Comments on: Why I Support Microsoft’s $99 Xbox 360 (And Why You Should, Too)

By: Mitch

Mitch — Sun, 20 May 2012 22:28:00 +0000

Actually the PS3 can install Netflix, Hulu Plus, NHL Network, MLB Network, Vudu, and CinemaNow, on top of the built-in Sony media services. All of these are handled for free except for the charges from the actual services themselves. For what it’s worth ;-)

By: Momsb

Momsb — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:23:00 +0000

This is just going to be a niche thing. The same people who get a couch from Rent-A-Center and end up paying more than they would have to actually buy a couch will be doing this.
My question is, when they inevitably miss their payments, how is Microsoft going to impound the game consoles?

By: Fool

Fool — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:25:00 +0000

Bollocks!

JSmith

By: Jarell Humphries

Jarell Humphries — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:38:00 +0000

They aim to milk consumers for more money to develop their next system, then charge them a helluva lot of money to transfer their old profiles over (on top of buying a new system)

By: Jarell Humphries

Jarell Humphries — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:36:00 +0000

99 + (15 x 24) = $460

Not quite the bargain…… Then again, neither is buying a New or used one and paying for XBL for years…..

By: lolwut

lolwut — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:31:00 +0000

PS3 + Connectivity + Bluray = $250, XBOX + Connectivity = $460… lulz

By: James

James — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Just buy a samsung bluray dvd player ($70) and free everything except Gaming.

By: OverThePhone

OverThePhone — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000

This is rubbish

By: Damian Barone

Damian Barone — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:06:00 +0000

Spending more money is a the better way. Is this idiot on the microsoft payroll or what?

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:55:00 +0000

I`m saving for when DX12 video cards hit !

By: Glenn

Glenn — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:20:00 +0000

Thanks for telling me how I should think….Appreciate it….

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Sat, 12 May 2012 19:49:00 +0000

But that’s the point. I don’t do online gaming. My xbox(which was a gift) is only used for Netflix and hulu and xfinity on demand. why should I pay for xbox live? I already pay netflix, hulu, and Comcast for their service. Why does Microsoft deserve my money too?

Don’t talk about the money to develop, that’s what the cost of the xbox is for. And there are PLENTY of gamers that use live for its intended purpose (not media streaming) who do and should pay, but not people like me. Don’t pretend that they couldn’t make xbox access Netflix and other services for free without the use of xbox live. my computer and lumia do it every day. They cripple it on purpose to make money. And what about the wii and playstation that also let you access it for free?

Don’t get me wrong, i’m a windows/MS fan. I’m writing this from Win8 Consumer Preview. But in this case, they are complete and total douchebags

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Sat, 12 May 2012 19:44:00 +0000

I don’t know how much clearer I can be about this than I already have been. They are charging you for a service another company is providing!! How is anyone ok with this? Its the exact same thing as you ISP being like, hey, if you want then internet, its $30/month. If you want Netflix too, its $40/month

By: anon

anon — Sat, 12 May 2012 16:43:00 +0000

anyone who even considers spending >$450 on a seven year old console system needs to get their head checked

By: Flaggingisfun

Flaggingisfun — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:37:00 +0000

I forgot something in my last post. also who wants to go to best buy,walmart,gamestop or where ever you buy your xbox from and go through having to give them all kinds of personal info, credit card numbers, and having to sign contracts. they turned buying an xbox into a 2 hour process now. plus its not 99 dolars your gonna have tax and i am sure your gonna have to pay for the first month of live up front so really i mean your up to 114 dollars initial purchess right? i menat for 199 you can just own one out right. and alot of games come with one month of live free. no matter how you do it your gonna be out 200 plus dollars up front why drag it out for 2 years. plus like others have said microsoft is comming out with their new console next year so while i am playing the newest machine your gonna have a year left to pay for your old one. really this is a dumb idea.

By: Flaggingisfun

Flaggingisfun — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:26:00 +0000

The few things i se wrong with this are. 1. what about the people who dont use the online service? Like my self I am not an everyday gamer more like i just pick it up once in awhile when I have time. to push me into a 2 year deal paying for online service every month well I simply woud not buy it then. 2. what if your one of the handful of people who ends up with a run of microsfts crap machines? remeber the red ring of death and machines failing left and right, then what? pay for online while your xbox is being shipped back and forth 3 times. or what if your out of warrenty and have to buy a new one? then what you have a year left one the broke xboxes contract and then you have to start a new two year on the new box? there is many ways this is a bad idea.

PLus what if you sell the xbox? does this do away with used resell of xboxes? They got magor crap when they said they were gonna make the new ones not be able to play used games so is this their answer ? instead make it so the used consoles cant be resold because they are tied to a contract?

By: chplusink

chplusink — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:21:00 +0000

It’s not double pricing, it’s bundling the membership. Plenty of memberships run that way.

By: chplusink

chplusink — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:17:00 +0000

If you view the membership as solely a medium to access these streaming services, they don’t provide anything. However, X-Box live has evolved a significant amount over the years, do you think it is free to develop, run and update the user interface and other services? Where do you think you’re downloading software/games/updates/dlc from some giant magical server that costs no money to operate?

By: chplusink

chplusink — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:02:00 +0000

If the price of membership after 2 years stays at $15/month, I think everyone reasonable would take the single large console price and low membership over the hike in membership pricing. Over the course of two years, the price (taking into account the lowered console price) is $460 for a $400 (including a regular priced membership) console. But every year after that, it’s $120 more ($15/month vs $5/month) for membership. I’ve had my 360 for 6 years now, which means my XBox ownership and membership to-date would have costed me $640 extra, under this pricing method. Even if the membership price returns to $5/month after the 2 year contract, that’s still $60 more. You say, “Good thinking outside the box, Microsoft.” First, it’s not outside the box: as you mentioned, it’s been the way of the smartphone/carrier service for years now. Second, it’s thinking that is in their own interest. I don’t blame Microsoft, the gaming world is changing and they need to maintain profits. However, I blame you for telling others to support this pricier payment method, without giving any actual reason that benefits us.

By: Shuroth

Shuroth — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:26:00 +0000

It’s like a car. You can buy it outright for 12000 but making payments on It cause u have little money and u pay 20000 by the time u are done. Xbox is offering financing for the box.

By: marvel83

marvel83 — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:39:00 +0000

Eventhough i hate the fact they charge to play online, i’m fine with that. That is the service they are providing. Anything not provided by microsoft should be free to use like it is on all the other consoles. They advertise features espn, netflix, hulu, fios tv, etc …..but don’t tell you that you need a gold membership to use them.

By: BlackstarBSP

BlackstarBSP — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:39:00 +0000

Support MS doing this? (No, we shouldn’t). It’s just a tax for people who can’t do math.

Ron, you may be a fan of paying more for the same product, I on the other hand am not. You may think you’re saving a few bucks to get your hand on a (6 year old) console right away, but in the long run after 2 years, you’re paying more for the privilege. This sets a bad habit for people to get into, similar to the trap of mounting revolving credit card debt issues many have these days of buy it now; pay more than you had to for it later.

No thanks.

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:35:00 +0000

i totally get what you are saying, but I would like to make a few points here. The Xbox started off as just a game console but now it is much more than that. If I was paying MS for Xbox live in order to play against other players, then rock out, they should get their money.

But charging me to use netflix because the device is only able to connect to MS’ network is essentially like making them my second ISP provider when I didn’t want or need that service. I have an ISP and it is able to connect to NetFlix just fine without Xbox live, so they should make the apps like that not require Xbox live.

Oh and just FYI, IE is coming to the xbox lol. It was just announced. How much do ya wanna bet that IE won’t run unless you have an xbox live account? :-P

By: wizardoz

wizardoz — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:27:00 +0000

Agree with all above, but… Xbox is not a computer. It is a gaming console that does certain things really well. You don’t have to download software and install Firefox to watch netflix. So you are paying for a service or extra software (netflix/hulu app). This is not double pricing because no other gaming console out there allows you to install “apps” like a computer does (correct me if i’m wrong tho).

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:07:00 +0000

Its a great deal because you end up spending more money?!

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:05:00 +0000

But Microsoft is not providing you with the Internet, nor are they providing you with the Netflix, etc.. access. All they are doing is acting as a middle man by ONLY letting your xbox access the internet to connect to xbobx live and then hop from xbox live to netflix. But since the xbox is already an internet enabled device, you should be able to connect to netflix directly and avoid xbox live altogether.

Another words, they are charging you for a service they are not providing.

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:03:00 +0000

AGREED. Double pricing

By: AmiRami

AmiRami — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000

finally a comment that makes sense. This is not only stupid but dangerous!!! The carrier companies are NOT the type of business model anyone should be emulating, They rape the hell out of their customers and get away with it because we have a lack of options. If everyone goes this way, soon our paychecks will just be forwarded to our 50 – 60 different monthly bills and we will have nothing left!!!!

By: Jordan Dietrich

Jordan Dietrich — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:41:00 +0000

This isn’t a terrible idea, and it works better than cellphone plans for one reason: If I buy a phone at full price, I can’t get a discount on my Verizon service. In other words, I’m paying for the phone subsidy regardless of whether I take advantage of it or not.

In this case, I can either buy the subsidized console and pay for the subsidy in the “data plan” (Xbox Live Gold), or I can buy the console at full price and look elsewhere for discounts on my Live subscription.

It comes down to a matter of how much you want to spend up front. I’d much rather spend less on the subscription (or have the option of cancelling said subscription at any time with no penalties) than spend a little up front and a lot in the long run.

By: The Truth

The Truth — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:28:00 +0000

This is stupid. Pay $99 and $15 per month for gold for 2 years is 360 + 99 = $459. The 360 is $199 and lets say you prepay for 2 years xbox live 199 + 120 = $319. Not to mention that every once in a while Amazon and other retailers offer 12 month prepay live for $30. and you have to pay month to month? Its ridiculous people.

By: Wazup113

Wazup113 — Fri, 11 May 2012 05:43:00 +0000

but Netflix, hulu. fios, etc. aren’t part of Xbox. they simply added that feature so Xbox users could be happy the point is you have to pay to use Microsoft server’s(hich are better then PlayStation) to access them. i do have to agree with advertisment as that should only be with silver membership

By: siddharthbandhu

siddharthbandhu — Fri, 11 May 2012 05:25:00 +0000

Yea, he expects everyone to follow him on his decisions.

By: Peter van Rijswijk

Peter van Rijswijk — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:30:00 +0000

you are paying 40 bucks more than you other wise would if you bought one at current cost + 2 years of gold.That’s a 1.67 p.m. financing cost for lending 360 bucks (he he 360)

By: Peter van Rijswijk

Peter van Rijswijk — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:25:00 +0000

what it will mean is nobody can mod their xbox till the 2 years are past :)
at least not with out breaking the law or a stiff penalty. If your xbox gets banned you still have to pay for it and the suspended gold access unless you pay it off 100%.

By: Palmer Nyako

Palmer Nyako — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:20:00 +0000

lol is this site for 7 year olds?

By: Romix Valeski

Romix Valeski — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:04:00 +0000

The wording on that is confusing, Is the $15 a month the Xbox live gold fee? or is that a fee on top of purchasing xbox live gold, because currently the Xbox live fee is $59 a year but under this model it will be $180

By: Brodolomec

Brodolomec — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:44:00 +0000

Mr. Reisinger you need to STOP telling everybody what we need to do or not do. Give your opinion and let us decide what we should do.

By: DeclineToState

DeclineToState — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:05:00 +0000

printer == cheap
ink == $$$$$$$$$$$$$
$99 Xbox + $ub$cription == printerink
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

By: charlitos

charlitos — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:13:00 +0000

The problem is not the pricing strategy but the fact that they’re trying to push it with an old system that will be upgraded within a year or so. They should have released this new pricing scheme with the new XBOX , THEN that would make sense. Why this is bullshit? Because Microsoft and Sony were supposed to drop the prices on their mega old consoles at some point this year, instead Microsoft decides to work around that overdue discount by providing a financing option instead. Not cool, trying to get customers locked in a 2 year contract pretty much depriving them from upgrading to the new system once released.

By: Connor

Connor — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:46:00 +0000

This is a ripoff because you can buy Xbox live from amazon for one year for 48 dollars. That comes out to four dollars a month instead of a ridiculous 15