Xbox
Live Price Increase
31/8/2010
Its that time of year again when everything seems to go up in price. Despite not being paid much (if any) more inflation takes over and the cost of living as well as entertainment increases. Microsoft has chosen November 1st to increase the price of its Xbox Live Gold service.
The US has taken a price hike of $2 per month increasing the cost from $7.99 to $9.99 when paying monthly. The Annual cost will now be $59.99.
The UK will have a similar rise in price with the monthly cost going from £4.99 per month to £5.99 per month. What does seem odd is that in the UK, there is no news on an increase for the annual Xbox Live Gold service. By paying for an annual subscription of £39.99 you stand to save £2.65 every month totalling £31.90. I cant see this being the case for long so I imagine that Microsoft is trying to push people into buying the annual subscription and keeping them onboard with the Live service and not to be tempted to move to Sony's Playstation Network.
The
price increase has been justified by Microsoft not on inflation but on
the host of new services that Microsoft provides through its Xbox Live
service. Some of the services do require a separate subscription to
other parties (such as in the case of SKY) but also come at a cost for
Microsoft to distribute through its Xbox Live network.
Currently through your Xbox Live service you can access multiplayer gaming, watch Sky TV, download movies through Netflix, sport with ESPN 3, Use Twitter and Facebook and your own personalised radio station with Last FM. On top of that new services are planned with the inclusion of Microsoft Kinect and the video service that comes with it. Also some of the money is to fund the development on Xbox Live gaming on the Windows 7 phone. Exciting times ahead. A deserved or Justified increase? that's for the users to decide really, but an inevitable one I think. The Silver Service on Xbox Live will continue to be free.
There does seem to be a public call for a new pricing structure. With the basic silver service for free, then a new multiplayer gaming only structure for people who don't use all the extra's except for gaming. And finally the current top service for all of the features old and new that Xbox Live can offer. This would calm the noise that was inevitably coming from the public after a price increase.
Good news to finish, at the time of this article 31/8/10 Amazon is selling the Xbox Live annual subscription card for £32.69. check the top right of this page for the latest price and save money on your Xbox Live subscription.
Compare the prices on the Xbox 360 at
Kelkoo.co.uk
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