Subsidized Xbox Pops Up at Four U.S. Retailers

[MikeWehner]

Subsidized Xbox Pops Up at Four U.S. Retailers

If you've been waiting for the Xbox 360 subscription deal, you'll have no shortage of big box stores to choose from.

If you don't yet own an Xbox 360, Microsoft's $99 subscription plan may have already caught your eye [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120276-Subsidized-Xbox-360-Now-Includes-250-GB-Hard-Drive-Plan]. Today we finally get a glimpse at the first retailers that will carry the offer, and there aren't exactly any surprises on the list. GameStop and Toys R Us will begin offering the deal on October 28th, with Wal-Mart and Best Buy joining the fray one day later on October 29th.

If you're not yet familiar with the deal, let me lay it out: You can walk into any one of those participating stores and walk out with either a 4GB Xbox 360 Kinect bundle, or a 250GB Xbox 360, for $99. A 250GB bundle with Kinect will also be offered for a limited time at $149. Of course, there's a small catch to the cheap price tag: You'll need to sign a two-year Xbox Live contract that will cost you $15 per month.

It's the same kind of subsidy that lets wireless carriers offer you a phone or tablet for a huge discount, as long as you promise to pay for the service over a 24 month period. The company ends up making the money it needs to cover the cost of the hardware, but it's spread out over the length of the contract.

With this particular deal, you'll end up paying a bit more for the console over the long term, but if you don't have a lot of cash upfront - and if you're planning on using the Live service anyway - it may be your best bet to score the system this holiday season.

Source: GamesIndustry [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-10-23-microsoft-USD99-xbox-360-with-contract-offer-expands]

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[AzrealMaximillion]

Well let's see how well this goes. I had no idea this was going on.

 

[Shinsei-J]

I see your game Microsoft, locking people into a 2 year subscription when your new console could be right around the corner.
(I'm half joking with this post but from the info I have it seems like this is a realistic possibility)

 

[RJ 17]

I see your game Microsoft, locking people into a 2 year subscription when your new console could be right around the corner.
(I'm half joking with this post but from the info I have it seems like this is a realistic possibility)

That's actually right along with my thinking as well..."Will the new console be out before those two years are up?"

That said, however, I'd sincerely have to hope that the new console will be on XBox Live as well, so perhaps the subscription will carry over. Otherwise yeah, you're locking yourself to the 360 for another 2 years.

 

[Warped_Ghost]

I see your game Microsoft, locking people into a 2 year subscription when your new console could be right around the corner.
(I'm half joking with this post but from the info I have it seems like this is a realistic possibility)

That's actually right along with my thinking as well..."Will the new console be out before those two years are up?"

That said, however, I'd sincerely have to hope that the new console will be on XBox Live as well, so perhaps the subscription will carry over. Otherwise yeah, you're locking yourself to the 360 for another 2 years.

Consoles don't immediately die when their replacements come out. The 360 wasn't really worth having till about a year or 2 after it came out. And I didn't even look at them until they dropped to $300.