Lol, so instead of having a decent memory capacity, you choose to include Kinect?
Oh, Microsoft....
Microsoft confirms $99 Xbox 360
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Kinect 4GB bundle offered on the cheap when customers sign up for two years of Xbox Live Gold at $15 a month.
Microsoft is making it cheaper than ever to get an Xbox 360, as the console maker today confirmed a deal that will sell the 4GB Kinect-equipped Xbox 360 hardware bundle for $99 if customers commit to a two-year Xbox Live Gold subscription at a cost of $15 per month.
The deal would cost less up front, but consumers will wind up spending more in the long run. If purchased separately at today's standard prices, the console and two-year Xbox Live subscription would cost $420. If purchased under this promotion, the deal's total cost at the end of the two years would come out to $460.
The offer is currently available only at the 21 Microsoft Store retail locations in the US. There is also an early termination fee for those who want out of the contract, with the penalty starting at $250 in the first three months of the contract and scaling down to $12 in the 23rd month.
The Xbox 360 hasn't received a price cut to its entry-level configuration since September of 2008, when the hard-drive-less Xbox 360 Arcade was dropped to $199. However, when the redesigned Xbox 360 was launched in 2010, previous bundles of the hardware were dropped by $50, putting the discontinued Xbox 360 Arcade at $149 for a brief time.
For more on the offer, check out Microsoft's offer page.
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
320 comments
Actually I kind of think it is a good deal. So over the span of 2 years you spend 40$ more.. thats peanuts. For some people who live pay check to pay check and have not yet saved a lot of money.. this is a good deal for them in my opinion. If you own xbox and are a gamer/hardcore gamer you will most likely want xbox live gold anyway. I personally would not do this but some people less fortunate than me may find this deal tempting. However with the new consoles coming out I would wait for them to release if you have waited this long. And then sign a 2 year contract with the updated hardware.
1 Like People, stop bitchin'. It's a good deal for those who don't have that much cash on hand at all times.
@UltraredM If you don't have that much cash, the last thing you should be doing is buying a gaming console. You should be working more and saving your money.
@UltraredM
No, it's not. You think people that poor can afford a consistent internet connection?
That monthly subscription winds up being $360 by the end of it, plus the $100 you already paid.
Had you actually saved that $460 for those two years, you could've gotten:
A. 360 that didn't have such pitiful memory. 20gb is really the bare minimum amount of memory I'd even consider.
B. One of the next-gen consoles.
1 Like So many people will buy into this not realizing they aren't getting much of a deal, just taken advantage of.
This is definitely Microsoft milking every last dollar out of the 360 before it dies a slow and painful death.
It's been a very successful console, no doubt about that but I don't think it comes close to what the Playstation 2 has shifted - that thing is still selling hundreds of thousands of units all over the world - it's nuts.
@ecurl143 well they stopped manufacturing PS2's so if they are still selling hundreds of thousands they are just used ones that are in circulation. I don't know how anyone would buy a PS2. Unless your dirt poor and you happen to like games. The 360 and PS3 are very affordable.. maybe some people never played video games before and just want to try out a cheaper alternative. IMO its a shame though because the leap this generation took, these consoles took it to a whole new level of fun factor. Unless you like JRPG's cause those are dead imo.
The fact that this is only at Microsoft's Retail stores tells me it's not going to take off. I've never even seen a Microsoft Retail store in my life. The 4GB XBox 360 is only worth about $99 now anyway. They should just sell it like that by itself. Microsoft needs some serious price cuts this year if they want to stay ahead of Sony's PS3. This generation is almost over.
@XanderZane Microsoft owns North America, Sony has the upper hand around the world. Japanese people are very proud of there Sony and find it sacrilegious to purchase a North American produced console that was probably produced in Taiwan with all the tax dollars actually negated because they keep there money in an off shore account like every other multi billion dollar corporation. In other words Company or Brand loyalty is stupid unless your supporting them to balance the competition.
I don't think anyone should be upset. I believe there are plenty of idiots out there but if they can afford a new $100 console they can afford a used $200 console. This is just an easy way for MS to make a little extra cash from a very small number of people, and it will not catch on.
@istuffedsunny The main reason it wont catch on is because Microsoft does not have enough retail stores for this business move to work. But what your seeing is a glimpse of the future thanks to cell phone companies.
1 Like Not surprised, they did say if this works the plan will carry on next gen with the next Xbox. I'm thinking it's going to work. People will fall for it. I already bought mine and it came with 12 month subscription and it cost me $399... So, it was cheaper.
@DeadMan1290 i paid almost 600 for the first one and 70 bucks for a hardrive , and 250 for the second one, plus i paid almost 240 for gold membership all this time = %1160 this is the actual price of an average xbox 360 ownership ,i think one could get a more powerful pc that d last longer than this console ...im not excited at all for the next xbox ...
In other news: Rent A Center sues Microsoft for stealing its business model for totally ripping of people. Is it more disturbing that Microsoft is using this method to milk there customer base or that people fall for it?
5 Like This is such a joke. MS just preying on people's ignorance once again and tricking them into thinking they're getting a decent deal
@BPoole96 Worst part is, parents will see the price think it's cheap to pay $15 a month for XBL and actually buy the damn thing. We'll see Xbox 360 sales go up in the next coming months.
I wonder how many people are going to just block their credits cards or whatever from charging for XBL just to get the $99 console. You know it's going to happen.
2 Like this is why stopped playing xbox. and bought a ps3. why? ps3 has completely free online multplayer. Why can't online on xbox be free? that 15$ a month i could spend on halo dlc or somthing. or well their loss not mine.
1 Like You guys are not looking at this from the right perspective. This deal is not for us. This deal is for the parent or grandparent that can afford a small initial investment with a small monthly fee. This is also for the folks who are need to replace an existing system who are going to be on XBL anyways. Why not pay $99 and use a service you are going to use anyways.
Now for me, I would buy the Star Wars bundle that dropped down to $349 if your local Walmart has one instock.
Remember to consider the audience this deal is for.
Oh, and stop with the fanboy call outs. They are childish.
@tjallen Doesn't change the fact that you're getting ripped off in the long run. You're essentially paying 15-25% more than what the Xbox is actually worth. You'd also be paying MORE for LESS through this method than you would if you just spent 250-300 on the larger models at the prompt. If you absolutely MUST finance an xbox, then you'd be better off using a credit card or other financing option via BB or BillMeLater etc with no interest rate for 6 months to a year, and paying it off prior.
Either way you're essentially paying almost double for an inferior bundle when compared to the others. It's Microsoft's nickel and diming method at its finest.
@tjallen I do agree with you for someone who can't afford it right away, if you get a credit card and slowly pay it off you are only paying off at around a 9.5% of interest all together only having to pay it off in a 2 year span, while the average interest rate is between 14-17 percent that would bring you up to. 478 to 491. So if you can't afford it or pay it off by the end of the year in a no interest credit card by so many months, than I do agree this is still not a bad idea.
2 Like wow................. thats what Microsoft gots ............. so sad...... really whos going to buy this ? NOBODY !!! ..... PS3!!!!
4 Like what a freaking rip off . you can always buy the star wars console with a game and two controller plus a big hard drive instead of a 4gb .
1 Like Not really a great idea. The intro price of $99 isn't much less than a "buy it now" price used, or even new (vs $199). Unless this is a foreshadow of xbox live prices increasing, it's a no-brainer to just buy the console outright, and then pay for live on the side. I haven't had a problem finding 12 months of xbox live membership cards for $39-$49 dollars. Around the holiday's last year the local Bulk retailer (Costco) had them for $30 each. I snagged 3. To top it off I now do the family plan (rolled the 3 cards into 18 months of family service) and that is only $100/yr. Have 4 people on it (all family, and in the same house) so it only costs each person $25 a year.
I will admit that this format looks appealing for the next generation, especially (like another member mentioned) if the console is in the $600-$800 range.
I'd like this option for the next Box, lets MS make it really powerful without putting some consumers of who can't afford a $600 or $800 console at launch, I put $800 there just in case MS go all out with a modified GTX 600 series console at launch
Its easy to take $15 out of your wage every month until the systems paid for, instead of having to wait a few years for the price drops
3 Like $420 for an Xbox 360 for JUST 2 years!! PS3 $249 for the next 6years!!!! $299 if you bought it when the price dropped for 9 years. EVEN if you bout it for $600 when it launched to 2017 11 years later its still a better deal. WITH lot more included. $420 for 2 years what about since 2005??? $400 op + $40 month for 10 years = 800.
Though I am sure lots of Xbox 360 owners (myself included) do not play online with their Xbox 360. Thus they do not pay the yearly fee.
3 Like Hate X-box because they are not giving free Network gaming as PS3 does ... PS3 Rocks on that
@Altair_7 You're right about the FREE part. I mean 75 million PSN subscribers' information was free to the internet last year too ROFL. Oh and don't forget that Sony waited almost a week to inform subscribers that their personal information had been stolen from their "FREE" network.
"Xbox 360 is the BEST console EVER made." --John Carmack
2 Like @buying1999 LOL. yet even IF they got some money from people that left money in their wallet it is STILL a LOT less than what Microsoft got out of its Gold Live accounts.!!! And its sad that people got screwed by hackers but again Microsoft does this to its own customers, and they thank MS to boot. O.o XD
2 Like Why would you like to have a 2 year lock-up if the next Gen console is just around the corner? They should have offered this 2 years ago it would have made more sense, now, you're tied up for 24 months paying $15 a month and guess what? The new console is coming out in the next 12-15 months, what happens then? If you can get a free upgrade to 720 it would have been a good deal.
2 Like save up your money and buy one used as seriously it is not that expensive
I bought mine used from GameStop and don't regret it at all and I got mine for $99 or $129 at the time and it was no silly 4 GB unit and it came with a wireless controller
7 Like Live for $15.00 a month vs the $59.00 yearly (which works out to be almost $5 a month averaged out)... Outside of the cost of the system being stretched out over two years are there any additional benefits of Live at $15.00 a month?
NO. THERE ISN'T.
Maybe if MS added some additional content to that version of Live like a monthly free game or packaged in Netflix or something then it would be a good deal.
Otherwise, it's a terrible deal unless one does not have the money upfront and they need to buy a console right now.
Could not have said it better myself! 15$ a month for live is insane, when everyone else is getting the same thing for 5$ a month!
2 Like @kackarat24 Its a terrible deal either way as instead of paying per year just to play online you could save that money over the years for a new console. It adds up since 2005 till 2013 to hundreds of dollars. Though with Live free you can't play games also, you can not access Hulu+ or Netflex.
2 Like I got my 20gb phat Xbox 360 on ebay for $102 including shipping 2 years ago. Add 2 wireless controllers to that for $40 bucks. $140 and you're ready to go. If you want to live luxeriously, wait a couple years and find your item on ebay. It'll be dirt cheap.
There's a bad intention with the way the MS proposal is explained in this article. What MS does is sell their console with credit conditions as any department store would do. Period. If you can't afford $420 and don't have a credit card is very convenient to end up paying $460 in a period of two years. Those $40 are much less than what you would have to pay for a $420 purchase deferred in two years even with a low interest rate.
Again it's a good option and I'm afraid it will only be available in the US
2 Like @maximo Hey Microsoft loves money and many people say Live is cheap. If People are that gullible then why not try to suck them of all their money. People seem more than Happy to give it to Microsoft anyway and defend it to boot.
2 Like @MrHenadonia Yes and people will SAY "its REALLY worth it. seeing how Live now cost $70.00 dollars a year." and "Its SOOO cheap compared to the competition at $400.00... O.o
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