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February 04, 2013

AMD's 'Never Settle' Game Bundle Takes On New Titles

By Steve Anderson, Contributing TMCnet Writer

PC gamers should take special note on this one, as AMD (News - Alert) is looking to ratchet up its "Never Settle" bundle deal with some extra hardware to add into the mix. Not only will users be able to get a pretty impressive array of titles for one low price, but they'll also be able to get a pretty nice piece of graphics hardware to go along with it.



The original "Never Settle" bundle offered up a sound package of releases, providing not only an AMD Radeon HD 7900 graphics card, but also copies of "Hitman: Absolution,” "Far Cry 3,” and "Sleeping Dogs,” as well as 20 percent off for a copy of "Medal of Honor: Warfighter.” Lesser graphics cards, of course, yielded lesser rewards, but still decent rewards in their own right. Two versions of the HD 7800, for example, brought in everything the HD 7900 did except for "Sleeping Dogs.” One version of the HD 7800 took "Hitman: Absolution" out of the fray.

Now, AMD is offering some extra punch in the "Never Settle" package, with the HD 7900's buyers getting "Crysis 3: Hunter Edition" and the upcoming "BioShock Infinite.” The HD 7800’s, meanwhile, will get their hands on "BioShock Infinite" and "Tomb Raider.”

Meanwhile, a pair of HD 7900s that can be used with Crossfire will not only offer all three of the new titles – "Crysis 3: Hunter Edition,” "BioShock Infinite,” and "Tomb Raider" – but also the three previous releases of "Hitman: Absolution,” "Far Cry 3" and "Sleeping Dogs.”

But that's not even AMD's biggest bundle. Those stepping up to the Asus ROG Ares II, a masterpiece of overkill that boasts a pair of GPUs (AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition) as well as six gigabytes of GDDR5 RAM (News - Alert) and built-in sealed-loop watercooling to keep the thing running, will find themselves with a bunch of new games to boot.

Every game previously listed, except "Tomb Raider" for some reason, will be on hand, as well as "Dirt: Showdown,” "Deus Ex: Human Revolution (News - Alert)" and "Nexuiz.” Games that haven't been released yet, such as "BioShock: Infinite," will land users a download code for when the game is released as opposed to early access to titles not yet on the market.

As for release locales, AMD plans to launch all the bundles in question across Europe, North America, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and New Zealand, with one notable exception: that monster ROG Ares II bundle is only a U.K. item for reasons that are as unstated as they are baffling.

AMD clearly gets the point of "added value" here, and there's certainly nothing quite like being able to see the results of a newly-installed graphics card immediately. Being able to see it in action with a wide variety of new games, however, is even better, and AMD's move to offer those new games certainly does provide the necessary level of added value that a slumping economy tends to require.

When everybody, even gamers, are watching their wallets a little more closely, getting them to fork over the green requires a better prospect than ever, or in other words, something with a greater perceived value than the dollars in their wallets. A new gaming card may not do it by itself, but a gaming card with several new games is much more likely.

Those interested in stepping up their graphics cards may now find a more welcome time than ever to do so, and with a load of free games to boot, there may not be a better time for some time to come.




Edited by Allison Boccamazzo
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