Redmond (WA) - Following sluggish connection times and a slew of log-in errors over the holidays, Microsoft announced this week it will offer free downloadable games to Xbox 360 users.

Over the last couple weeks in December, many Xbox Live users had trouble connecting to the online gaming service, creating headaches for them as well as for Microsoft. The software giant blamed the problems on a large amount of new users trying to register and connect at the same time, overloading the system.

"While the service was not completely offline at any given time, we are disappointed in our performance," said Xbox Live general manager Mark Whitten in a statement.

He also said that all Xbox Live members will be able to download one free Xbox Live Arcade game, and will provide more details in the next couple of weeks.