Microsoft to reward Xbox Live achievers with freebies
It seems that the recent rumors about real world rewards for virtual world Xbox Live Achievements are true. Microsoft has just announced a cross-marketing promotion with Old Spice deodorant to give some freebies to American Xbox Live users who add at least 1,500 Achievement points to their gamerscore between Feb. 12 and April 12.
Players have to be at least 13 years old and register at Xbox.com/rewards after Feb. 12. Prizes are divided in to three tiers, depending on the participant's "annual gamerscore" (which we can only assume is the number of points you've gained in the last year):
Level 1 (Gamers who have an annual gamerscore between 0-4,999 at time of entry): Game Picture, Dashboard theme, Contra for Xbox LIVE Arcade
Level 2 (5,000-9,999 annual gamerscore): Level 1 Package, 100 Microsoft Points and a contest T-shirt
Level 3 (10,000+ annual gamerscore): Level 1 Package, 200 Microsoft Points, contest T-shirt and Fusion Frenzy 2.
All told Microsoft will be giving away $500,000 in prizes to gamers who would probably be earning these Achievements for free anyway. Sure, T-shirts and a few hundred MS points aren't anything to write home about, but Fusion Frenzy 2 is a $50 game that can be had for nothing but some diligent gaming. We applaud Microsoft for showing a bit of tangible recognition to some of its most loyal customers. Sony, Nintendo, the freebie ball is in your court.
