In life, if something sounds to good to be true…. it usually is. Today however is an exception to the rule as Microsoft has announced a groovy new bundle at its Microsoft Stores where you can pick up an Xbox 360 and a Kinect for $99.00 (here’s the list of stores). There are a few catches but no worries, I have all the details below.
In order to get a 4 GB Xbox 360 with Kinect for $99, you have to go to one of the stores I’ve mentioned above with the offer code 885370366266 (or print out the offer coupon that you can find here) provided you also acquire a two-year subscription for Xbox Live Gold. That will set you back another $14.99 a month.
So although it sounds great on the surface, like a mobile phone contract, in the end you pay $459 once you bake in the Xbox Live Gold services. Still, fact is most people would buy the Xbox Live subscription anyway so being able to grab the console with the Kinect for $99 is very groovy.
The details say you can cancel the subscription at any time during the two years, but you’ll have to pay an early termination fee if you do so – it ranges from $250 to $12 depending on when you cancel. No surprise there.
Great marketing pitch from Xbox. If I were a betting man I’d say Microsoft has something else up their sleeve with the Xbox Live Subscription. Can you say SkyDrive and Office Apps? I’ll bet that soon it will all converge into a single offering that merges the Xbox, PC, Mac and Mobile together for a unified experience.
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Bob Eckert
Considering Microsoft’s resources and size and reach, it is pitiful that they have so few
stores. I mean, really, no store in Super Bowl host city, Indianapolis, IN? Indy is not
a fly-over non-destination metro area any longer. It is ranked as one of the most
prosperous and livable cities in the midwest.
Microsoft has had a mammoth software agreement (no or ultra-low cost software to students, faculty and staff of Indiana University’s 8 campuses) for -many- years. There are Apple or
Apple-centric affiliate stores all over Indiana. Bill Gates came to speak at IU the year of the
-first- such agreement and I believe it was the first that Microsoft had ever done. There is
huge Windows experience, both power-user and power-developer experience at IU.
The terrific president of IU, Michael McRobbie, needs to send an email to Bill.
Steve Krause
I’m thinking Microsoft is still testing out the market to see if the Microsoft stores are going to stick long-term. But I agree — If they are in it for the long-term they need to step up its presence around the country!