You won't believe this one - I had a hard time buying it myself. Apparently, Microsoft will sell the 4 GB Xbox 360, complete with Kinect (for all three people who care), for $99 if the customer signs up for two years of Xbox Live at a cost of $15 per month. Do the math, that means a total of $459. Now, how does the same thing cost if bought separately at standard prices? $420. Kinda defeats the point of a bundle, huh?
Pretty funny.
ReplyDeleteAnd did you know that they lost the right to sell Xbox 360s in Germany because of a severe case of patent trolling ? :)
That's not all. It could potentially affect the distribution of Windows 7, Internet Explorer (but who really cares?) and Windows Media Player.
Ok, alright, I'll go sleep already and stop bothering you. x)
No problem. Doesn't surprise me one bit, because I know from experience that Germany is a special case when it comes to intellectual property.
DeleteThe bigger problem is that people are speculating that this will be a trend going into next generation. Imagine a console that you buy and then have to pay subscription fees to use, and your "lease" expires when you stop paying. *shivers*
ReplyDeleteI bought my xbox like 3 years ago, before xbox live prices increased but after the RROD scene. Needless to say its a piece of junk now it wont read discs without me kicking it for like an hour. If i could go back in time i woulda got a wii.
ReplyDeleteWell, Nintendo does have a reputation for making reliable hardware, much more than the other two. Too bad there's not THAT much of a reason to get that hardware beyond first- and second-party titles.
DeleteWell of coarse it's more expensive to do it over time over all, it's always like that for pay-over-time methods of payment.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they failed at math. I know the way they operate, they're well aware they are scamming people.
ReplyDelete