With the recent release of Fable II Pub Games it seems that Microsoft are pretty happy with these new kind of pre-order shenanigans. The next game up is Banjo Kazooie - Nuts & Bolts, which will give you a code to get the original Banjo Kazooie for free on Xbox Live Arcade - and a couple of weeks early to boot.

Ready your spring-loaded propeller boat and fasten your seatbelt, “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” is hitting U.S. store shelves on November 14, and pre-orders begin today. For the retail price of $39.99, those who pre-order at participating retailers will get in on all the Banjo fun right off the starting line, and as a special bonus, will also receive a free download code for the original “Banjo-Kazooie,” launching on Xbox LIVE Arcade later this fall.

As Kazooie likes to say, “The early bird gets the worm.” Since the original “Banjo-Kazooie” will not debut on Xbox LIVE Arcade until a couple weeks after “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” releases, pre-ordering the game gives you a two-week head start on the Arcade title and the opportunity to take advantage of “Stop N’ Swop” before anyone else. “Stop N’ Swop” rewards players’ accomplishments in the new game with extra content and features in the Xbox LIVE Arcade game, giving fans who pre-order “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” the chance to experience more Banjo action than ever.

It is a little confusing though - By preordering BK: N&B, you get a free download code for BK XBLA. People who preorder will get a "two-week head start" on playing BK XBLA, but it also states that BK will come out "a couple of weeks after" N&B.

Since "couple" refers to "two" it effectively means that the official release date for BK on XBLA should the 26th of November, and people who preorder the game should be able to download the game on the 12th of November - two days before the release of N&B.

Who knows if this theory will actually ring true. It seems a little bizarre to release the game so close to the other one - you would think the better idea would be to release the XBLA game sometime in November in order to get some more hype going for it. Either way, this is a fantastic deal, as N&B will be released for the low price of $39.99US on day one.