No deal

Remember that old Avril Lavigne video where the “punk princess” tries to get one over on her nerdy double? Well, this brand new Microsoft promotion reminds us of that. Y’see, the Redmond-based manufacturer doesn’t like your old console, and it thinks you need a new one – so much so, that it’s even willing to pay you to upgrade.

A group of NeoGAF posters discovered an advertisement published by the North American firm, encouraging gamers to ditch their PlayStation 3 in order to switch to the Xbox One. In truth, the investigative fellows over at Eurogamer.net have done a little digging and discovered that this is a pretty standard trade-in promotion – but we’re still going to have some fun with it anyway.

The promotional image notes that you’ll nab $100 towards the company’s new console if you take your ageing machine to a Microsoft Store before the 2nd March in North America. It adds that your adopted device will then be recycled – presumably by poor Xbox executives who’ve missed out on top exclusives like The Last of Us and God of War III.

Seriously, though, the company’s since clarified that it also accepts old smartphones, Blackberries, and computers as part of its ‘Recycle for Rewards’ initiative. However, this particular promotion is limited to the PS3 and Xbox 360, and will require your unit to be in a “fully functional” state. Don’t go thinking that you’re going to offload that expensive paperweight with the Yellow Light of Death, then.

Of course, the emphasis on the Sony system in this promotion made it ripe for parody, with one sharp forum poster noting that gamers could instead “Keep their PS3 and save $100 by ignoring Microsoft and buying a PlayStation 4”. Sorry guys, but you did walk straight into that one.

PS4 Upgrade Parody

[source eurogamer.net, via neogaf.com]