Best Buy Offering Free Games To Prevent PS3 Slim Trade-Ins

With the Playstation 3 Slim starting to show up at Best Buys around the country, the national retailer has kicked off a plan to try and cut down on the number of people returning a recent PS3 for the newer PS3 Slim, sources tell Kotaku.

An internal memo, verified independently by a number of employees at different stores, shows that Best Buy is offering people who come into the store to exchange recently purchased Playstation 3’s for the newly released PS3 Slim a choice of a free Playstation 3 title and price match in lieu of the new slimmer, larger-hard-drive sporting console.

Due to the interest in the new Slim model, the memo warns, stores may see people trying to return their console for the newer model. Before doing the exchange, a store is allowed to offer a choice of a free copy of Infamous, MLB 09 The Show or Killzone 2. Not a bad selection, but is it worth more than the smaller footprint and bigger hard drive?

It’s important to note that this isn’t an advertised sale, it’s an internal memo. So it may be up to the store manager’s discretion how often to offer the deal. I’d also assume that this would only hold for Playstation 3’s purchased within the past 30 days and with a valid receipt.

We’ve contacted Sony and Best Buy for confirmation. If this is true, I think it’s just further evidence of a console war heating up to deliver plenty of great deals for gamers on both sides of the fence.