One day, many months ago, I was wasting time on the interweb when I got sick and tired of seeing advertisements promoting a free this or that.  One advertisement caught my attention – A Free XBOX 360.  I wondered how it was possible to get a next-gen system for free because it could not be false advertising.  After reading the terms and conditions, thoroughly I might add, it seemed that all that was required was to complete a trial offer from a third party website and get 8 other people to do the same.  I could actually pull that off….

So I set out to complete my requirements.  The trial offers consisted of Blockbuster.com, Real Rhapsody Music, True.com, Video Professor, and a bunch of other things.  In fact most of the trial offers were free or less than $10.  The trick was to cancel your offer before it auto-charged.  Completing my offer was simple enough.  But convincing 8 other people to input their credit card information was a pretty difficult task.  I managed to get the help of my family, friends, and coworkers. 

But alas, I could only find 7 people who were willing to do this for me.  After the 90-day requirement had passed, I felt the need to kick myself for getting so close and not following through.  The original XBOX was the only current-gen console I did not own.  I had never experienced Halo, KOTOR, Ninja Gaiden, DOA, Fable, or any number of games that were just superior on the system.  The thought of owning a backwards compatible 360 was fabulous.  The option to play original XBOX games as well as next-gen games like Burnout Revenge, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Perfect Dark, and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion was a sweet bonus since there is no way I could afford a PS3 or any next-gen system for that matter. 

Unless some distant relative of mine passes away and leaves me his estate, it will be a long time before I can partake of any next-gen goodness.  Maybe it’s all for the best because I can afford a new XBOX for $150 or less.  And currently there are half a dozen great games for $3 used at Gamestop.  I am still confident to this day that had I finished my requirements in the allotted time frame, I would have in fact got a new XBOX 360 for free.  For those of you interested, Freepay.com hosts many other websites, including the PS3!!!  Hmm… maybe next year….