AfterDawn: News

Free XBL coming for GTA IV: The Lost and Damned downloaders

Microsoft has announced that they will be offering Xbox Live for free to anyone who downloads the GTA IV expansion The Lost and Damned, for the week of February 17th-22nd.

Xbox Live multiplayer is normally reserved to those who pay for a Gold account, but the software giant is adding extra cross promotion for the downloadable content.



Additionally, Rockstar Games and XBL are promoting the expansion with a week of events that include the "chance to take on hip-hop DJ Statik Selektah in a special Game with Fame event and to play against "the people behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise" in a Game with Rockstar."

The downloadable content, which reportedly cost Microsoft $50 million USD to secure exclusively, will sell for 1600 Microsoft Points beginning on the 17th.




Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Feb 2009 20:14

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• 31 comments

• lxhotboy

  I knew that Microsoft didnot just pay all that money for a download that would be available for all versions of the game. I guess xbox360 owners will be able to enjoy more of GTA, Oops.... as for me i sold my GTA long time ago. It got boring after the first 2 weeks. LOL I wonder how many people will have to buy the downloadable game for Microsoft to make a profit off the 50 million they spent on this crap.

  12.2.2009 20:23 #1

• DXR88

  I like the how this article is titled.
  
  The Lost and Damned downloaders is what i think every time XBL goes down for hours.

  12.2.2009 21:40 #2

• ZippyDSM

  Gold should be free anyway....

  12.2.2009 22:00 #3

• madpappi

  Originally posted by DXR88: I like the how this article is titled.
  
  The Lost and Damned downloaders is what i think every time XBL goes down for hours. really? weird i have had live for over a year and other than scheduled maintenance i have only experienced 1 outage and that lasted around an hour. not a fanboy just a fact.
  now on to what this article is about.
  i think ms made a big mistake paying that much for exclusive content they will have to sell 2.5 million copies just to recoup. that's gonna be hard to do specially since so many people abandoned gta4 after they finished it and traded it in.

  12.2.2009 23:05 #4

• lxhotboy

  Quote:Originally posted by DXR88: I like the how this article is titled.
  
  The Lost and Damned downloaders is what i think every time XBL goes down for hours. really? weird i have had live for over a year and other than scheduled maintenance i have only experienced 1 outage and that lasted around an hour. not a fanboy just a fact.
  now on to what this article is about.
  i think ms made a big mistake paying that much for exclusive content they will have to sell 2.5 million copies just to recoup. that's gonna be hard to do specially since so many people abandoned gta4 after they finished it and traded it in.I am afraid i must agree. XBL has been reliable with very few unscheduled downtime for years. I dont recall hours of downtime very often. @ DXR88 if you are experiencing hours of downtime often you may want to check your connections.

  12.2.2009 23:19 #5

• lxhotboy

  Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Gold should be free anyway....I agree

  12.2.2009 23:22 #6

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Gold should be free anyway....I agreeIf they want a subscription setup make it worth while give out 3K worth of non roll over points a month, 8k for 25$ a month and for 50 bucks a month make it a simple 50% discount on anything through Xbox live, hell they would roll in money doing this because there are plenty of morons who would pay for the privilege...

  12.2.2009 23:36 #7

• Paladore

  I pay my 50 a year to be an asshole online. these ps3 punks do it for free without paying for that right :P

  13.2.2009 01:00 #8

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by Paladore: I pay my 50 a year to be an asshole online. these ps3 punks do it for free without paying for that right :P
  But but they are paying for it without halo..and the other good MP games...*rolls eyes*
  
  :P

  13.2.2009 01:04 #9

• ripxrush

  Quote:I wonder how many people will have to buy the downloadable game for Microsoft to make a profit off the 50 million they spent on this crap.well 160 XBL Points cost Aprox. $20 (depending where you get them) so:
  
  
  50,000,000/20=2,500,000
  
  50 Million
  Divided by
  20
  =
  2.5 million
  
  that would be the break even point! I am sure that FREE XBL for a week has a price on their servers & upgrades but i am sure they are hoping a certain % or new users of Purchased XBL service just to use the online content after that week!

  13.2.2009 01:34 #10

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Quote:I wonder how many people will have to buy the downloadable game for Microsoft to make a profit off the 50 million they spent on this crap.well 160 XBL Points cost Aprox. $20 (depending where you get them) so:
  
  
  50,000,000/20=2,500,000
  
  50 Million
  Divided by
  20
  =
  2.5 million
  
  that would be the break even point! I am sure that FREE XBL for a week has a price on their servers & upgrades but i am sure they are hoping a certain % or new users of Purchased XBL service just to use the online content after that week!Wait 160 points is 20$?
  
  WTF?!?!

  13.2.2009 01:40 #11

• Se7ven

  I think he mean 1,600.

  13.2.2009 08:56 #12

• DXR88

  It was a joke people, i know that it hasn't been down for a while, but you all are hot to jump in the flames.
  
  its just when it does happen thats what i think.

  13.2.2009 11:28 #13

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by Se7ven: I think he mean 1,600.that should be closer to 20K...10K at least...... points to buy games with should never be more than 100 a buck or 2.......

  13.2.2009 13:10 #14

• r3d2tango

  Quote:Originally posted by Paladore: I pay my 50 a year to be an asshole online. these ps3 punks do it for free without paying for that right :P
  But but they are paying for it without halo..and the other good MP games...*rolls eyes*
  
  :Pwhat good games?
  
  my XBL ran out this month and i have no plans on renewing it.

  13.2.2009 19:10 #15

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Quote:Originally posted by Paladore: I pay my 50 a year to be an asshole online. these ps3 punks do it for free without paying for that right :P
  But but they are paying for it without halo..and the other good MP games...*rolls eyes*
  
  :Pwhat good games?
  
  my XBL ran out this month and i have no plans on renewing it.I was kidding :P
  They all have practically the same games.. but for the WII.

  13.2.2009 19:12 #16

• madpappi

  wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .

  13.2.2009 22:48 #17

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .its become that cheap now?

  13.2.2009 22:55 #18

• scorpNZ

  Perhaps if you're states side but not all countries have the same exchange rate,how much you pay & whether it's a rip off is relative anyway,the more hours you game the more you get you're money's worth,tho personally there ought'a be a system like prepay mobile phones where you only pay for what you use & as for having to pay for bloody themes,icons etc or maps,they can piss off

  14.2.2009 00:45 #19

• DXR88

  Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .
  WTF are you talking about, it's 50 bucks a year. there is no retail the service comes direct from XBL.
  
  Unless you managed to get the XBL gold 1 year subscription cards for under $10.00 a piece.

  14.2.2009 00:45 #20

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .
  WTF are you talking about, it's 50 bucks a year. there is no retail the service comes direct from XBL.
  
  Unless you managed to get the XBL gold 1 year subscription cards for under $10.00 a piece.so you can;t use live points to pay for gold?

  14.2.2009 00:47 #21

• DXR88

  Quote:Quote:Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .
  WTF are you talking about, it's 50 bucks a year. there is no retail the service comes direct from XBL.
  
  Unless you managed to get the XBL gold 1 year subscription cards for under $10.00 a piece.so you can;t use live points to pay for gold?? thats confusing, you purchase live points to download games or content from XBL which is additional and is separate from the subscription plan.
  
  This allows XBL silver users to obtain downloadable content too.

  14.2.2009 00:53 #22

• redux79

  As far as I know newegg has the lowest price for 12 month gold subscriptions, $39 with free shipping.
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103030

  14.2.2009 18:18 #23

• madpappi

  Quote:Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .
  WTF are you talking about, it's 50 bucks a year. there is no retail the service comes direct from XBL.
  
  Unless you managed to get the XBL gold 1 year subscription cards for under $10.00 a piece.i never said direct from xbl
  
  as a matter of fact i managed to get xbox live vision bundles that include the video camera ,200 ms points,2 or 3 (dont remember how many) xbox live games ,wired headset and a year of xbox live for UNDER $10 each :)
  even last week a careful shopper could have picked up 1 year card for $30 at bestbuy. deals at $30 for a year are actually commom place now in this tight economy you gotta sniff out the great deals.

  14.2.2009 23:48 #24

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Quote:Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .
  WTF are you talking about, it's 50 bucks a year. there is no retail the service comes direct from XBL.
  
  Unless you managed to get the XBL gold 1 year subscription cards for under $10.00 a piece.i never said direct from xbl
  
  as a matter of fact i managed to get xbox live vision bundles that include the video camera ,200 ms points,2 or 3 (dont remember how many) xbox live games ,wired headset and a year of xbox live for UNDER $10 each :)
  even last week a careful shopper could have picked up 1 year card for $30 at bestbuy. deals at $30 for a year are actually commom place now in this tight economy you gotta sniff out the great deals.So 300$ worth of crap to get 3 years worth of live?
  I don't see how its a good thing....

  15.2.2009 00:10 #25

• Se7ven

  $300.00 where did that come from?

  15.2.2009 12:16 #26

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by Se7ven: $300.00 where did that come from?A hand full of games and crap can hit 100+ easily.

  15.2.2009 12:20 #27

• madpappi

  Quote:Quote:Quote:Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .
  WTF are you talking about, it's 50 bucks a year. there is no retail the service comes direct from XBL.
  
  Unless you managed to get the XBL gold 1 year subscription cards for under $10.00 a piece.i never said direct from xbl
  
  as a matter of fact i managed to get xbox live vision bundles that include the video camera ,200 ms points,2 or 3 (dont remember how many) xbox live games ,wired headset and a year of xbox live for UNDER $10 each :)
  even last week a careful shopper could have picked up 1 year card for $30 at bestbuy. deals at $30 for a year are actually commom place now in this tight economy you gotta sniff out the great deals.So 300$ worth of crap to get 3 years worth of live?
  I don't see how its a good thing....
  huh? where did $300 come from? or the 3 years part.confused

  15.2.2009 23:45 #28

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Quote:Quote:Quote:Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .
  WTF are you talking about, it's 50 bucks a year. there is no retail the service comes direct from XBL.
  
  Unless you managed to get the XBL gold 1 year subscription cards for under $10.00 a piece.i never said direct from xbl
  
  as a matter of fact i managed to get xbox live vision bundles that include the video camera ,200 ms points,2 or 3 (dont remember how many) xbox live games ,wired headset and a year of xbox live for UNDER $10 each :)
  even last week a careful shopper could have picked up 1 year card for $30 at bestbuy. deals at $30 for a year are actually commom place now in this tight economy you gotta sniff out the great deals.So 300$ worth of crap to get 3 years worth of live?
  I don't see how its a good thing....
  huh? where did $300 come from? or the 3 years part.confusedOh 5 years not 3, sorry. LOL
  
  What I am saying how much crap did you buy to get 5 years of live?

  16.2.2009 01:02 #29

• madpappi

  Quote:Quote:Quote:Quote:Quote:Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .
  WTF are you talking about, it's 50 bucks a year. there is no retail the service comes direct from XBL.
  
  Unless you managed to get the XBL gold 1 year subscription cards for under $10.00 a piece.i never said direct from xbl
  
  as a matter of fact i managed to get xbox live vision bundles that include the video camera ,200 ms points,2 or 3 (dont remember how many) xbox live games ,wired headset and a year of xbox live for UNDER $10 each :)
  even last week a careful shopper could have picked up 1 year card for $30 at bestbuy. deals at $30 for a year are actually commom place now in this tight economy you gotta sniff out the great deals.So 300$ worth of crap to get 3 years worth of live?
  I don't see how its a good thing....
  huh? where did $300 come from? or the 3 years part.confusedOh 5 years not 3, sorry. LOL
  
  What I am saying how much crap did you buy to get 5 years of live?i said that at the start i paid around $45 but that doesnt include all the other stuff i got with it also that only counts the 1 year cards i also picked up 1 month cards for $1.50.

  16.2.2009 01:07 #30

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Quote:Quote:Quote:Quote:Quote:Originally posted by madpappi: wow to to anyone who pays retail for xbl well sorry but your sucker lol
  i got over 5 years of xbl for under $45 ... i am still amazed that people pay retail .
  WTF are you talking about, it's 50 bucks a year. there is no retail the service comes direct from XBL.
  
  Unless you managed to get the XBL gold 1 year subscription cards for under $10.00 a piece.i never said direct from xbl
  
  as a matter of fact i managed to get xbox live vision bundles that include the video camera ,200 ms points,2 or 3 (dont remember how many) xbox live games ,wired headset and a year of xbox live for UNDER $10 each :)
  even last week a careful shopper could have picked up 1 year card for $30 at bestbuy. deals at $30 for a year are actually commom place now in this tight economy you gotta sniff out the great deals.So 300$ worth of crap to get 3 years worth of live?
  I don't see how its a good thing....
  huh? where did $300 come from? or the 3 years part.confusedOh 5 years not 3, sorry. LOL
  
  What I am saying how much crap did you buy to get 5 years of live?i said that at the start i paid around $45 but that doesnt include all the other stuff i got with it also that only counts the 1 year cards i also picked up 1 month cards for $1.50.... ZOMG!!!
  
  /B mode got the better of me >>

  16.2.2009 01:21 #31