Future Xbox Live pricing announced!!! (1 Viewer)

[Paul_Fisher]

The pricing for Xbox Live has been announced. For previous subscribers, $49.95/year, or $5.95/month. Read the article here.

 

[Dean Cooper]

Well that is a pleasant surprise. Good move for MS to keep the price down.

 

[Lee L]

Excellent.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

While $69.95 for a starter kit is a bit much, I think the idea of a monthly charge for those who want to try it out but not necessarily fully commit is a good idea. Also, the idea of games with free subscriptions for a limited time is a good one. But does that mean you can go online with only that game for that period of time, or that you need to have XBL and a copy of the game for the free trial (suggesting that the game normally has an additional fee)?

 

[CaptDS9E]

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTT

capt

 

[Jeff Peake]

Sweet, I am in for life i guess

 

[Adam Tyner]

Also, from http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/000660.html :

Xbox Live Voice Communicator
$29.99

Xbox Live Starter Kit
$69.99

A two-month free trial will also be widely available this fall.

For those without a credit card, apparently subscription cards can be purchased at retailers.

 

[CaptDS9E]

Looks like they have listend to what people wanted. Now everyone who was on the bubble to get XB and Live pick one up and get the $50 live starter while you can

 

[CaptDS9E]

Guys also check out IGN.com's interview below about other stuff coming to live towards years and and beyond. Very intresting stuff

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/401/401462p1.html

 

[BrianB]

"Voice is not a mandatory part of Xbox Live."

Interesting...

And Morgan, the idea of the free trial with games is that you do NOT need XBL - you get to try that particular game online for free without already having purchased XBL.

 

[Dave Bennett]

Good pricing scheme. If there's enough games that I'm interested in I'll renew.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

And Morgan, the idea of the free trial with games is that you do NOT need XBL - you get to try that particular game online for free without already having purchased XBL

I realized this after reading the IGN thing.

Overall, sounds like MS is really doing what the fans want. If only they started giving X-Boxes out for free...

 

[Graeme Clark]

Big props to Microsoft for giving us gamers CHOICES!! I'm very impressed with the options available here, and am glad they didn't just say "Here's how it's going to be". As I thought, MS realized that an announcement that doesn't give people what they want, would mean trouble for the service. The yearly price is exactly what most of us wanted, and the monthly price is actually pretty good anyway (it's not $10).

The free trial with certain games is also a great new idea. It actually give some validity to having the ethernet port built into the system (instead of now which requires a start up kit, which costs more than Sony's Adapter). It'll of course also be a great tool for bringing more customers to the service.

Now.... since they're going to be selling spare headsets, I think it would be nice to let the guests have a voice.

While $69.95 for a starter kit is a bit much

It's not bad when you consider that they were giving us the communicator for free, and it will be packed in with a free $20 game (Tetris).

 

[Dan B]

Plus, you can buy one now for much less...

 

[Jeff_S]

Only $49.99 a year (or $5.99 a month)?!

How will Bill Gates afford to support his family?

 

[Dan B]

Yeah, it's $29.99. (according to an above post)

I've heard of more than a few people breaking theirs already. :frowning:

 

[Graeme Clark]

I broke mine. Fortunately I was able to swap it with one that was returned with a faulty module.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Great News What I was hoping for... I'll be renewing in Sept. I think I'll still be playing Wolfenstein by then...

 

[JayV]

I wonder if you can buy a new headset separate.

My dog ate mine when her naughtiness level was much higher.

I made my own for about $4. Works great. I also picked up a MadCatz replacement headset for Live for $4.99 at Best Buy (I can't find a link or picture; sorry).

You can also try these guys, called XLiveChat. They have a couple different products, but it looks like their headset is more expensive than MadCatz.

-j

 

[Lee L]

ALso, just about any cell phone headset will work, most of them have small plug required,