I’ve mentioned before that I’m not too hot on people who buy magazines just for the freebies, but I’m afraid that I’m going to have to break my own rule here. I’m going to justify it by saying that I’m not really commodifying any journalism because there is none in official games magazines, but apparently the upcoming issue of Official Xbox 360 Magazine due out on 5th January comes with a free, fully featured copy of the Final Fantasy XI beta for the 360. It’s not as good as getting it in the box like they did in Japan, but it’s probably the next best thing.
Some people plain refuse to buy an official magazine (I haven’t bought one since Nintendo Magazine System became the crap it is today), so just think of it as paying £5.99 for the beta and getting a free copy of the magazine.