Xbox 360 w Kinect for $99 + 2 year subscription ?!
Xbox 360 w Kinect for $99 + 2 year subscription ?!
I'm not really sure what to think about this... pay $99 for a bundle that's $199, but then pay another $360 over two years for Xbox Live Gold ?! WTF O_o
Microsoft is planning to launch a $99 Xbox console package with a monthly subscription as early as next week, according to our sources. The software giant will offer the 4GB console with a Kinect sensor at its range of Microsoft Stores in the US, subsidized with a monthly cost of $15. We're told that the two-year subscription will provide access to the Xbox Live Gold service and possibly some additional streaming content from cable providers or sports package providers. Customers who sign-up for the deal will also be covered under a two-year warranty.
There will be an early termination fee for those wishing to break the contract ahead of its two-year duration, and we understand that Microsoft will position the package as a competitor to Apple TV, Roku, and PlayStation 3. For those buying the bundle now and getting the cheapest two-year Xbox Live Gold option, that's about $299.00 + $120 = $420 vs. $459 over a duration of two years. With E3 2012 on the horizon, and Microsoft working on a "Woodstock" music service — it's clear that the company wants to ensure as many people as possible have an Xbox in their living rooms.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/2/2993600/99-xbox-360-kinect-subsidized-b...
Wait,... isn't a 12 month subscription $60? That would make it:
$100 for the xbox
$60 for 12 months
$60 for 12 months
for a grand total of $220.
Or am I missing something?
Is the bundle really a $200 value? Then they would still be paying an extra $20. Why would M$ not price it lower knowing that people would probably spend more money on things like DLC?
A full price comparison would be something like
4gb w Kinect bundle $199
2 years of XBox Live at full price is $120
1 extra year warranty $50?
Total: $369
Or this new bundle
4gb w Kinect bundle $99
2 years subscription @ $15/month = $360
Total: $459
So you pay $90 more to defer the $100 price difference of just buying the $199 bundle outright. It's almost like an interest payment on a loan on a hundred dollars over two years.
Oh, I see what I did wrong.
Thanks for the clarification.
Sounds good, doesn't it?
This seems a little under-handed to me. The fact that it's a contract with a monthly fee and an early termination clause raises some concerns. What it looks like, is that they are aiming this service at people who normally couldn't afford an xbox or subsrciption in one bundle, as people have said above. The issue I am having is what they are NOT saying. How much is this early termination fee? If you miss a month is there a penalty added on? How much is that? Looks like MS is fishing for penalty fees honestly. They can label it as a cost effective option all they want. The truth is that it costs more in the long run, has penalties and fees, and requires a "contract". I honestly hope this is a flop or they get bad press from it to stop it from happening again.
There is nothing I see that is under-handed to me.. They are about getting reoccuring revenue through the services and not a one time hardware charge.
IMO this is what any business wants - you to spend $ with them regularly.
MSFT is making this happen on the conusmer side with XBOX Live.
just my 2 cents.
That's how all those plans work. I am looking at getting a Victory Cross roads motorcycle. Victory had a 12month no interest deal, but it had to be on a 3 year plan. Do you know what the interest is after 12 months? Something like 19%. I think there was a penalty for early payoff also.
Since they can't break into the cell phone market, they're just going to copy cell phone sales tactics.
I'll bet you're paying crazy cash for monthly cell service so you can have a cheap phone, right?
this
As long as you have the option to buy it right out. I have no problem with this and it will benefit some people.
i was reading somewhere that there were rumors flying about the $15 monthly fee may include Netflix and Hulu on XBL. If that's the case it's really not too bad of a deal.
If that were the case then sign me up. I pay for Netflix and xbl already. May as well get a cheap 360.
No chance of that. That would be a huge discount over the combined monthly cost of the three services, on top of the big discount on the hardware.
They might bundle some extras in the $15 service, but it won't be anything of real value.
It's official now
http://content.microsoftstore.com/store/xblive2yr-offer/
4gb Xbox 360 with Kinect full retail is about $299 (not $199).
It comes with a one year warranty. According to Xbox Support, it costs $25/yr for the console and $25/yr for Kinect (I'm assuming that means $50 total). Xbox LIVE costs $60/yr ($5/mo) if you buy it at full retail.
$299 for console + Kinect.
$120 for LIVE for 2 yrs.
$50 for an extra year of warranty.
So, putting the plans side by side and taking out tax and discount considerations, the plans look like this:
Without contract:
$299 + $120 + $50 = $469
With contract:
$99 + $360 = $459
Somebody want to double-check my math?
The early termination fees are basically paying what you have left on your contract (at ~$12/mo).
It's only too bad that the hardware won't see the same rapid iterations that phone hardware sees.
Where are you seeing a second year of warranty included?
My math using Amazon's everyday prices:
283.99 + 96.82 = $380.01
That's still too high. Wait for a sale and you can do much better.
Looking back through the official terms, I must have stored it in memory from the original story posted (and another site reporting it).
You're right though about waiting. The holiday shopping season is less than seven months away! Start tracking now.
I'm curious as to what you think that ideal price they should be waiting for is. Black Friday's deal was $199 for the Kinect bundle and I've gotten 13 months for $30 (so, that's, what, $259 + parts & labor to fix my time machine).
I think we'll see the xbox+kinect at $250 or better a few more times before the end of the summer. Live cards drop to $40 all the time so that would be the most I'd be willing to pay.
Then again this $99 promotion might change things up and make the sales more scarce if a lot of people jump on it.
For now I think 3 xboxes is probably enough for me.
Interesting article
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1224254p1.html
Now available at Gamestop and Best Buy
http://majornelson.com/2012/06/25/99-4gb-xbox-360-and-kinect-comes-to-be...
so, what content does it include? netflix or hulu? i thought i saw somewhere that microsoft was working with various sports networks (nfl tv, nba tv, etc.) to include some content from those providers into xbox gold. if they could get stuff like that included it would be a much better deal. does it offer ANY kind of content sweeteners?
It doesn't provide any streaming content except those that are free no matter what bundle you buy like ESPN for example. HuLu and netflix have free trials but no full subscriptions included with the monthly fee.