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US: $99 Xbox 360 + Kinect bundle coming with two-year subscription ($15 a month)

coldfoot

Banned
It'll be a smashing success as most Americans are simply too dumb to realize that recurring monthly costs add up to a lot over time. Hell, it's a part of why paying to play online is a success here.
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Oh great now we have contracts and monthly fees for consoles. Fuck that. Goddamn smartphone generation.

Yeah, pre-smartphones didn't have contracts or monthly fees.

Anyway I keep seeing game news pop up when I'm browsing the verge and thinking 'is this old or from a neogaf post' but then I remember they have all those guys waiting for Polygon to be open.
 
Expect this for the next Xbox as well.
Yeah, this is disgusting. I mean I ended my Live subscription years ago due to just not having time to play. Taking graduate courses a year or two ago, working 4-5 days a week and everything else led me to playing like 2 Halo: Reach matches a week, a race in Forza and that is about it. I felt like it was just not worth it when I am basically not using LIVE, let alone my xbox.

This would turn me off instantly if you needed to subscribe for their console.
 
Oh great now we have contracts and monthly fees for consoles. Fuck that. Goddamn smartphone generation.
It's just another way to sell their product. Not like this is going to be the only way to own consoles. It's just a manufacturer-based rent-to-own instead of doing it at a traditional rent-to-own storefront that have been around for decades and decades now. The traditional store credit card deal is pretty much the same thing, too, just with loads more potential to lose money through rising interest rates and newly-invented and intentionally vague service fees. Brick and mortar falling away significantly is leading to more direct services and options direct from the manufacturer instead of through retail. I don't see the problem.
 
Really nice console gen we got going here. Yeeeep.

- $60 games.
- Day one DLC.
- DLC directly on game disc.
- Consoles that cost $200+ after more than 5 years on the market.
- Angry Birds.
- And now console leasing.
 
So if I wanted to, couldn't I buy this, trade the console itself to Amazon for $100 and have a free kinect?


Edit: I guess you have to subscribe to XBL in the store to get the console. Oh well.
 

coldfoot

Banned
Then eventually we'll only be renting our consoles from MS for a small monthly fee on top of our Xbox Live Fees. That's where this is ultimately headed.
That's already the case. You've been pretty much renting the network interface in the 360 from MS since 2005.
 

jagowar

Member
This pretty much solidifies the idea of no new console until 2014.

But it also lets them "beta test" the idea of a subsidized console.... and then either extend it from day 1 of the next console or do away with it completely before the next one hits.

I think this has very much to do with the cable companies.... you KNOW ms would love to sell an xbox as your cable box and this might be the first thing that lets them do that.... Pay $15/month for the console which includes the console/gold/cable company app. That is pretty much how much a dvr costs from the cable provider these days and would give you way more stuff than the cable box.
 

Shanlei91

Sonic handles my blue balls
At first I was like "oh man, just got a Kinect + 250gb used for $180!"

Then I thought about the math.

Not a terribly good deal, $460 basically. A year of gold can be had for $40, Kinect + 4gb bundle is $300 retail.

I could see people loving it though. Guess this was the rumored "microsoft will find a new way to get people to pay for live".
 
This is actually a really good idea. Subsidizing console costs with content plans. If they include Netflix or Hulu it would be a gold mine. The appeal is the lower up front cost for people who don't feel like dropping $399 just to play a game.

In North America at least, this is the predominant model for smartphones if I'm not mistaken.

Edit: The implications of this are huge for next gen. MS could conceivably launch a $599 console at $299 + service contract.
 

def sim

Member
Expect this for the next Xbox as well.

A subsidized model attached to a monthly fee and another where we pay the total up front is possible. I don't see this as a bad thing considering the former is meant for an audience that isn't necessarily us.
 
Do you think this makes it even easier to mimic apples approach with yearly implemental updates?

Larger hard drives year2
Adding blu ray year3
Adding wireless year4
Etc

All while maintaining a steady 400 retail price point for many years?
 

DECK'ARD

The Amiga Brotherhood
This might be how next gen consoles will be sold. If so, I'm all in.

Paving the way for the next Xbox definitely, as Microsoft were always about a set-top box+services model. Games was just the way to get there, not the end goal.

Puts Sony in a bit of a tricky position, as Microsoft already have people accustomed to the yearly fee and their services side is more robust. Sony also have the whole PSN debacle hanging over them. They will have to copy this model though otherwise the entry point of PS4 will be too high again as a general perception.

Nintendo will never do this, so puts them in a price dilemma as well. Although Wii U has been designed to not cost too much anyway this will pressure them to a lower price point rather than trying for higher.

The other side effect of a subscription based model is likely to reduce multiple console owners, as psychologically you feel more tied into one. Quite a smart move for Microsoft all round this, whether people like it or not it's good for them.
 

krae_man

Member
Isn't this like renting a big screen tv from places magic Johnson advertises?

Or Hulk Hogan!

And no. Those places charge you an interest rate of like a 1000% but get around usury laws by inflating the purchase price of the product. Xbox 360's are like $1000 at Rent a Center payable at $20/week for 2 years. That $2000 you're paying for the 360 is really only about a 50% interest rate!

This is more like a phone subsidy. The interest rate you're borrowing the money at is actually near zero.
 

ElRenoRaven

Gold Member
That's already the case. You've been pretty much renting the network interface in the 360 from MS since 2005.

True. Course you don't have to buy live. With this you have to buy live.

still, lots of people will buy it.

Oh of course. People are stupid. They keep bending over for everything. Hence it will be a huge success and eventually that will become the norm. It worked for the Cellular business and hell even the cable business. After all nothing like "buying" a phone only to find out that when you go from say AT&T to Verizon you can't transfer your phone half the time and must then "Buy" another phone.
 

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
In North America at least, this is the predominant model for smartphones if I'm not mistaken.

If it's like Europe, they're sold at a subsidy in mobile network operator's own shops.

Question I have for this model in console-land is would a retailer beyond a platform holder's own stores be interested? Would the platform holder share a cut of the recurring revenue with retailer? Or maintain margins for the retailer vs a full-price, non-subsidised box?

Just trying to think through whether it could become a more general offer at retail in the future.
 
this isnt a good deal guys...$15 a month??? even if you pay the full 60 for live, it's normally only $5 a month (less if on sale).

the only way this is a good deal is if they throw in free streaming espn so you can cancel your cable, or something like that.

i dont see why people are getting worked up, this is just a curiosity.
 

krae_man

Member
PS4 will be $599USD($199 with 2 year Contract*)!

*3 year contract in Canada

Edit: What happens when the two years is up? Do they keep charging you $15/month for gold?
 

Biggzy

Member
A subsidized model attached to a monthly fee and another where we pay the total up front is possible. I don't see this as a bad thing considering the former is meant for an audience that isn't necessarily us.

Never said it wasn't. I was merely noting that I am expecting a subscription option to be available for the next Xbox.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
Interesting. Could be them testing the waters for this sales model on consoles. Imagine if they came out with the next Xbox, and one of the options from the get-go was a model at half the launch price, but with a subscription. A ~$200 model with a contractual Live subscription alongside the $400 model could pretty compelling.
 

coldfoot

Banned
PS4 will be $599USD($199 with 2 year Contract*)!

*3 year contract in Canada

I am perfectly OK with this method as long as both options will be provided. I'm the kind of person who'd rather buy a $649 iPhone with a $45/month plan over a $199 iPhone with a $80/month plan...aka financially savvy.
 

Meier

Member
Not that a bad of a deal really, especially if it includes any additional content beyond just live itself. I think people are forgetting that technically, two years of Live is $120 on top of the fact that the Kinect itself is $150. For someone who is more interested in using it as a media hub, I'd say this is a pretty nice deal.
 

ElRenoRaven

Gold Member
Oh don't be confused, I read what you wrote. Your assertion is that cell providers are only in business now because consumers are idiots.

Again don't put words in my mouth. I'm merely talking about gaming with that remark. Cellphones are an entirely different beast. You kind of need that service for your phone to work. I don't need Xbox live for my game console to work. Yet with this they're requiring you to. Course as I mentioned in my last post yes people are stupid who let cellphone companies rip them off. After all it's so fun to "Buy" a phone through say AT&T and then if you say switch to Verizon find out that your phone doesn't work and you must "Buy" another phone.

So yes people are stupid there by letting these companies get away with that kind of shit. Keep in mind I know that this isn't the case with all cellphones. Some have success switching their phone. There are a lot of stories where they don't though. But again I wasn't even commenting on cellphone providers with my first post.
 
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