Black November is Gears 3 Bonus Month

A big part of the attraction of major video game franchises like Gears of War is the intense feelings that they generate among the gamers who consider themselves to be fans of the games -- phenomenon that is very similar to the intense attraction that is common to other forms of entertainment, including music, books, and movies.

Fans tend to identify with specific characters within all of these forms of mass entertainment -- your favorite band member in the group Guns and Roses is not front-man Axl Rose, but rather Lead Guitar player Slash; in the Harry Potter books you find Ron Weasley the more likable character; and in the most recent offering in the Gears of War game series -- Gears of War 3 -- you favor retired Thrashball player and the cornerstone of the offensive capabilities for Delta Squad, Augustus "Cole Train" Cole to be the more fascinating character and your favorite...

None of that is accident or coincidence -- in fact a lot of money and the skills of some very smart people were spent in PR campaigns whose entire purpose is to engender just those sorts of feelings in you, because the people whose job it is to promote entertainment products know that not everyone is going to be attracted to the main character, but feeding your feelings of like for other characters in a movie or game can be just as effective in getting you to do what they want you to do: get your friends interested in the product.

From the trends we are seeing it appears that a major push has started with support from Microsoft and developer Epic Games to reach out to the gamers who have not yet gotten their Gear On! And they mean to do it with your help -- but that is not as bad as it sounds because if you approach it strategically you can benefit from this new PR push!

There are a lot of deals to be found, some good, others great -- and we thought we would take a look at some of them and share them with you so that when you make your decision, it can be an informed one...

-- Best Buy Recruiter Bonus Program includes a $10 Gift Card

For a limited time, your friends can get a $10 gift card when they buy Gears of War 3 online at Best Buy. The idea behind turning you into a Gears Recruiter is that everyone wins -- you get friends in the game to play the multi-player side with, your mates become Gears players, and Microsoft sells more copies of Gears 3. Sorry Charley, but it has to be said: Winning!

As an added incentive as part of the advertisement that Microsoft is mailing to members of Xbox LIVE they are including a list of all of the friends on your Friend List that have not played Gears 3 to help you determine whose arm you should be twisting -- and they even include a special Gears COG Code for you to use (4Z9P3TJCRKFM) that lets you and your mates obtain a free Gears of War 3 desktop icon set!

-- GameStop Gears of War 3 - with Bonus!

Are you planning on giving copies of Gears 3 to your mates for Christmas? Considering how much fun the multi-player side of the newest Gears title is, the developer and publisher are counting on your desire to create a pool of partners with whom you can play the game with, which is why they are creating incentives for you to benefit from when you buy copies of the game to gift, and at GameStop they are using Microsoft Points as the carrot.

Purchase Gears of War 3 New and Receive an 800 Microsoft Points Bonus for each copy you buy!