Microsoft May Be Preparing $99 Subsidized Xbox 360

You people are all so fucking cynical. And rich as well, apparently, since you can afford to spend hundreds of dollars at once like it's no problem. Poor Americans like myself would see this as a pretty good deal.

@Rolyatkcinmai said:

@Jazzycola said:

@Kidavenger said:

How would they setup the $15 monthly plan? It doesn't seem likely that places like Walmart or any other big box store could set that up through their systems.

They can and would. All the big box stores sell cellphones and plans, this would be no different. Walmart/Target/Amazon just become middle-men. They sell you the hardware and make you sign the contract then they send the contract to Microsoft.

This is a Microsoft Store exclusive, so no.

Who's is going to a Microsoft store looking for this deal? The people that would be attracted to this aren't exactly well off, living in a big city; they are people in the sticks that shop at Walmart/Kmart. If it's limited to Microsoft stores, not much of a deal at all(not that it was otherwise)...

Are there actually a bunch of Microsoft stores out there? I've never even seen one.

Won't charging a month service fee hurt software sales? I mean, even if people don't do the math when they buy it, they will remember that they are paying $15 a month for it, each month, so they may be unwilling to spend more money on the system. But then again, people do spend a stupid amount of money on their cell phones, so perhaps it will work out...

In any case, i feel this is a bad move for the industry, especially if it succeeds, because then it will become the norm.

two years this late in the consoles life cycle, that seems rough.

15 Dollars a month? Does it have to be the monthly form? The Yearly price is much better at 60 dollars a year...

I remember when Sega did this with the Dreamcast and that did not ensure success. However, I think it can be a value proposition for people, specially breaking the payments out over 2 years. Would not be surprised if Sony did another smaller price dip. Competition is a good thing!

;)

@Rolyatkcinmai said:

@Jazzycola said:

@Kidavenger said:

How would they setup the $15 monthly plan? It doesn't seem likely that places like Walmart or any other big box store could set that up through their systems.

They can and would. All the big box stores sell cellphones and plans, this would be no different. Walmart/Target/Amazon just become middle-men. They sell you the hardware and make you sign the contract then they send the contract to Microsoft.

This is a Microsoft Store exclusive, so no.

Irrelevant. Wasn't a comment of whether or not it was a Microsoft exclusive. It was answering the question on whether or not retailers have the ability to do it. If Microsoft wanted it to happen, those stores have the infrastructure to do it.

The Verge tends to know what they’re talking about

Like the Steam console, y'know, that report on nothing that misquoted Gabe for no other reason than to drive cheap clicks. Verge + Rumour = Not worth posting as news. Wait for a confirmation if it's real, don't drive traffic to link-bait if it is just rampant speculation.

@Jazzycola said:

@Kidavenger said:

How would they setup the $15 monthly plan? It doesn't seem likely that places like Walmart or any other big box store could set that up through their systems.

They can and would. All the big box stores sell cellphones and plans, this would be no different. Walmart/Target/Amazon just become middle-men. They sell you the hardware and make you sign the contract then they send the contract to Microsoft.

Think of it like a cell phone, it's not that complicated. I worked at Best Buy for 5 years and we did that on computers with antivirus also.

the xbox POS. Sexy codename, or blantant description?

Really hope that pseudo false advertising isn't the future of game console pricing. Imagine having the wii at your grocery store next to the gum in the check out line. It's just $0.99 (except for the 30 dollars a month subscription).

Interesting, but it would be more interesting if the box was free, or if the upfront price was negligible. $100 still kind of feels like the price a console should cost at the end of it's lifespan outright, not really that + an extra $360 on top over time.

I can see this working... only if you're currently paying monthly for Xbox Live.

Will the subsidized 360s have more ads on the dashboard? I'm still waiting for my ad-less Gold subscription.

Odds are these are refurbished 360's since you CAN opt out of the contract, so that begs the question if they are mechanically sound. And given Microsoft's history with the system I sincerely doubt it, even if it is the new "Slim" model. Plus this is the end of the console generation to be quite honest. All I see this as is a quick way to move 360's, make some money with some shrewd business tactics and buzz words, then release the X3, 720, or whatever the fuck shortly after.

Already had a 360, turned out to be a massive pile of shit with a disc drive problem first, then two RRoD's, then another disc drive problem when it was off warranty. I absolutely refuse to give Microsoft anymore of my money, even if this turns out to be the deal of the century and the best thing since sliced bread, which it obviously isn't anyway. They had their chance and I will never again buy Microsoft hardware in regards to consoles.

Microsoft is trying to see if they can use the cell phone pricing model with console's. I am seeing this as a test for their next console.

They should do this for new consoles as well. It would generate a LOT more sales IMO

THIS. IS. SO. VERY. VERY. STUPID. WHY???

for the record 15 x 24 =360 which = me being suspicious.

Sounds like renting to own or a cell phone plan.

@mnzy: Yes, yes it is a terrible deal.

Ah, interesting.

@mnzy said:

$15 for 24months and $99 for the box makes it $459. That's a terrible deal.

So is literally every other subsidized product, so it fits right in.

@Slab64 said:

You people are all so fucking cynical. And rich as well, apparently, since you can afford to spend hundreds of dollars at once like it's no problem. Poor Americans like myself would see this as a pretty good deal.

I fail to see how paying more for something over time instead off paying less once is a good deal. If you're poor you really should do the math.

@mnzy said:

$15 for 24months and $99 for the box makes it $459. That's a terrible deal.

how much does gold cost for 2 years?

Its more terrible in the long run, but I guess it makes some sense. I guess its similar to a phone subscription model. Some people just don't like handing over a large sum of money up front and would rather pay it over time, whether its because of their financial situation (funny) or they just don't like it.

Seems like a reasonable deal, although it seems kinda late in the cycle to do something like this.

This isn't subsidised at all. This is just a Microsoft official hire purchase plan.

There's nothing inherently wrong with the idea but it's silly to call it a "$99 console" even though that's what all the headlines will inevitably be.

I may be totally wrong, and please correct me if I am. but this seems like some clever and diabolical plan. With new consoles expected holiday 2013, they're going to be announced soon. And when that announcement happens, sales are going to drop hard on the 360. So MS comes up with this. A super cheap xbox to get an influx of sales before new consoles are announced. And make their money back over the next 2 years after the nextbox is announced and released. Binding you to a contract right before you find out you don't want to be in a contract.

@dream431ca said:

THIS. IS. SO. VERY. VERY. STUPID. WHY???

To sell a bunch of xbox's before they announce the new one and everyone stops buying the 360.

So the Xbox 360 will cost $99 and how much memory will it hold?

@saoakden said:

So the Xbox 360 will cost $99 and how much memory will it hold?

4GB

Every time you think Microsoft's moneygrabs can't be any more blatant they come up with something new to surprise you.

@BestUsernameEver: Is that a lot of memory?

It has to include video services and what not. No way they could justify the price otherwise.

In two years, it's more than likely we'll have a new console as well, so I don't think this is any great offer. There must be something more to it. That, or it's complete BS, which wouldn't surprise me.

@SilenceUK: Yes, I did read the article, and I'm not really sure what you're referring to. However, I cannot believe that this $15 subscription would be part of the same or a lower tier than the current Gold membership, because if that were the case, the math would work out to making this a very poor deal. It would be cheaper to just buy the Xbox and two year subscription separately and you wouldn't have to worry about being locked into a two year contract.

Will it have a harddrive? I'd actually be interested in getting this (I'm still on my original xbox and don't have kinect--this would be a killer upgrade if it even had the smallest HD).

Plus a bunch of additional hidden fees?

Not much better than a subsidized phone deal or the AOL computer from way back. If you're paying money for a subscription or service over any years, if you wanted those things fine but add the price of the unit to those total costs and figure if its worth the total cost. It may work, $99 dollars got rid of a lot of HP tablets . . . of course those could be hacked easily for longer life and use.

What I really take away from this article is that people are already paying too much for Xbox Live.

I think people need to take a class in economics. Its not that this is a good deal for everybody, but money is hand is worth more, and future money is worth less. IF this is true, then customers only play $99 upfront, and you are paying $15 a month, instead of whatever the console + kinect + 1yr XBL is worth.

This i think makes great sense for Microsoft, as most all cable, internet and phone companies have been doing this for ever. I am surprised no one has done this already.

you'll be stuck with an xbox live sub and an abandonned system when the next xbox comes out...

Who is this for? The people who use their 360 for gaming aren't going to want one with such a low capacity HDD, and I can't see someone buying this as a replacement for cable box or anything. Seems like an odd package to put out.

@kpaadet said:

@Slab64 said:

You people are all so fucking cynical. And rich as well, apparently, since you can afford to spend hundreds of dollars at once like it's no problem. Poor Americans like myself would see this as a pretty good deal.

I fail to see how paying more for something over time instead off paying less once is a good deal. If you're poor you really should do the math.

Exactly. It's really not a better deal at all. You shell out more money to them over time than if you just, say, saved up enough money to actually spend on the console. It might not seem it, but, that's why subsidized products make money I suppose.

This sounds like a really crappy deal.

@two_socks said:

Who is this for? The people who use their 360 for gaming aren't going to want one with such a low capacity HDD, and I can't see someone buying this as a replacement for cable box or anything. Seems like an odd package to put out.

You know what. This makes it the perfect media box. If these rumors are true. Everything is streaming, with netflix, hulu, zune marketplace, espn, hbo go and a tons of other stuff. Depening on which premium video services are available, this could be amazing.

With so many people who have the 360 already, it only seems rather good to do this as an alternative to getting the arcade bundle (or whatever it's called) to replace a 360 that's dead or being fixed and wanting a cheap 360 to put the HD/profile on.

@xxizzypop said:

@kpaadet said:

@Slab64 said:

You people are all so fucking cynical. And rich as well, apparently, since you can afford to spend hundreds of dollars at once like it's no problem. Poor Americans like myself would see this as a pretty good deal.

I fail to see how paying more for something over time instead off paying less once is a good deal. If you're poor you really should do the math.

Exactly. It's really not a better deal at all. You shell out more money to them over time than if you just, say, saved up enough money to actually spend on the console. It might not seem it, but, that's why subsidized products make money I suppose.

I don't want to sound like a dick, but I'm about to sound like a dick.

(Generally poorer people are not as good with money, and don't see through things like this. I apologize to the 99% for this comment)

@Slab64 said:

You people are all so fucking cynical. And rich as well, apparently, since you can afford to spend hundreds of dollars at once like it's no problem. Poor Americans like myself would see this as a pretty good deal.

I fail to see how paying more for something over time instead off paying less once is a good deal. If you're poor you really should do the math.

Because maybe he actually wants to play the damn console while its still relevant. ;)

Given he has $114 right now:

Say he buys this now: 99 (bundle) + 15 (sub) * 24 (months) = $459 over the next two years. Spends 114 now and averaging $15 a month for the remaining 23 months

Now let's say he waits til he has enough to buy the console outright: 299 (bundle) + 60 (sub) * 2 (years) = $419 over the next two years. He has to spend $359 when he has the money and average $2.61 a month for the remaining 23 months. Saves him $40 over the next two years.

Assuming he can justifiably afford the subscription bundle but not much more beyond that (remember we have yet to include any games), he can play Xbox now. Now if he waits for the regular bundle he has to save an additional $245 (185 for the bundle, 60 for a one year subscription). At the rate he could afford, it could take an additional 17 months before he could play! That means saving $40 costed him a year and a half of gaming. So in essence he's paying a $2.35 a month "premium" for those first 17 months. Those 17 months he would be without a console + xbl.

EDIT: Which btw, is right about the time the new Xbox will be out, which woud be a foolish time to buy a 360.

@saoakden said:

@BestUsernameEver: Is that a lot of memory?

It is not.