(Image source:   Gameaxis )

 

BY LAURA JANVIER


If you’re in the market for an Xbox 360, wait a week before you buy.  But first, read the fine print.   Here’s Cincinnati’s WCPO.

“Starting next week Microsoft will offer an Xbox bundle for $99. The bundle includes an Xbox 360 and a kinect sensor. But, there’s a catch you must sign up for a 15 dollar two-year monthly service package.”

Venture Beat explains customers may not mind paying more in the long run if the start up cost is cheaper.

“To purchase the same Xbox 360 plus Kinect bundle now, you’d have to shell out $299, plus another $120 for a two-year Xbox Live Gold contract, for a total of $420. With the new bundle, you’d be paying $459 over two years — a difference that many consumers likely wouldn’t mind.”  

 

CNN reports many consumers are weighing whether the extra cost will be worth it.

“Whether that extra cost would be worthwhile depends largely on the precise features Microsoft offers for the new monthly subscribers, and how comfortable consumers are with being essentially locked to their game system for a two-year period.”

Platform Nation explains that Microsoft will position the package as a competitor to Apple TV, Roku, and PlayStation 3.

"This $99 Xbox 360 with Kinect bundle could mean a revolution in the living room as long as the support of applications like Netflix, HBO Go, YouTube, SyFy, VEVO, Hulu & MSNBC. Control of what you want to watch in your living room could be at hand for a margin off of the traditional price."