Microsoft: $99 for a 250GB Xbox on Two Year Contract

[JMcEntegart]

Microsoft is expanding its subsidized Xbox Entertainment For All program.

Microsoft: $99 for a 250GB Xbox on Two Year Contract : Read more

 

[drwho1]

Microsoft: $99 for a 250GB Xbox on Two Year Contract...
are the calls FREE?
/sarcasm

 

[wolley74]

It wouldn't be that great to get one on a deal now with the new Xbox coming sometime next year

 

[spartanmk2]

Is there an early termination fee?

 

[Guest]

These damn things should ONLY cost $99 dollars. Goddamn 6 year old technology...

 

[madjimms]

$359.76 JUST for 2 years of gold? I could just buy a normal 250GB xbox & save money....

Oh & I didn't include the $99 in my calculation of $14.99*24.

 

[masterasia]

Is the PS3 dead?

 

[Johmama]

How are they going to charge you if you cancel your subscription?

A while back, I had auto-renew on my Live, and they required a phone call to change it from that, which was REALLY annoying. I spent months being mad that I had to call them to cancel it, but not really doing anything about it. Then I lost the credit card that was tied to my Live account and needless to say, I canceled the card. Fast-forward to when my Live subscription was up, it said it couldn't charge my card and asked for another way to pay.

So my question is: if I buy this subsidized deal and cancel the card attached to my Live account, how will they charge me a) the remaining months of Live and b) an early cancellation fee.

I'm sure Microsoft has already thought of this, God forbid they overlook some way to get their money; I'm just wondering how they do it now.

 

[deadlockedworld]

This model actually makes a lot of sense from a business standpoint. Shifting more profit to the subscription side would let them subsidize better hardware (just like the smartphone market).

I'm betting this is a trial run, and the next xbox is ONLY available on contract - pushing consumers into other bundled online MS services like music, etc.

 

[SteelCity1981]

why would anyone buy an xbox 360 noew new when the xbox 720 is a year away and how can they call this a deal when you are spending 15 dollars a month for the next two years for xbox live? Now i don't know if this was done on purpose or what but that comes out to "360" dollars, ironic isn't it.

 

[SteelCity1981]

why would anyone buy an xbox 360 noew new when the xbox 720 is a year away and how can they call this a deal when you are spending 15 dollars a month for the next two years for xbox live? Now i don't know if this was done on purpose or what but that comes out to "360" dollars, ironic isn't it.

 

[deadlockedworld]

[citation][nom]masterasia[/nom]Is the PS3 dead?[/citation] Is the PS2 dead yet?

 

[badaxe2]

14.99/month for two years huh...that adds up to...a mere $359.76. Great value!

Yet millions still keep falling for Microsoft's bs.

 

[Guest]

with this deal the xbox 360 cost about 39 dollars more over 2 years...not that bad for people that don't want to drop 300 + 120 xbox live for 2 years up front. But this deal won't be worth it since the new xbox is suppose to be out in a year.
Btw its 15 x 24 + 99 = 459. Or its 300 + 120 = 420 for 2 years. That's everything at full price.

 

[AidanJC]

Gah, enjoy the seven, nearly eight year old hardware!

Push out the next console already, this is getting ridiculous. Technology has evolved so much in eight years..

 

[slabbo]

I don't mind them doing this except for the fact that it's a TWO YEAR contract on an item that's on it's last year of being relevant.

 

[Azn Cracker]

nvm

 

[aaron88_7]

[citation][nom]deadlockedworld[/nom]This model actually makes a lot of sense from a business standpoint. Shifting more profit to the subscription side would let them subsidize better hardware (just like the smartphone market).[/citation]
This makes absolutely no business sense. The only people dumb enough to agree to this ridiculous offer are people too poor to come up the money up-front, (and let's face it, we aren't talking about a lot of money here), and people that can't do basic math to realize how much they are being screwed. Good luck tracking these people down when they cancel their subscription, Microsoft is going to end up spending more on collections agencies to recoup a small fraction of that termination fee.

Secondly, subsidizing smartphones does not lead to better hardware at more affordable rates, it only leads to overpriced hardware. Most smartphones bought without a contract cost more than the priciest tablet. You can't honestly say those prices are fair market value.

And the third reason this is a terrible business decision is the simple fact that few people will be dumb enough to agree to such ridiculous terms. It will do nothing but add negative attention for Microsoft and Sony could easily capitalize.

The only good I can see coming from this is that gamers will choose to build a PC for their gaming needs instead. The games are cheaper, the graphics are better, and you don't have to wait 3 or 4 years for the next upgrade.

 

[deadlockedworld]

[citation][nom]aaron88_7[/nom]This makes absolutely no business sense. The only people dumb enough to agree to this ridiculous offer are people too poor to come up the money up-front, (and let's face it, we aren't talking about a lot of money here), and people that can't do basic math to realize how much they are being screwed. Good luck tracking these people down when they cancel their subscription, Microsoft is going to end up spending more on collections agencies to recoup a small fraction of that termination fee.Secondly, subsidizing smartphones does not lead to better hardware at more affordable rates, it only leads to overpriced hardware. Most smartphones bought without a contract cost more than the priciest tablet. You can't honestly say those prices are fair market value.And the third reason this is a terrible business decision is the simple fact that few people will be dumb enough to agree to such ridiculous terms. It will do nothing but add negative attention for Microsoft and Sony could easily capitalize. The only good I can see coming from this is that gamers will choose to build a PC for their gaming needs instead. The games are cheaper, the graphics are better, and you don't have to wait 3 or 4 years for the next upgrade.[/citation]

Mostly wrong here. The average consumers is happy to buy devices with low staring costs and high long term costs. Do you really think people would buy $500-600 cell phones up front? No way.

Of course the average person SHOULD be this smart. But they are not.

I agree that the cancellation fee is difficult. It probably wont be worth it for them to collect - instead they can just ding the users credit score. Typically that happens after more than a year of service, so they really arent missing out on that much.

 

[Achoo22]

[citation][nom]Johmama[/nom]How are they going to charge you if you cancel your subscription?A while back, I had auto-renew on my Live, and they required a phone call to change it from that, which was REALLY annoying. I spent months being mad that I had to call them to cancel it, but not really doing anything about it. Then I lost the credit card that was tied to my Live account and needless to say, I canceled the card. Fast-forward to when my Live subscription was up, it said it couldn't charge my card and asked for another way to pay.So my question is: if I buy this subsidized deal and cancel the card attached to my Live account, how will they charge me a) the remaining months of Live and b) an early cancellation fee.I'm sure Microsoft has already thought of this, God forbid they overlook some way to get their money; I'm just wondering how they do it now.[/citation]

They will turn your information over to a collection agency, which in their case would be a subsidiary. The agency would track you down using whatever means they could come up with in an attempt to recover funds. Eventually, they'd give up and file a report with the credit bureau, and you'd have a mark on your report that would be visible to creditors, potential employers, and perhaps your general peers.

 

[g-unit1111]

Two year contract required to play video games?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg2u_De8j5o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDr0mPuyQc

I'll hang onto my Steam account thanks.

 

[cats_Paw]

Im guessing they want to clean up stock before xbox720 shows up.
Oh and btw, more "deals" means company has trouble to sell, and needs new, more interesting offers, not that things "are going well" for the company (basic marketing notions).

 

[rebel1280]

sucks, my brothers just RROD couple days ago (old style box) just gonna fix it and move on, no sense in buying new when 720 around the bend. Might do this for the 720 as if pricing is similar though, cant see myself spending $600 on a new xbox

 

[willard]

[citation][nom]madjimms[/nom]$359.76 JUST for 2 years of gold? I could just buy a normal 250GB xbox & save money....Oh & I didn't include the $99 in my calculation of $14.99*24.[/citation]
[citation][nom]badaxe2[/nom]14.99/month for two years huh...that adds up to...a mere $359.76. Great value!Yet millions still keep falling for Microsoft's bs.[/citation]
Let's do some math.

The 4GB XBOX with Kinect costs $249.99 retail. Two years of XBOX Live Gold at the cheapest rate is $59.99 per year, or $119.98. Add it up and the total cost is $369.97. The subsidized XBOX is $99.99 up front, and $14.99 x 24 or $459.75.

Yeah, They're getting ripped off SO hard, out of a whopping $3.74 per month.

We get it. It's a little cheaper (less than the cost of a couple used games) to pay up front. It's not a huge difference, and this is a good deal for a large number of people who can't afford $300 out of pocket for the console and a year's subscription to XBOX Live. In fact, it takes nineteen months for the cost of the subsidized XBOX to catch up to paying out of pocket.