Microsoft offers big discounts on downloadable games thru March 4th

Microsoft takes a cue from Steam, offers deep sale on downloadable games
Classic Xbox 360 retail titles available to download for as little as $3.

In the endless battle between console and PC gamers, those on the computer side have been able to point to semi-regular, ultra-deep discounts on downloadable legacy titles through services like Steam and GOG as a point in their favor. Microsoft seems to be realizing this, and today it will begin offering downloadable versions of some big-name titles at discounts of 75 percent and more.

Microsoft's sales event, which runs through March 4, kicked off last night with massive reductions on downloadable copies of Halo 3, Halo: Reach, and Halo Wars, all of which are reduced from $30 down to $10 for a single day. The more recent Halo 4 was reduced as well, from $60 to $40. This morning, Microsoft rolled out more steep reductions on 15 third-party titles ranging from BioShock and Tomb Raider: Legend to El Shaddai and Rayman: Raving Rabbids. All of these titles are now temporarily available for $3 to $5, down from normal download prices of $20 to $30. The coming days will see daily deals on dozens of other downloadable titles.

All of these sale prices are comparable to or a bit lower than the going rate for preowned retail copies at places like GameStop, meaning you actually get to pay less for the convenience of not leaving the house. In many cases, the sale even makes the console version of the game temporarily cheaper than PC downloads, which is a pretty rare treat for console owners. Plus it's always cool to get a modern classic like BioShock for less cash than some iOS games.

If Microsoft's next system does end up blocking play of preowned retail games, as has been heavily rumored, these kind of downloadable deals for older titles could help ease the pain quite a bit (a fact services like Steam have proven again and again). Heck, even with a healthy resale market for discs, it never hurts to revive interest in classic games with rock-bottom prices.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/...steam-offers-deep-sale-on-downloadable-games/

 

Some of the titles you can expect to see on sale:

Assassins Creed
Assassins Creed 2
Batman Arkham Asylum
Batman Arkham city
Bioshock
Borderlands
Borderlands 2
Brotherhood (Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood)
Call of Juarez
Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Code Veronica
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements
Dead Island
Dirt 2
Dishonored
El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron
Fable III
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 New Vegas
GRID
Halo 3
Halo 4
Halo Reach
Halo Wars
Kane & Lynch Dead Men
Left for Dead 2
Max Payne 3
Metal Gear Solid HD
Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat vs. DCU
Orange Box
Portal 2
Raccoon City
Rainbow Six Vegas
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 6
Red Dead Redemption
Revelations (Assassin’s Creed Revelations)
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter X Tekken
Super Streetfighter IV Arcade Edition
TC’s H.A.W.X.
Tekken 6
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
The Darkness
The King of Fighters XIII
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Tomb Raider Legend
Virtua Fighter 5
World at War (Call of Duty: World at War)

 

Is RE 4 pretty good then? 2 was the last one I played.

 

Yeah I went ahead and picked it up.

 

So I almost bought the MGS HD collection as it was on sale for $9.99... except they split it up, MGS 2 & 3 for 10 bucks, and Peace Walker separately for $10 itself. Unbelievable.

**** you, MS. I'll just pick up a used copy for $15, get all three games, and you won't get a cent.