News - Microsoft to launch pay-monthly Xbox 360

[HEXUS]

Rumours suggest a $99 console with a $15 monthly subscription could soon be in the offing.

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[crossy]

Sounds like a good piece of thinking. Not interested in it myself (there's already a pair of '360's in the house, with a Family pack XBL subscription to cover them), but it's an interesting development.

£100 for the console, an extra £15 or so a month for Xbox Live, a Zune Pass and - who knows - a basic LoveFilm subscription? Sounds like a goer to us.

If they offer a bundle deal FamilyPack+Netflix combo subscription then that's something I'd like to see - if it was a reasonable price (say £100pa) then my reply would be "where do I sign up?". Not sure about the Zune pass or LoveFilm...

[dcwt2010]

Since when did 1 USD = 1 GBP? Even taking into account of 20% VAT it's no where near 100 quid if they're only paying 99 dollars (75 quid). Is the purchasing power per capita of the British higher than the Americans?

[Butuz]

Er. Since forever? Whatever something is RRP in dollars is pretty much what we will end up paying by the time it hits our rip-off-shore lines. If you still think UK pricing is set by the USD:UKP exchange rate I think you've been living in your own little world for..... well for well over a decade?

[cheesemp]

Umm isn't a 4Gb xbox a £105 anyway? I can't see the incentive (Kinect certainly isn't one!). Just seems to be another way to force people on to xbox live...

[Terbinator]

I sort of get it, and i don't.

My interpretation is that you go to the MS store, get $99 Xbox at which point they take your card details and take $15 off you each month? What's the point in a low entry price-point if you're going to lose $15 a month anyway? It does't work out much cheaper than a normal 360 anyway.

[Smudger]

Can you go and buy the xbox without the subs? Can you play normal SP games without XBL?

[DDY]

I sort of get it, and i don't.

My interpretation is that you go to the MS store, get $99 Xbox at which point they take your card details and take $15 off you each month? What's the point in a low entry price-point if you're going to lose $15 a month anyway? It does't work out much cheaper than a normal 360 anyway.

Because if someone's going to pay for a XBL sub they might at well get a cheap 360 while they're at it.

[J3FFW1SH]

This seems like a massive rip to me - right now you can pick up the 250gb 360 with a Kinect & game bundled for £279, gold membership is £39 = £318. The above "deal" works out at £360 over two years plus a £99 deposit. With no confirmed "additional content" i say jog on!

[shaithis]

Might be worth it if they keep the deal the same when 720 launches.

[Arthran]

This is proof that the 720 is coming soon to me. They get a ton of people locked in, then as its a special form of rental contract they then offer an "upgrade" to the 720 a year or so into the contract. They have people who wouldnt normally rush out to buy a new console on launch, locked into a contract that allows them to push more consoles!

[dcwt2010]

Er. Since forever? Whatever something is RRP in dollars is pretty much what we will end up paying by the time it hits our rip-off-shore lines. If you still think UK pricing is set by the USD:UKP exchange rate I think you've been living in your own little world for..... well for well over a decade?

I'm well aware we've been ripped off for a long time and it's high time we took a stand!

[crossy]

Can you go and buy the xbox without the subs? Can you play normal SP games without XBL?

Yes to both of these - as far as my (admitted fallible) memory allows I seem to remember that you get a "Silver" level membership for free, and it's only if you want the extra goodies that you've got to pony up for that Gold sub.

I took this deal purely as a way of spreading out the cost of the XBox package. Taken in isolation it's not exactly good value for money, you'd be better off buying the gear from Argos and putting it on the old credit card.

[GrahamC]

TBH It's not about the £100 for the box it's what you get for the £15 a month which will sell or sink this IMO.

[Lord Midas]

Total rip off. From Amazon you can get a new Xbox 4GB for £130 and a 12 month Gold for £30. This new deal thing would get to that price in 4 months.
In a year this deal would cost you £279. Which is the same price as a Xbox 250GB with Kinect (& Adventures).
Pointless.

[Drebin893]

A deal for mugs.