14 DAY TRIAL // Just like MSI, ASUS is now selling hardware in a bundle with free games, although the type of hardware is more varied and the graphics card fundamentally different.
AMD started an interesting chain reaction when it released the Never Settle drivers, despite the bugs that caused the software to be taken down and updated repeatedly.
Essentially, hardware makers have begun selling their graphics cards with free copies or download vouchers for high-profile games.
ASUS is extending the trend to motherboards and, like certain custom PC vendors, fully configured desktop systems as well. Even the ROG (Republic of Gamers) Xonar Phoebus sound card will be shipped with a download code.
The motherboard included in the promotion is the Maximus V Formula, based on Intel's Z77 chipset and LGA 1155 CPU support.
CG8480 and CG8580 are the eligible desktop systems, along with the TYTAN CG8890.
As for the graphics cards, ASUS' program covered the DirectCU II GeForce GTX 680, GTX 670, and GTX 660 NVIDIA video boards.
And here is where we mention what is special about this ASUS-Ubisoft partnership: there is no fixed game plan.
That means that all the above products ship with download codes that are not keyed to any particular game. Ubisoft will allow purchasers to download any one of the following five titles: Assassin's Creed III, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, I Am Alive and R.U.S.E.
The ASUS-Ubisoft promotion will go live on October 31, 2012, which is four days from now (next Wednesday). The as yet unavailable ASUS UBIShop page is where the games can be redeemed.
We can almost see the majority of buyers choosing Assassin's Creed III, if only because the other games have hardly been covered by the press. Hopefully, customers won't have to suffer through the whims of too many DRMs.
