Microsoft’s ‘Undertow’ offer is underwhelming
You’d think that all the trouble with Xbox Live over the holidays warranted a better apology than this.
Certainly more than $10 worth.
Instead, Microsoft Corp. has announced that the free game it’s offering members of its digital media service who suffered outages during one of the busiest gaming times of the year will be “Undertow,” a mild first-person shooter on Xbox Live Arcade.
Xbox 360 owners can download the game through Arcade beginning very early Wednesday. The offer lasts through the following Sunday.
“Undertow,” set in the future during a war for control of the oceans, costs just $10, or 800 Microsoft points in Xbox-speak. But the service problems affecting Xbox Live lasted days and came at the worst possible time — just as the newest Xbox 360 owners were pulling their consoles from beneath their Christmas trees.
Some customers were so upset, they decided to sue.
Exactly what current “Undertow” owners should do, Microsoft hasn’t made clear. The Game Guy’s best advice is to call Xbox Live support.
Yes, “Undertow” is better than nothing. But for all the inconvenience Xbox Live subscribers suffered, it almost seems like nothing.
I think this free arcade game is plenty of compensation.
I don’t own it, but heard its pretty good, so I am glad to get a free game.
If you broke it down, live costs about $1 a week. Live had problems for two weeks or about $2 worth. We are getting a $10 game for the trouble, which I think is pretty good. They even said if you already purchased Undertow, you would be taken care of, probably with marketplace points.