Microsoft to Offer $99 Xbox with Kinect and Monthly Fee

[Greg Tito]

Microsoft to Offer $99 Xbox with Kinect and Monthly Fee

It's like a wireless phone contract, but for a console.

I seem to recall big words coming down from Microsoft a few decades ago about how they wanted a Windows machine in every living room, not just in your office. That promise never really materialized, that is, until you realize the Xbox 360 is outselling all consoles worldwide and most people use the console to stream movies and TV just as much, if not more, than they use it to play games. Microsoft has decided to capitalize on the trend of streaming content to make it even easier to get an Xbox 360 in your home. In two weeks, you will be able to buy an Xbox sporting a 4gb HD bundled with Kinect for $99, as long as you agree to a two year contract and a $15 monthly fee.

That's right, you get a heavily discounted 360 with Kinect, and the majority of the cost spread out over two years. But you get your money's worth, according to Microsoft, with the monthly subscription including an Xbox Live Gold membership, a warranty, and possible access to extra streaming content from content providers and sports networks.

Of course, there would be a penalty for bagging out of the two-year contract early, similar to how wireless cell phone contracts work now.

Adding up the costs of purchasing these items individually, and it seems like a zero sum proposition. two-year XBox Live Gold sub would set you back $100 [http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-4GB-Console-Kinect/dp/B003O6EE4U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1335973417&sr=8-2]; the total cost being $400, whereas this new deal would set you back $459 ($99 bundle + $15 X 24 months). If you consider the convenience of getting an Xbox for a Benjamin and the promise of additional content worth $59, then this new bundle might be up your alley.

You know, if you don't have an Xbox already.

Of course, you have to factor in the cost of games, and a beefier hard drive once that paltry 4 gig jobber fills up. Yeah, maybe this isn't such a good idea for a gamer. But it makes great sense if you are looking for a cheap alternative to a Roku or Apple TV.

Source: Verge [http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/2/2993600/99-xbox-360-kinect-subsidized-bundle]

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[Eric the Orange]

Or you know... you could like just get a PC or pay that off in monthly payments.
No cheap chinese hardware, no payment required for being able to play Online and a lot cheaper games with the likes of Steam (and no Microsoft licensing fees on the top of every new game).

Also, could this sound any more like you're a console salesman?
"That's right folks! For only amazing $99.99 this piece of long outdated tech could be yours, with a contract going till long after the next console generation is likely out already! This bundle is right up your alley, you can't miss a bargain like that!"

And could you sound any more like your a PC fan boy.


Sorry you made that way to obvious. And low hanging fruit is the most delicious.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

Or you know... you could like just get a PC or pay that off in monthly payments.
No cheap chinese hardware, no payment required for being able to play Online and a lot cheaper games with the likes of Steam (and no Microsoft licensing fees on the top of every new game).

Also, could this sound any more like you're a console salesman?
"That's right folks! For only amazing $99.99 this piece of long outdated tech could be yours, with a contract going till long after the next console generation is likely out already! This bundle is right up your alley, you can't miss a bargain like that!"

And could you sound any more like your a PC fan boy.


Sorry you made that way to obvious. And low hanging fruit is the most delicious.

hands off my delicious low hangging fruit you pervert

 

[Eric the Orange]

And could you sound any more like your a PC fan boy.


Sorry you made that way to obvious. And low hanging fruit is the most delicious.

He has a point. Consoles are trying to be PCs now. Really cheaply made, overpriced, un-upgradable, unmodifiable and specific purpose PCs.

They're becoming like Macs, in a way.

Eh, I don't really have anything against what he said, he just made that joke so easy I had to take the bait.

 

[night_chrono]

So what is to stop me from buying this, "losing" my credit card, and setting up a new XBL account?

Furthermore what happens if someone forgoes payments, whole console gets banned from live and they sell it to gamestop? Can it be re-activated later by the new owner?

 

[Steve the Pocket]

Of course, you have to factor in the cost of games, and a beefier hard drive once that paltry 4 gig jobber fills up.

More like "factor in the cost of bagging on your contract to buy a completely new console because you can't actually replace the hard drive in an Xbox, also the cost of re-buying everything you ever purchased from XBLA because there's no way to copy it over." Unless I massively misunderstand how Xbox 360s work.

Or you know... you could like just get a PC or pay that off in monthly payments.
No cheap chinese hardware, no payment required for being able to play Online and a lot cheaper games with the likes of Steam (and no Microsoft licensing fees on the top of every new game).

Hang on a second...

No cheap chinese hardware

Lolwut? Where do you think PC hardware is made, exactly? Outer space?

 

[Jamash]

So what is to stop me from buying this, "losing" my credit card, and setting up a new XBL account?

Furthermore what happens if someone forgoes payments, whole console gets banned from live and they sell it to gamestop? Can it be re-activated later by the new owner?

I expect the contract states that if you default on your payment or default on the contract by getting banned from Live, you'll have to pay the full, outstanding cost of the contract immediately and if you don't, they'll use all legal means necessary to recover the debt.

The address you registered in order to take out the contract will also be black-listed until you make amends, preventing you from simply making a new account.

They'll also probably probably perform a console ban, meaning it'll never be able to connect to Live or download games, demos, DLC, updates etc, thus removing a lot of the functionality from the X-Box (especially if they tweak the disc format again).

I'm not sure whether Gamestop check if a console is banned before buying it, but a banned console is pretty useless to the customer and I'd imagine they'd be able to return it to Gamestop and exchange it for a working one, so it would make sense that Gamestop would also check to see whether it's been banned before buying it as a banned console is broken, even if it's mechanically sound.

All of the above is just a guess, but it makes sense that Microsoft would already have everything in place to prevent people from making a profit by simply getting a console for $99 and defaulting on the contract.

 

[night_chrono]

I expect the contract states that if you default on your payment or default on the contract by getting banned from Live, you'll have to pay the full, outstanding cost of the contract immediately and if you don't, they'll use all legal means necessary to recover the debt.

I doubt Microsoft is going to pursue legal action against you for $359. It would cost them more in court fee's. Plus if you don't give you real address when you sign up, where might they find you?

I'm not sure whether Gamestop check if a console is banned before buying it, but a banned console is pretty useless to the customer and I'd imagine they'd be able to return it to Gamestop and exchange it for a working one, so it would make sense that Gamestop would also check to see whether it's been banned before buying it as a banned console is broken, even if it's mechanically sound.

When I worked at gamestop if it turned on and read a disc we took it, and never tried to connect them to live. I have never personally seen a banned console so maybe it throws warnings all over the screen. My thought was simply that banning consoles was pretty much reserved for modded systems up until this point, and those who mod their systems probably wont try to sell them to gamestop.

 

[Suave Charlie]

More like "factor in the cost of bagging on your contract to buy a completely new console because you can't actually replace the hard drive in an Xbox, also the cost of re-buying everything you ever purchased from XBLA because there's no way to copy it over." Unless I massively misunderstand how Xbox 360s work.

You can either upgrade to the 250gb hard drive and whack that in or get a decent sized usb and format that to act as the hdd.
Also no, you can transfer/redownload your content across to any xbox, it's just tied to the gamertag, though the original console you purchase it on allows any player to access it.
No rebuying needed or having to get a whole new xbox.

The more you know and all that.

 

[Jamash]

I expect the contract states that if you default on your payment or default on the contract by getting banned from Live, you'll have to pay the full, outstanding cost of the contract immediately and if you don't, they'll use all legal means necessary to recover the debt.

I doubt Microsoft is going to pursue legal action against you for $359. It would cost them more in court fee's. Plus if you don't give you real address when you sign up, where might they find you?

By legal means, I was talking more about letters demanding payment and debt collectors rather than taking individuals to court. In the US is taking someone to court the only way companies can deal with people who break contracts and default on payments?

As for a false address, can you use a false address when you sign up for a credit card (which is undoubtedly what you'll need for one of these contracts)?

I know you can try, but credit card companies are probably quite likely to check for this kind of fraud before issuing someone credit, and I'm guessing Microsoft won't enter into a contract with someone without performing a basic background check to ensure they are who they say they are and their method of payment is genuine and registered to their address.

My main point is, the amount of fraud and white-collar crime someone would need to commit in order to get an X-Box for $99 isn't worth the risk and hassle.

If I wanted to illegally obtain an X-Box, I'd rather steal one from a shop and if I were going to go to all the trouble of fraudulently obtaining a credit card, I'd do it to purchase something a lot more valuable than an X-Box.

 

[Epona]

Is this conversation really going to be about how to defraud the system and buying a PC instead?

 

[Erana]

How about you take away all the dumb bells and whistles (seriously, why would you browse the internet on a console..?) and give me what amounts to an original Xbox that plays 360 games at a cheaper pricepoint?
Hell, it would probably be more stable, too.

 

[dochmbi]

Where do they even get hard drives with 4GB of storage space? Transported with a time machine from 1994?

 

[Beautiful End]

I'm not sure whether Gamestop check if a console is banned before buying it, but a banned console is pretty useless to the customer and I'd imagine they'd be able to return it to Gamestop and exchange it for a working one, so it would make sense that Gamestop would also check to see whether it's been banned before buying it as a banned console is broken, even if it's mechanically sound.

When I worked at gamestop if it turned on and read a disc we took it, and never tried to connect them to live. I have never personally seen a banned console so maybe it throws warnings all over the screen. My thought was simply that banning consoles was pretty much reserved for modded systems up until this point, and those who mod their systems probably wont try to sell them to gamestop.

I second this. (Currently working there)

As long as it has the Microsoft seal and it reads discs, we take them in. We have no way to tell if a console is banned or not. Think about it; it would require us to connect to live. Most stores don't have Wi-fi spots in or around the area. And there are many other things that might prevent us from checking that out, though it would be awesome if we could.

OT: So let's see...if I wanna buy that bundle right now, it would be around 300 bucks. That one bundle is 99...plus 360 (For Live). So yeah, 459. It is quite a deal if you play online almost all the time.
And assuming a new console won't be announced soon.
And assuming you pay on time.
And assuming you're okay with 4gb of memory and therefore, you don't own that many games.
And assuming it also comes with Kinect Adventures. Yeah, it's like 2 bucks at GameStop but still.

So uhh...can I take the $99 bundle and pass on Live? I don't really play online that much...

Oh...hi there, PS3.

 

[Maxtro]

Where do they even get hard drives with 4GB of storage space? Transported with a time machine from 1994?

If only we could like posts on the Escapist.

I expect the contract states that if you default on your payment or default on the contract by getting banned from Live, you'll have to pay the full, outstanding cost of the contract immediately and if you don't, they'll use all legal means necessary to recover the debt.

I doubt Microsoft is going to pursue legal action against you for $359. It would cost them more in court fee's. Plus if you don't give you real address when you sign up, where might they find you?

By legal means, I was talking more about letters demanding payment and debt collectors rather than taking individuals to court. In the US is taking someone to court the only way companies can deal with people who break contracts and default on payments?

As for a false address, can you use a false address when you sign up for a credit card (which is undoubtedly what you'll need for one of these contracts)?

I know you can try, but credit card companies are probably quite likely to check for this kind of fraud before issuing someone credit, and I'm guessing Microsoft won't enter into a contract with someone without performing a basic background check to ensure they are who they say they are and their method of payment is genuine and registered to their address.

I wonder what happens if you try to buy the console and sign up for the contract using one of those visa gift cards?

For all intents and purposes, they are just prepaid credit cards.

 

[Jamash]

Where do they even get hard drives with 4GB of storage space? Transported with a time machine from 1994?

It's 4GB of internal flash memory, not a hard drive. The 4GB 360 doesn't come with any type of removable storage, but can be fitted with an optional HDD.

I'm not sure why the article refers to it as a hard drive.