope from not one place but 1000 places. I just don't get it. Half the time they still deny there was a problem to begin with. At least MS is acknowledging that.

Pornosaur

How about 500 MS points so we can pick something on our own which doesn't suck.

HeyApples

@Tomahawk214: lol that or pac-man.

Ra_on_the_Moon

If there good...

Sailorcancer

$10 says Joust.

Shaneman

If it is any game, then Rez is the reason to dance at this news.

WaterMedia

they'll just release whatever was scheduled to come out that week for free.

droptop

I bet the free XBLA game is Hexic.

Tomahawk214

BTW i loved the use of the word "intermittent" loss of service. So I guess there was a 0.5 sec window I could have joined a Call of Duty 4 game every time I clicked on it that week I was off work?

Pornosaur

99.9999% chance I already own the game they release, how about just a free new release Wednesday of a new game. Couldn't hurt your PR.

Pornosaur

As long as its not Spongebob or Yaris I'm happy.

cybereality

I don't want to nitpick, but the words "apologize", "sorry", "forgive" never appear in the letter.

I'm just saying...

MinhN

I could go for Geometry Wars. I haven't bought it yet because it's too shallow to justify spending cash on, but it's fun to play.

Revenge_of_Nekojin

Carc..carc...

I was THIS close to purchasing it today.

Fyren

bah, you know it's Geomerty wars...or Uno.

QuickPick

@nutmaniv: Robotron a shit game? Where's my dueling glove?

ShaggE

My vote would be for Rez, Ikaruga or some other game coming soon.

StupidDufus

@mindinrewind: LOL. QFT.

_woLf

Give us a list of choices and it will be good.

Give us Metal Slug 3 and it will be AWESOME.

RedRaptor

They gave away a game for free two months ago? Where the hell was I?

Anyway, yeah. I'm really worried that it's going to be either a game I don't care about, or a game I already own. In fact, I'm 85% sure that's what will happen, since I already bought most of the ones I care about.

Revenge_of_Nekojin

As soon as the free download becomes available, Live will crash.

mindinrewind

@shindokie:

It shouldnt be difficult. I know people that were compensated in the past with free Robotron 2084 and Joust. Shit games I know...Anyway, all they had to do was enter a code in the marketplace. The same area where you put a prepaid card code at.

nutmaniv

@TheIrishNinja: GASP!
Holy crap! I forgot that there was a Hexic 2.
IT BETTER BE HEXIC 2 >:(

scotty

Omega Five anyone? It comes out next week.

herfy

I'm hoping for Space Giraffe, myself. Jeff Minter is my god.

ShaggE

@Nate128: And then I woke up in a cold sweat.

samaine

Hey, cool!

Glad to see they're looking out for you guys. Happy gaming!

*goes back to Warhawk*

EvoAnubis

@Kirbytheslayer: hates Java: stop it! you and the yaris people, youre ruining post-christmas!

i doubt itll be new, or our choice, but hey, free is free. here comes hexic 2 or whatever.

TheIrishNinja

Well, my Xbox Live hasn't crapped out, so who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? Bring on the freebie, whatever it may be. Points would be great, but I doubt that'll happen.

HalfJapanese

all of our Xbox LIVE members

all members?

retronaut

C'mon, Undertow!

We could use the massive boost in the game's MP numbers!

Coquiton

Sweet action, but knowing my luck it'll be the one game that I actually downloaded.

NoFunShogun

@Kirbytheslayer: hates Java: oh god, I hope they're not that stupid, lol

chenry

gah. if it was Rez id be even more pissed. Get a upgraded version of a crappy 'game' due to crap service? Might as well just give us a game thats a first person view of getting your nose rubbed in a dogs leavings.

Murrytmds

@Lot krotan: He speaks the truth.

Nex Antonius

This is just not right even thought I can dust of my ps3 this is the time to play the holidays, time of work and school! Xbox live should be free. Oh by the way the cake is a lie!

catnip66

FYI: If it is Rez HD, they'd better pay The Miz for every download. I want to show him my damn support so he makes us more Rez!!!

DaveKap

@KidU:

you have been nothing but anti-microsoft in every thread related to the recent outages... why the hell are you paying for the service in the first place? They could just say "fuck you" and let you try to get your $3 back, but instead they figure they'll try to do something nice, and people still bitch.

"We plan on giving a free xbla game to you guys."

"Boo! We want money!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Lot krotan

@kashraz: The Big C I believe keeps saying he wants to do it. I'm assuming he just keeps getting pushed back :(

huginn

I get the strange feeling there would be less complaining if Microsoft did nothing at all...

SuperMaxZero

My guess is that it is going to be a 400 point / $5 game of some variety, though I would love them forever if they hit us with an 800 pointer.

KidU

I didn't even touch my 360 while I was playing COD4 PS3. Hmmm...

Roflcopter_Down

a month extension on Gold service would have been more than adequate...

it'll be some crappy title that i already have...

icepick314

Am I the only one who WOULDN'T start a class action over 2 weeks of lost game time.

I could understand being angry, but when did the days of peaceful resolutions become "Gimme some money"

Narbaros

People aren't going to be satisfied unless MS let's us pick..

.endejas.

No no no no no!!!!! give us 800 points, i dont want free crap!!!

Genok

This plan is going to fail harder than Xbox Live.

The only way Microsoft can make everybody happy would be to give everybody 800 live points, and then people STILL wouldnt be satisfyed.

Joust/Contra FTL.

sadisticfreak432

It will be Texas Hold'em.

luisrm

Please, Microsoft, do us all a favor.

Release Ikaruga now and make it free.

You know you want to.

ZenGrenadier

@kojirodensetsu: The point is that they just gave it away for free to everybody on Live two months ago.
Not that the game sucks. It's just that everybody already has it.

@Spiffyness: If it's the best, then a lot of people will already have it, and will be mad that it's a copy. In a brilliant twist, MS will give away a crappy game nobody bought.

Kirbytheslayer: hates Java

yaris... hahahahahaha

eXo

@Spiffyness: "C'mon, guys, this isn't a cheap marketing tool or something, this is Microsoft's attempt to avoid a multimillion dollar class action lawsuit. Microsoft may not be perfect, but they sure know how to cover their tracks, so the game's probably gonna be one of the older ones, not the best."

Fixed that for ya.

KidU

Anyone else only own 1 arcade game but play every trial game on the service? I love playing little snippets of the games, so damn cool.

Foggynotion

@Spiffyness: Of course, since I just got my 360 last August and have been too broke to afford any XBLA games, I don't have to worry about already having the game they offer.

Spiffyness

Of course Silver users will get it too. We were effected too!

I just hope it is a token for a game of our choice. I am not always happy with the free games they offer.

Justcrim

I really hope it's not a game that I already own.

NumbSinner

C'mon, guys, this isn't a cheap marketing tool or something, this is Microsoft's attempt to make people NOT angry. Microsoft may not be perfect, but they sure know how to grovel when they mess up, so the game's probably gonna be one of the good ones, if not the best.

Spiffyness

GEOMETRY wARS! please

lifeinthefridge

@Kirbytheslayer: hates Java: How dare you. Carcassonne is awesome.

kojirodensetsu

"Dear Xbox LIVE Members:

Once again I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your patience and understanding. I'm sure you all understand how busy and trying a time the holidays can be, especially in this business.

Well, I promised you a free Xbox Live Arcade game, and I intend to deliver on that promise. We are pleased to announce alongside our partners at Toyota (R) that their new racing game Yaris (TM) is available free for download as a token of our appreciation. Make your way over to the "Games" section of our downloads to receive your free gift.

Sincerely,

Marc Whitten
General Manager, Xbox LIVE"

Nate128

I certainly hope it's more of a sort of free 800 point game of your choice and not a forced decision.

Come on, Double Dragon!

Narbaros

Yaris/Aegis Wing.

These games were so good, its a shame not many people got them.
Maybe MS should give these away for free...
Oh wait....damn.

scotty

@huginn: whatever happened to the kotaku game club thing? is that still going on? may be a good idea to do free flash internet games like guest house or something to start the club. but still it'd be better to discuss something with more meat on it.

kashraz

If by intermitent they mean, you were able to log on for more than 10 minutes a day in 2 weeks then yeah.

This is getting rediculous. I had a night of CoD4 planned.

Also, crappy XBLA games don't make up for this. If I wan't to buy Frogger I would have bought it already, this game better be good but honestly I'd rather have 2 weeks of LIVE added.

Also, this game isn't "free" everyone. You were paying for it with your LIVE "service" you haven't been able to use.

FoxHoundADAM

One word: Yaris.

MR_Gamer

and what if you all ready own the game they give for free, or from list they provide?

If you can just choose any game that will solve the problem.

@JarenFace: they really tried to give Joust away twice? if that's the case they may make it just Joust... or maybe with centipede...

but hey, as has been pointed out prior, it's free.

kashraz

I doubt anyone has high hopes that it'll be a game of their choosing. More or less they'll offer one game and one game only. If you already have it or don't like, tough shit

Sparx88

@Groovy_Guy: I'm totally with you there. Fix it, then pay us back. Also...if they do pick the game themselves, then everyone who already owns it gets zero compensation. Hopefully they do right by this one.

(And for everyone that is itching to hop on with the "They don't owe you shit!" argument...please. Read the TOS, most notably the part where it says that the users are entitled to seek damages worth up to a month's subscription fee for delays in conducting transmissions in a timely manner. At the very least every Gold user could seek damages against MS for $4.17 according to the TOS.)

KidU

it better not be joust, frogger or robotron....ugh

feegore

My guess is free Vista though ;)

huginn

How about just giving everyone Marketplace points and let us decide what to get. Fortunately I've been playing Mass Effect, so this outage didn't have a mass effect on me. Get it, lol?

TinyLightning

it would be so awsome if they let us choose which games we wanted

limitt

It'll either be Frogger or a game I already have.

saintfaucet

This is why I like MS, they take care of there customers. Wait... thats' not like MS at all.

I'm guessing everyone gets 400-800 points. and we should all spend it on a Kotaku game club game.

huginn

They're going to make it a retro arcade game, I can feel it (*^%$.

Morberis

Hasn't Microsoft already given out free XBLA games twice? I recall the first set being Joust/Frogger, and the last one being Joust/Robotron. I think I know where they're going with this...

JarenFace

Wouldn't it be awesome if it was a new arcade game?
Like a FPS game where you're a monkey searching the MS empire to find that "fix xboxlive" button!

We need more simulator arcade games!

scotty

I doubt they will give you a choice of games, chances are it will just be one option. Otherwise you could have two accounts on the one xbox and download them both.

Moosetwik

$5 says it's Joust. Which honestly would only piss me off more.

FoxHoundADAM

just give everyone points and let them do whatever! even 400 would be great.

hass

Let's face it, regardless of what they offer, 2/3 of us will be unhappy (I know I'll definately be because I'm negative like that :p). And of the unhappy 2/3, 50% of them will not even be Xbox LIVE users. I think we should all cancel our Xbox LIVE accounts and send the money to me so I can put it towards my 360 Ultimate funds. Come on guys... it's Christmas (says the fire hazard in my living room).

okenny :)

@Hills: AHAHAH TRIPLE POST

Hills

How about giving me 2 weeks worth of credit.....better yet, since you haven't even fixed it yet, why don't we just wait and see how long these problems go on before I take your free game offer?

Sound good to you Microsoft? You offer a game yet YOU might be the one picking it? Laughable!

Groovy_Guy

Its going to be Totemball

Hills

Its going to be Totemball...YAY

Hills

Free Metal Slug 3 or Super Street Fighter II Turbo Remix HD? I'm game, are you?

Trowble

Doesn't MS make it harder. They make you go through a long process just for a game. I forgot what they did for i think it was old spice but they said it was a hassle.

shindokie

please no retro arcade games....
PLEASE ;_;

scotty

If the game isn't Joust, or one of the dozen other 25-year-old MAME arcade ports, I'll be very very shocked.

I'm confident it'll be Joust.

ilyag

"We've teamed with EA to give out free Wing Commander Arena!"

"Hey guys has anyone logged in to play multiplayer yet? No?"

Cutedge

I hope they give you options as well, seeing as I own over 40 XBLA games and chances are I own whichever one they pick :( Best case scenario, it's a good game I already own, but my friends don't so that I get more friends with the game.

Lot krotan

It'll probably be one of the Arcade Hits games. Oh well. Free is free.

MBCpeanut

If it's any game I'd be pretty happy. I didn't get around to downloading Carcassonne so I'm kinda itching to do that.

jihadjoe343

Hopefully it won't be a game I already have. Which is... a lot of them.

Stormrider900

I'm not holding my breath for anything amazing but it is nice that they're giving us anything at all.

Ollivander

yay, something I posted got submitted, though I wouldn't be surprised if several people submitted this.

anyway, here's hoping we get a good game free and not something lame.

FiveElementNinja

Here's to hoping that they actually offer a decent game / let you pick one. I don't really have my hopes up too high though, since the last time they gave out a free game it was Carcassonne.

KidU

Like said before, if it has any relation to Spongebob and/or an Arcade game I already own, Xbox Live administration heads will roll.

_woLf

Asteroids bitches!

okenny :)

In an evil twist, it'll be Carcassonne.

Kirbytheslayer: hates Java

Now the question, which game, and with a choice, Rez or Puzzlequest?

ghostyghost

Yay?

Erwin211

I hope we get more than just a game, I get bored of the XBLA games too easily. I would rather just have the points.

BC4T

bet ya 400 ms points that they are only going to give us 400ms points to pick from a game. we prolly don't even get to pick what game either.

Teekan

Please, for the love of God, make it Metal Slug 3.

mquest

screw metal slug 3 , make it 007 golden eye

ChrisGiordano

screw every single game you guys mentioned on this board .The one game that would Make every Xbox Live Customer Forgive&Forget about all their troubles is the one and only 007 Golden Eye(N64 Version) with updated Xbox live co-op and Versus modes included

007 Golden Eye pwns all other arcade games

ChrisGiordano