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[mollipen]

This EXACT same package costs $470 MSRP. The cost for this is $459. Everyone quoting the $420 number isn't comparing the exact same package. They are ignoring the extra year warranty.

I see no mention of the extra warranty actually being part of this package. Where are you seeing that?

Also, good job Microsoft at half-assing this. Only at Microsoft Stores, and you have to bring in a coupon (or at least a coupon code)? LOL.

 

[USC-fan]

And Amazon makes up what, 1% of monthly sales? No one has argued that you can't get a 360 cheaper anywhere, or some good game bundles, if you're a savvy consumer. To the average person who walks into Walmart or Gamestop or TRU (or gasp, a MS store), the 360 is going to have a $299 pricetag, 1600 MSP cards are $19.99, and a year of LIVE is $59.99. For 10 and a half months out of the year.

This deal isn't for CAG shoppers and core gamers, it's for people who want to walk out of a store with an Arcade 360 and Kinect Adventures for $99 right now.

If there is an official price cut this year, they may even cut this deal to $49 up front or completely subsidize the system.

To be fair MS store I bet is wayyyyy less than amazon in monthly sales.

I didnt even know they had stores until this was posted.

And this has what to do with this deal?

I swear all of the shit people are bitching about have little or nothing to do with this deal.

You're bitching because the $300 Kinect Bundle doesn't have a HDD. So it's not the deal your pissed at. It's the bundle, but this bundle has existed for FOREVER now. Again it's nothing to do with this new payment method.

Why are you defending this so much? Its a terrible "deal."

Really have to be stupid to buy something like this.

 

[Vanillalite]

I see no mention of the extra warranty actually being part of this package. Where are you seeing that?

Also, good job Microsoft at half-assing this. Only at Microsoft Stores, and you have to bring in a coupon (or at least a coupon code)? LOL.

The Verge Article

Customers who sign-up for the deal will also be covered under a two-year warranty.

Last sentence of the 1st paragraph.

PS: I brought this up because we had this exact same discussion when The Verge broke this exclusive last week. I felt like I was one of the only few people that could actually read (along with a few other GAFers).

 

[CTE]

Now you also get a ETF... LOL All from someone hacking your account.
http://consumerist.com/2012/02/xbox-live-bans-user-for-getting-hacked.html

You forgot the part where MS reinstates his account and sends him a new console as apology.

http://kotaku.com/5881425/the-ridiculous-three+month-ban-of-an-innocent-xbox-gamer

Also reading the comments below the article you posted:

He got banned for account hacking because MS investigated the claim that the hacking was done by someone other than the user and found that the hacking attempts originated from the console which was the primary user of his Xbox Live account and were done prior to the region migration done to move the XBL account to Russia. Putting two and two together, they figured that indicated that it was the regular user and not the hacker and banned the account.

 

[Truth101]

This is a great idea. I'd like to it expanded on next generation.

 

[sangreal]

And it doesn't even have a HDD? God damn MS. Really disgusting "deal"

It's not a deal, it's a payment plan. A pretty decent one at that.

 

[yellowjacket25]

It doesn't seem like that bad of a deal, but I question how useful it is at this point in the generation. I also wonder how normal consumers will react to this. I don't think most consumers know the ins and outs of xbox live and what it provides. There may be some confusion as to what they are actually getting for that $15 a month. I think this would have been a better plan at the start of the next generation, but maybe this is their way of testing the waters first.

 

[H_Prestige]

I'm confused, it offers a different payment plan as an option to the consumer. How is that bad? Some consumers don't want to pay full MSRP for devices so a smaller front loaded investment with additional monthly payments spread out over a contracted term works better for them.

And by some consumers I mean just about every smartphone user, and iPad user. Why can't that apply to consoles? Its not forcing anything down anyones throat, it simply provides more options for consumers.

It doesn't make anyone a sucker.

I never said it's bad for MS. It's good for them because there are plenty of suckers out there who will just look at the $99 and think they are getting a "deal".

If MS gets you to pay more for something that other places are selling for less, you are in fact a sucker. No two ways about it. You aren't saving money, you're wasting it.

 

[USC-fan]

You forgot the part where MS reinstates his account and sends him a new console as apology.

http://kotaku.com/5881425/the-ridiculous-three+month-ban-of-an-innocent-xbox-gamer

Also reading the comments below the article you posted:

I heard about this on cagcast podcast and if he didnt get them involved nothing would have happen.

This is a great idea. I'd like to it expanded on next generation.

Xbox 720 $399*



*$39.95 activation charge and 2 year service agreement required.

 

[Truth101]

I never said it's bad for MS. It's good for them because there are plenty of suckers out there who will just like at the $99 and think they are getting a "deal".

If MS gets you to pay more for something that other places are selling for less, you are in fact a sucker. No two ways about it. You aren't saving money, you're wasting it.

They aren't being suckered out of anything. Stop throwing around that term as if it holds some weight because of how much you are using it.

I could go by a game brand new right now for $60, or go buy it used for $20-30. I have options and I am allowed to choose which option I want to take. As a consumer it is your job to understand what you are purchasing; the benefits and the downsides.

All Microsoft is doing is offering consumers, that generally would be unable to purchase a console at full price to purchase one.

You know what someone could even sign this deal pay $99 upfront and invest the difference of buying the entire console upfront and I bet over the course of 2 years. They will have more than made up any interest that Microsoft is making off of them.

Edit::

You reasoning is actually so bad I don't even know why I bothered responding at all. I hate to see how you handle buying a house or a car.

 

[AgentP]

Good for people who cant afford all upfront, i know people who would buy this should it come out elsewhere.

So is rent to own furniture too right?

This is an awful deal. If you cannot afford it up front, use a credit card on Amazon and try XBL gold before you commit for two years.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

This is a great idea. I'd like to it expanded on next generation.

This will the standard next gen dude.

-$400 console cash
-$99 console with 2 year contract
-"free console" with a 4 year contract

The future is now

 

[Truth101]

So is rent to own furniture too right?

This is an awful deal. If you cannot afford it up front, use a credit card on Amazon and try XBL gold before you commit for two years.

I guess house and car loans are bad ideas also?

 

[Fixed1979]

and goooo Supreme Court!

Is that even possible, as in has this been tested in court before? It seems really sketchy to be able to include a Class Action Waiver in your purchase agreement.

 

[HoodWinked]

So is rent to own furniture too right?

This is an awful deal. If you cannot afford it up front, use a credit card on Amazon and try XBL gold before you commit for two years.

have you bought a cell on contract?

 

[fluffydelusions]

So is rent to own furniture too right?

This is an awful deal. If you cannot afford it up front, use a credit card on Amazon and try XBL gold before you commit for two years.

lol @ rent 2 own...my gf forget to pay them one week and they kept calling every 5 minutes threatening to come take the furniture back. Never again...

 

[venne]

This will the standard next gen dude.

-$400 console cash
-$99 console with 2 year contract
-"free console" with a 4 year contract

The future is now

Options are bad?

 

[CTE]

I heard about this on cagcast podcast and if he didnt get them involved nothing would have happen.

More people need to make a big deal out of things is what it comes down to. Bottom line is he got sorted and that part was missing. Post the whole story or don't post it at all.

So is rent to own furniture too right?

This is an awful deal. If you cannot afford it up front, use a credit card on Amazon and try XBL gold before you commit for two years.

Don't use programs with really high interest rates. Here's a link for a 360 with 4gb and kinect with NO Gold and DC2 instead.

http://www.easyhome.ca/easyhome/productsearch.aspx?tk=3&ck=20#

Which deal would you take?

 

[USC-fan]

They aren't being suckered out of anything. Stop throwing around that term as if it holds some weight because of how much you are using it.

I could go by a game brand new right now for $60, or go buy it used for $20-30. I have options and I am allowed to choose which option I want to take. As a consumer it is your job to understand what you are purchasing; the benefits and the downsides.

All Microsoft is doing is offering consumers, that generally would be unable to purchase a console at full price to purchase one.

You know what someone could even sign this deal pay $99 upfront and invest the difference of buying the entire console upfront and I bet over the course of 2 years. They will have more than made up any interest that Microsoft is making off of them.

Edit::

You reasoning is actually so bad I don't even know why I bothered responding at all. I hate to see how you handle buying a house or a car.

Simple pay cash.

Do you do all your shopping at Rent-A-Center? I sure dont.

This is a terrible deal.

More people need to make a big deal out of things is what it comes down to. Bottom line is he got sorted and that part was missing. Post the whole story or don't post it at all.

Bottom line he got banned for someone hacking his account and had to get the BBB and cagcast to get some thing done and it took months. There is a reason why MS sent him a new console.

Spin it how ever you like those are the fact. Now with this deal he would have been hit with a ETF and a mark on his credit.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

Options are bad?

I am not saying that options are bad, but they certainly will reduce the amount/level of price drops in a generation.

 

[Truth101]

Options are bad?

Honestly I don't understand the logic in this thread.

Microsoft is offering people options to purchase their console. I'm not being forced to use any of those options, but I have to call people that will decide to take that options a sucker, who doesn't understand what he is getting into.

Get over yourselves people.

Simple pay cash.

Do you do all your shopping at Rent-A-Center? I sure dont.

This is a terrible deal.

Yeah, because everyone can afford everything upfront.

Let me ask you this. What is the difference of someone saving $10-20 a month to purchase something and waiting years till they can get it, or paying someone $10-20 a month a getting the object upfront?

In one option the person is a responsible adult, in the other they are a naive sucker.

Sure, in the second option they are going to be paying a little extra. But, if for them the cost is worth the ability to use the object in those couple of years then why should they be called a sucker.

People are too full of themselves in this thread.

 

[Vanillalite]

Is that even possible, as in has this been tested in court before? It seems really sketchy to be able to include a Class Action Waiver in your purchase agreement.

Yes that's why they said the GOOOOO Supreme Court thing. It went to court, and the people lost. It's a growing trend as of late. Companies win and Consumers lose in the courts in the US.

 

[HoodWinked]

lol @ rent 2 own...my gf forget to pay them one week and they kept calling every 5 minutes threatening to come take the furniture back. Never again...

to be fair you're adults being delinquent on payments is bad. especially considering it can effect your credit.

 

[fluffydelusions]

to be fair you're adults being delinquent on payments is bad. especially considering it can effect your credit.

Yeah perhaps but it was just a week that she forgot to pay and they were literally calling her phone every 5 minutes and it wasn't even that much <$100.

 

[Orca]

So is rent to own furniture too right?

This is an awful deal. If you cannot afford it up front, use a credit card on Amazon and try XBL gold before you commit for two years.

With rent to own furniture, don't you end up spending far far more for the furniture? You're not spending tons more for this. If you include the warranty extension for both the 360 and the Kinect sensor (which are, for some reason, separate) then you break even on current pricing.

 

[fse]

This will sell tons of 360s I think. Good move I say.

 

[H_Prestige]

Honestly I don't understand the logic in this thread.

Microsoft is offering people options to purchase their console. I'm not being forced to use any of those options, but I have to call people that will decide to take that options a sucker, who doesn't understand what he is getting into.

Get over yourselves people.

No one is saying "options are bad, down with options!". This is a thread about a new payment option that has obvious drawbacks that people are pointing out. Some of you are such defensive drama queens.

 

[AgentP]

With rent to own furniture, don't you end up spending far far more for the furniture? You're not spending tons more for this. If you include the warranty extension for both the 360 and the Kinect sensor (which are, for some reason, separate) then you break even on current pricing.

But most people are not going to use two years of Gold, this is MS's way of locking people in. It is like Blizzard selling 2 year membership WoW subscriptions, they love for people to pay up front and never log in. MS knows the XBL attrition rate and they know that locking people in is great for MS.

Two years is a long time, many things can change in that time, especially where a consumer gets their content.

 

[EXGN]

The $420 quote also assumes you pay full price for Gold. I've been able to get a few years of Gold subscriptions at $30/year when you can find the right deals.

 

[Truth101]

No one is saying "options are bad, down with options!". This is a thread about a new payment option that has obvious drawbacks that people are pointing out. Some of you are such defensive drama queens.

Sure, avoid my posts and insult me. You seem to be really good at that.

I guess it is too hard for you to come up with some logic, grounded in reality, that makes this a bad thing.


This is what this thread looks like.

you are in fact a sucker. No two ways about it. You aren't saving money, you're wasting it.

It's good for them because there are plenty of suckers out there who will just look at the $99 and think they are getting a "deal".

Awful.

But people are so dumb, this will probably sell enough to justify this strategy going forward.
Soon, all mfgrs will offer this plan.

Congrats, consumers! We'll subscribe to anything!

Blatant insults.

Xbox 720 $399*



*$39.95 activation charge and 2 year service agreement required.

Baseless assumptions.

And it doesn't even have a HDD? God damn MS. Really disgusting "deal"

Misinformed readers

 

[HiredN00bs]

Intentionally or not, they're blurring the line between the console payment plan and the subscription fee with this offer, and that is what troubles me. I've never payed more than $4.17/month for LIVE, and even that seemed a bit much for P2P multiplayer, but being a Halo MP fan, I have no recourse. Contracting new Xbox LIVE accounts at $15/month has me apprehensive that my fees are going to see an increase, whether that's rational or not.

 

[CTE]

Simple pay cash.

Do you do all your shopping at Rent-A-Center? I sure dont.

This is a terrible deal.


Bottom line he got banned for someone hacking his account and had to get the BBB and cagcast to get some thing done and it took months. There is a reason why MS sent him a new console.

Spin it how ever you like those are the fact. Now with this deal he would have been hit with a ETF and a mark on his credit.

So just post the whole story next time. The way you posted it was suspect. That article was already of out date when it posted it. Read the comments. Many were saying it was already resolved. Just seems like you wanted to make MS look as bad as possible.

Not cool to get banned like that, but it was a rare exception if you read the details on how it happened.

 

[bgassassin]

Contract Terms for anyone that is interested.

This is what I was looking forward to seeing. Looks good to me for those who want to use that option.

Intentionally or not, they're blurring the line between the console payment plan and the subscription fee with this offer, and that is what troubles me. I've never payed more than $4.17/month for LIVE, and even that seemed a bit much for P2P multiplayer, but being a Halo MP fan, I have no recourse. Contracting new Xbox LIVE accounts at $15/month has me apprehensive that my fees are going to see an increase, whether that's rational or not.

But you're paying for the console through the payments and it seems like they are using LIVE as a payment incentive. But whether or not you should even be paying for LIVE is another story.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I can see myself doing this for next gen hardware. 400 dollars(or so) is difficult to put down at once for a new game console.

My girlfriend and I just had this conversation and she said the same thing.

 

[StudioTan]

No one is saying "options are bad, down with options!". This is a thread about a new payment option that has obvious drawbacks that people are pointing out. Some of you are such defensive drama queens.

LOL, pot meet kettle.

 

[evilive7]

I could see this being a test for the next gen system. See how many takers they have for a small run at their own stores, then go from there.

 

[StudioTan]

Intentionally or not, they're blurring the line between the console payment plan and the subscription fee with this offer, and that is what troubles me. I've never payed more than $4.17/month for LIVE, and even that seemed a bit much for P2P multiplayer, but being a Halo MP fan, I have no recourse. Contracting new Xbox LIVE accounts at $15/month has me apprehensive that my fees are going to see an increase, whether that's rational or not.

It's not an increase in fees though, you're also getting the console and Kinect for $200 less than MSRP.

As others have pointed out this is actually less money when comparing MSRP for everything that is included.

 

[SafeinSound]

Personally I think this is probably one of the smartest moves MS has made this gen. If they are able to get other retailers on board, watch out.

 

[Punchpudding]

A while ago I got off a contract for my phone and vowed never to go on a phone contract again. Locking customers into contracts really takes away the incentive for companies to compete on price or service. Hope consumers do the right thing here...

 

[gregor7777]

IMO this is a test run for what will be a much better marketed/distributed buying option next gen.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

IMO this is a test run for what will be a much better marketed/distributed buying option next gen.

I could see this being a test for the next gen system. See how many takers they have for a small run at their own stores, then go from there.

Oh, this is TOTALLY a test for next gen. They are working out all the kinks just on a smaller scale now.

 

[Majora]

Intentionally or not, they're blurring the line between the console payment plan and the subscription fee with this offer, and that is what troubles me. I've never payed more than $4.17/month for LIVE, and even that seemed a bit much for P2P multiplayer, but being a Halo MP fan, I have no recourse. Contracting new Xbox LIVE accounts at $15/month has me apprehensive that my fees are going to see an increase, whether that's rational or not.

You're not paying 15 dollars a month for LIVE, you're paying it for LIVE + paying off the 360 you got for much cheaper to begin with.

Really struggling to understand the Chicken Little attitude from some people. Yeah it works out a bit more expensive than paying upfront. So what? I got my iPhone subsidised on a 2 year contract. It works out more expensive than buying an iPhone upfront and buying a SIM card separately but I couldn't afford to buy it upfront. Literally millions of people do this with their cellphones. Are we all suckers?

It's up to the individual to decide whether they want to pay less upfront but more over the longrun. As long as the option to buy upfront is still there then I simply can't see an issue.

 

[Satchel]

In all honesty, I think this is a great direction for gaming.

Hope deals like this come to Australia. I amazed it wasn't thought of before.

 

[Bgamer90]

IMO this is a test run for what will be a much better marketed/distributed buying option next gen.

Ding. Ding. Ding.


Exactly what I was thinking.

 

[USC-fan]

So just post the whole story next time. The way you posted it was suspect. That article was already of out date when it posted it. Read the comments. Many were saying it was already resolved. Just seems like you wanted to make MS look as bad as possible.

Not cool to get banned like that, but it was a rare exception if you read the details on how it happened.

How is it a rare exception when in the article they state "The Exceptions Analyst says he believed me, and that XBLPET sometimes make mistakes and are currently very overworked with all these hackings going on."

How I could have made MS "look bad" they did enough by themselves and why they sent him a new xbox 360. After over 3 month the guy gives up and post on cag and they are the ones who fixed the problem with MS with their contacts. The only reason i even heard about this is becase i listen to the cagcast. Not everyone have these contacts....

Who know how many more people this have happen to and my point is that if you do get banned[hacked] and gets this deal....you will have to pay a ETF.

 

[gaming_noob]

I don't think I would ever purchase a console this way but I definitely see why some would. This is just an option, not the ONLY way to purchase. I'm not sure why this is upsetting some.

 

[Speedymanic]

Heh, the meltdowns some are having over this is hilarious.

Special shout out to USC-fan. Keep fighting the good fight, bro.

 

[bgassassin]

A while ago I got off a contract for my phone and vowed never to go on a phone contract again. Locking customers into contracts really takes away the incentive for companies to compete on price or service. Hope consumers do the right thing here...

It's not the same IMO. With a phone your payment is to access the services provided by the company. This is just for the hardware and LIVE. Any extra services (e.g. HBO Go) should not be affected in any manner by this as even if you bought the hardware outright, you're still going to have to pay for LIVE Gold to access the extra services.

 

[USC-fan]

I could see this being a test for the next gen system. See how many takers they have for a small run at their own stores, then go from there.

IMO this is a test run for what will be a much better marketed/distributed buying option next gen.

Oh, this is TOTALLY a test for next gen. They are working out all the kinks just on a smaller scale now.

Ding. Ding. Ding.


Exactly.

Baseless assumptions.

Too funny. Exactly what I posted.

Heh, the meltdowns some are having over this is hilarious.

Special shout out to USC-fan. Keep fighting the good fight, bro.

Thanks buddy. I'm david Ramsey type guy and stuff like this that takes advantages of the poor is just wrong.

 

[shinnn]

This will sell tons of 360s I think. Good move I say.

Can't wait to see the whining in the next NPD threads.