Microsoft announced today that this spring, a new SKU for the 360 will be released. The Spring Value bundle will include a 250 GB hard drive, a retail copy of Darksiders II and a download code for Batman: Arkham City for $300. Given that Arkham City is one of the most-beloved games of the generation, it’s no surprise to see it included, but it is surprising that they didn’t just throw in the game of the year edition as well since they’re making it a download-only game anyway. Why not provide people with the best possible value for their money and give them more incentive to buy the console? The inclusion of Darksiders II is nice, but including the second games of each series without the first seems a bit odd.

It would make more sense to just throw in download codes for the first games in the packaging as well so newcomers can enjoy the whole series in one shot and advertise that includes FOUR GREAT GAMES instead of two. Fortunately, neither AC or Darksiders II is impossible to play or enjoy without their predecessors, but it’s a bit odd that they’re absent here given that they cost so little to buy, so including a code for each wouldn’t result in any real loss of sales – especially since they’re all likely to be used at this point, and just simplify things for new system owners instead of essentially forcing them to make additional purchases to get the whole story to go along with the games in their new console. It’s also odd to see a THQ release involved in anything new, but MS clearly made this deal while THQ was still a thing, so there shouldn’t be any issues with it having to be recalled or anything like that due to Darksiders being in limbo.