(Image source: Boy Genius Report )

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

Would you pay a video game console bill every month? Sources tell The Verge Microsoft is planning to offer its Xbox 360 console on a two-year contract, like a cell phone.

For $99 up front and $15 per month for two years, you get the 4GB Xbox, Kinect, and a Gold-level subscription to Xbox Live for online multiplayer. the Verge says there might be some extra streaming media content as part of the deal, as well.

That comes out to $459. PC Magazine says it’ll cost you $420 to buy the same package all at once . Is that extra 40 bucks worth it?


“So, the subscription plan will cost a little bit more overall, but comes with much lower upfront costs and may even provide access to more content than Xbox Live Gold offers.”

Subsidizing expensive console hardware is the de facto business model. But as Venture Beat points out, Microsoft has an opportunity to refresh how it sells the Xbox — and it could make some money.

“As the years pass, consoles become cheaper to make, and companies are able to make a profit from the hardware itself. Given that the Xbox 360 is now almost seven years old, Microsoft can afford to be creative with its pricing model.”

And the benefits don’t stop at hardware. Business Insider says hooking players into the Xbox Live ecosystem early could mean more purchases of downloadable content .

“Microsoft takes a cut of each transaction for the digital download, just like Google and Apple. With a high enough volume of transactions, Microsoft will probably end up making way more money off this bundle than selling the typical hardware.”

According to The Verge’s sources, the bundle will only be available at physical Microsoft stores in the U.S. But The Next Web says it might not stay that way for long .

"That said, if this news proves to be true, then there’s no reason why Microsoft wouldn’t consider offering the package elsewhere…either online, or through third-party retailers."

Microsoft has yet to comment, except to say it doesn’t discuss its pricing plans. Sources said the bundle could roll out as early as next week, though, so we might not have long to wait.