Thurott: $299 version of Xbox v.Next will come with a $15/mo XBLG sub, not $10

The 21st needs to just get here...

So many questions.

Is it truly online only?

Do I really need a shitty gold status to play my games online or will they make this free and add a different value to gold?

Is there a cancellation fee for breaking sub contract?

MS pre reveal has been dreadful so I really can't wait to see if they will get it together or crash and burn.
 
Couple of thoughts.

- Current 360 subsidised deal is a scam. $460 2 year deal for a 360? BWHAHA..
- The new one isn't THAT bad. $660 2 year investment is not that bad IF they improve on XBL. If they continue the same " netflix and twitter for added value!" bullshit than no. You're being robbed.
- The process is pretty annoying. You have to print out the coupon. Sign up your credit card so MS can charge you every month. THEN you can go buy the system. Not sure if this is too much work for the casual gamer/parents. But 360 is still selling great in the US so who knows? Maybe it's working.

Honestly anyone with a brain knows this isn't a good deal. It's mainly to suck in the cheapos not realizing they're paying more. And for the people who don't mind paying more in the long run when you pay with installments. I'm a one shot kind of dude. After being fucked by MS with my credit card before I won't make that mistake again. $499 is a tad too much as well since PS4 will be close to price and the games will be exactly the same. But i believe PS4 will edge out on the exclusives.

So if everything holds true then i'm skipping out on Durango for now. At least for a year or 2. New XBL and exclusives can easily change that though.
 
I think this is a super interesting pricing strategy. The subsidized price will attract a ton of consumers who don't think about the actual price of owning the machine (which is something ridiculous like $660 total), they only see the $299 up-front and think its a steal.

Very smart by Microsoft, I'm very curious to see how this works out

Enticing for customers who have budgeted around $500 for launch period.

1. spend $499 for the console and $180 for 3 games - $679

2. spend $299 for the console and $180 for 3 games = $479

24 month subscription applies to 2

Will be interesting to watch unfold.
 
IF that price is true, why would I want a 720 when most of the games at launch will be cross-gen titles - this goes for PS4 as well.
 
I'm basically opposed to the hardware + contracts model without exception. That said, I could see paying that if I was as big a fan of XBL as Sony has made me of Plus.
 
If the two year plan comes with an extended warranty versus the standalone version (2 vs 1 years), that is also a "value" that must be accounted for here folks. MSFT itself has to put that value in their books.

Also, look from a family perspective, this is a great deal to lower the cost, plus saves money upfront for purchasing software titles.

You can generally get the warranty doubled to two years just by buying with a credit card. The installment plan will actually void this benefit (with Visa at least), so you'll have two years either way. But with Visa you can pay zero interest if you pay it in full.
 
Couple of thoughts.

- Current 360 subsidised deal is a scam. $460 2 year deal for a 360? BWHAHA..
- The new one isn't THAT bad. $660 2 year investment is not that bad IF they improve on XBL. If they continue the same " netflix and twitter for added value!" bullshit than no. You're being robbed.
- The process is pretty annoying. You have to print out the coupon. Sign up your credit card so MS can charge you every month. THEN you can go buy the system. Not sure if this is too much work for the casual gamer/parents. But 360 is still selling great in the US so who knows? Maybe it's working.

Honestly anyone with a brain knows this isn't a good deal. It's mainly to suck in the cheapos not realizing they're paying more. And for the people who don't mind paying more in the long run when you pay with installments. I'm a one shot kind of dude. After being fucked by MS with my credit card before I won't make that mistake again. $499 is a tad too much as well since PS4 will be close to price and the games will be exactly the same. But i believe PS4 will edge out on the exclusives.

So if everything holds true then i'm skipping out on Durango for now. At least for a year or 2. New XBL and exclusives can easily change that though.

For me it will come down to exclusives... meaning Forza and Halo - once Durango has both, I'm in regardless of anything else.

Sony's whole approach to PS4 (and their honesty about PS3 in explaining how that informed their whole ethos) had me at hello.
 
MS will announce their price first, both the reveal and their E3 conference takes place before Sony's.

It would look pretty embarrassing for them to go back and decrease the price after the PS4's is announced, no?
Makes sense...but I still think they will either cost the same or ps4 will cost more.
 
Couple of thoughts.

- Current 360 subsidised deal is a scam. $460 2 year deal for a 360? BWHAHA..

It's literally the exact same deal as this. $460 for a 250GB 360 ($300) with 2 years of live. 250GB 360 with 2 years of live at value is $420. $40 difference again.
 
Couple of thoughts.

- Current 360 subsidised deal is a scam. $460 2 year deal for a 360? BWHAHA..
- The new one isn't THAT bad. $660 2 year investment is not that bad IF they improve on XBL. If they continue the same " netflix and twitter for added value!" bullshit than no. You're being robbed.
- The process is pretty annoying. You have to print out the coupon. Sign up your credit card so MS can charge you every month. THEN you can go buy the system. Not sure if this is too much work for the casual gamer/parents. But 360 is still selling great in the US so who knows? Maybe it's working.

Honestly anyone with a brain knows this isn't a good deal. It's mainly to suck in the cheapos not realizing they're paying more. And for the people who don't mind paying more in the long run when you pay with installments. I'm a one shot kind of dude. After being fucked by MS with my credit card before I won't make that mistake again. $499 is a tad too much as well since PS4 will be close to price and the games will be exactly the same. But i believe PS4 will edge out on the exclusives.

So if everything holds true then i'm skipping out on Durango for now. At least for a year or 2. New XBL and exclusives can easily change that though.

I really dont get the confusion its simple, noone is forced to do it but as with mobile pones you can chose to subsidize the device by committing to a service for 2 years this is exactly the same

You are talking like this is the only option it is not you can just buy it
 
MS will announce their price first, both the reveal and their E3 conference takes place before Sony's.

It would look pretty embarrassing for them to go back and decrease the price after the PS4's is announced, no?
They announce the Kinect price at august 2010,2 months later than MOVE
 
Couple of thoughts.

- Current 360 subsidised deal is a scam. $460 2 year deal for a 360? BWHAHA..
- .
current one is the same as the new one if true. It includes a $300 console plus 2 years of live 2x$60 and extra year warranty. Yes you can find it cheaper by looking for deals but at retail your only paying $40 more but getting an extra yr warranty. scam? right.
 
$15/month makes a lot more sense, I was confused before. Still a smart move, Sony would be crazy not to copy MS here. It's not a good deal but for better or worse many people will only pay attention to the $299 and not the contract. Can't have your main competitor advertising a similar product as $200 cheaper. Fortunately for them I can't think of any reason that would stop them from copying this model.
 
If true, I can imagine some pretty gnarly stories revolving around roommates who decide to "go in" on a subsidized plan together... shit could get real ugly real fast.

Also I wonder if the contract will require a credit check or CC to back the plan. That would stop a lot of kids from buying the cheaper subsidized model.
 
4G LTE included

megaton.gif

Competent 4G radio smartphone chips who also support older standards [not everyone has access to 4G radio towers] cost about $40+. That is not an insignificant chunk of money.
 
What happens when the 2 years are done? Will they attempt to continue to charge you $15 a month until you cancel and add a year of Live manually, in an attempt to grab money from people who don't know better? What is the current method for the $99 360?
 
What happens if you default?

Cancellation fee, plus remaining cost of contract. I can see it being about as unpleasant as trying to cancel DirectTV while being in a two year contract. Which is to say that they will just take the money straight out of your account or charge your card.
 
In what world does this statement make sense? Are people forced to buy the subsidized model? No. It's simply another option.

It's a bad option that exploits the stupider consumer's inability to do math. And if it's successful we can expect to see more of it throughout the industry.
 
What happens when the 2 years are done? Will they attempt to continue to charge you $15 a month until you cancel and add a year of Live manually, in an attempt to grab money from people who don't know better?

Yes, and if that doesn't work they'll steal your wallet.
 
The 21st needs to just get here...

So many questions.

Is it truly online only?

Do I really need a shitty gold status to play my games online or will they make this free and add a different value to gold?

Is there a cancellation fee for breaking sub contract?

MS pre reveal has been dreadful so I really can't wait to see if they will get it together or crash and burn.

I doubt most (if any) of those questions will be answered in detail on the 21st.

It's probably just going to be a "How awesome? So awesome" show.
 
Honestly, you can call me out my my "inability to do math", but this is fairly attractive to me since I am an XBL subscriber anyway. If Sony launches at $400 as you are all predicting though, this is not at all enticing.
 
It's a bad option that exploits the stupider consumer's inability to do math. And if it's successful we can expect to see more of it throughout the industry.

You could say the same thing about anyone who has ever taken a loan for a car or house. They end up paying far more than the actual value of the item.

There is an economic case to provide a console with a lower initial cost to entice more people. It's smart.
 
if it was $199 + 2 years of live @ $15 a month, i'd bite on the deal.

$299 + 2 years @ $15/mo isn't horrible though. you'd be paying $40 more than normal and you get a $200 lower up front cost that some might deem worthy enough to bite on the deal.
 
Paying a monthly fee just to own the box is ridiculous, people are fooling themselves.

And yet, people have been fooling themselves since the beginning by using credit cards to do the same. Shit, half the kids at my school got NES systems because their parents bought using a credit card, took out a small loan, or got financed in-store with department store chain credit. Stuff gets bought with monthly payments by people since, like, forever.
 
My question is will the sub and fill price package be the same? I could see a pack in with full price...even if it is a dreaded kinect pack in :)
 
if it was $199 + 2 years of live @ $15 a month, i'd bite on the deal.

$299 + 2 years @ $15/mo isn't horrible though. you'd be paying $40 more than normal and you get a $200 lower up front cost that some might deem worthy enough to bite on the deal.
If it's 199+2 years@$15/months that means the console will be $400
 
My issue is that I already have an Xbox Gold sub through April 2015 so it makes sense for me to buy the higher priced console. Otherwise, I would probably have sprung for the subsidized console because I would've bought the Live anyway and only spent $40 extra in the long run. Considering it's $200 less, up front, that is actually a great deal, depending on what you do with the extra $200.
 
Sony should aim for:

contract free $399 console
+
$199 subsidized console with $10 monthly fee for 2 years [total $440]
or
$99 subsidized console with $15 monthly fee for 2 years [total $460]
 
I don't really believe the 299.99 499.99 prices or the price of the subscription. (seems low to me considering the prices the 360 and ps3 still are)

Live right now is already 9.99 a month if you don't pay for a year at once.

I don't see a problem with a subscription model though, gives people the option to get the console who dont have 600 dollars in their bank accounts. I will stick with the model that doesnt include contracts though.

A lot of negative speculation going around that could be fixed with a few amazing game reveals in a few weeks.

Also to those wondering what will happen if you don't pay, it's the same as everything else in life that you sign a contract to and use a credit card. You end up with shit credit, your xbox probly gets bricked til you pay.
 
What happens when the 2 years are done? Will they attempt to continue to charge you $15 a month until you cancel and add a year of Live manually, in an attempt to grab money from people who don't know better? What is the current method for the $99 360?

How do we know that Live isn't going to cost $15/mo. normally, for the new Xbox? They might change the pricing model for next gen.

Everyone is running around whining about the price, I personally think it's smart business, and I'll be honest, I'll consider this pricing model, depending on what they do with Live without the contract.
 
if it was $199 + 2 years of live @ $15 a month, i'd bite on the deal.

$299 + 2 years @ $15/mo isn't horrible though. you'd be paying $40 more than normal and you get a $200 lower up front cost that some might deem worthy enough to bite on the deal.

Except you can get the 2x $60 Live you have calculated for 2x $40 if you a little bit attention. So it's an $80 gap. That's a bit much.
 
using forums for references is worse than using wikipedia.

Way to not even address the topic of conversation. I'm using the best information we have available to us at the moment. All evidence points to a > $400 BOM. People are spouting off $399 for the PS4 based on exactly NO information pointing towards that, just because they want it to be true. I want the Durango to be $0, but that doesn't change the financial reality both these companies are facing.

What's worse is that they're actually trying to use it in an argument, as if it were confirmed.

PS4 is not going to be 500$, most likely 400$.

Estimated by who? Eye is not included in base SKU. Sony can sell at a loss. $399 is very likely.

Zero evidence suggesting this whatsoever. Sony is already bleeding money. You honestly think they want to continue to do so?
 
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