Microsoft has recently announced that they will be offering a free first-party video game to Xbox One owners affected by hardware issues. This announcement was released shortly after reports were released about some Xbox One’s suffering from faulty disc drives.
The faulty disc drives would make a sickening, grinding sound when a disc was inserted into the Xbox One and the game would not play. This problem had left several gamers with no way to play their hard copies of any game, but any downloaded games would work just fine.
Luckily for Microsoft, they are well-trained in how to deal with console issues after the infamous “Red Ring of Death” plagued many of the early versions of the Xbox 360. Microsoft took care of many of the issues without charging their customers but it was still frustrating to not have your console while it was being repaired.
This go-round, Microsoft has established their “advance exchange program” so that gamers will be sent their replacement console first, and then they send in their faulty console. This makes it more convenient for the customer and is a savvy move on Microsoft’s part.
“While a replacement console is on its way, we want to ensure that our advance exchange customers can stay in the game. We will provide each of them with a free digital download of one of the launch titles published by Microsoft Studios.”
To make this arrangement all the better, Microsoft will be giving out a downloadable versions of either Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome or Zoo Tycoon. This is awesome because faulty disc drives are not a problem for downloadable games, so gamers can play their free game until their replacement console arrives.
Of course, this now presents Xbox One gamers with the decision of which game to get for free and that is a tough choice. I reviewed Ryse: Son of Rome yesterday and wrote about how the game is a bit disappointing, so my decision would be narrowed down to three games. From there, I would probably avoid Zoo Tycoon because those games are not really my style; which leaves two really fun games left with Forza Motorsport 5 and Dead Rising 3 to choose from.
While it is unfortunate for those who received Xbox Ones with faulty disc drives, it is awesome to see Microsoft come through like they have. I have had two Xbox 360s go down with problems and Microsoft was nice enough to send a free month trial of Xbox Live Gold, but this new deal is much more appealing.
