According to The Verge, Microsoft is planning on releasing a new bundle for their Xbox 360 and Kinect products. Specifically, one that costs $99. That sounds pretty sweet. I’d buy one. Slim new 360? This bundle even comes with 2 years of warranty, Gold Member Live access, and a bevy of streaming features. Sound too good to be true?
Mayhaps it is. Depending on your opinion.
Apparently this bundle is going to require a $15 monthly fee. “But Will, I already pay a monthly fee for my Gold Membership! This is a steal!”. Well, sure you do. However, the standard price for a Gold Membership is ~$60 / year. That’s ~$5 a month. One third of what this is bundle is going to cost you. Now yes, Let’s do some math. at $99 up front, and $15 a month for two years, you’re looking at a total of $459 for the bundle. This comes out to about $40 more expensive than buying all the pieces separately. If you’re a stickler for cost efficiency, and have the ~$420 to spend up front, this bundle won’t be doing you any favors. It’s no value meal.
However, $40 over the course of two years really isn’t that bad, and it is a substantially smaller initial investment. If cash is a little tight (or you’re in highschool with no job yet… you bum), this might look significantly more attractive.
How “worth it” this deal appears will depend on who’s doing the looking, and you can’t say that it’s ever bad to have more options. I say: “Way to go Microsoft.”
Original Source: http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/2/2993600/99-xbox-360-kinect-subsidized-bundle
