Microsoft is rumored to be utilizing a tiered pricing strategy for the Xbox 720. Earlier reports suggested that the console would cost roughly $500, but the reports also indicated that Microsoft would effectively allow consumers to finance their purchase. It’s rumored that the company will offer the option of purchasing the new console with a $299 upfront cost, and an agreement to subscribe to Xbox Live for two years.
The early report suggested that the cost of Xbox Live in this agreement would go up, and go up significantly. Now it appears that this will go up even further. A rumor that started with technology blogger, Paul Thurrott, explained that customers who opted for the $299.99 route, would pay $10 a month for their Xbox Live subscription over the following two years. Simple arithmetic would say that the console would then end up costing you $540. A near even trade-off, and not a bad option at all.
Today however, Thurrott has back-pedaled on the $10 price. Instead, the blogger says that he was wrong, it would be $15 per month. That would bring the new console up to $660, making the Xbox 720 even more expensive than the exorbitant PS3 at launch. “The $299 version of the Xbox v.Next will come with a $15/mo XBLG subscription, not $10. Sorry about that.”
Of course, these are just rumors for the time being, but could very well be confirmed later this month. Microsoft is set to reveal their next-gen hardware on May 21st at a dedicated Xbox reveal event in Washington.
Published: May 3, 2013 05:00 pm