Microsoft has quietly dropped their offer of a 2 year subscription contract for the Xbox 360.
The idea with the contract was to copy the contracts offered for smartphones like iPhone and Samsung Galaxy Note. Subscribers could get an Xbox 360 with a Kinect for only $ 99. In turn, they would be signed up for Xbox Live Gold for $ 15 per month for the next two years. They had hoped that the same way it did for iPhone sales, customers who previously could not justify buying a console would get one now.
Microsoft spokesman David Dennis has confirmed that they have stopped selling the subscription plan. You can read his full statement below.
This program was intended to be a pilot experiment from the start, and Microsoft routinely adjusts the mix of offers available to its customers and this change was simply standard business practice.
Just last Black Friday last year, Microsoft unveiled an SKU of the redesigned 4GB Xbox 360 for only $ 99 on Walmart, now at a regular price of $ 199.99. While some speculate Microsoft’s experiment has failed, it’s also possible the plan was no longer necessary given the redesign had lowered the console’s price enough. It would be no stretch of the imagination if the redesigned 4GB Xbox 360 would go down to $ 99 again for Black Friday next year, and possibly run into that regular price down the line.
Still, the interesting part is if Microsoft would try doing the same for the Xbox One. While there’s no sign of interest yet, the truth is the console has been selling briskly on its own, competition aside. There’s no rush to try this out yet, but if it works out, even their competitors may want to give the pricing model a try.
