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# Are game services just going to become like cable?
- URL: https://www.killscreen.com/drm-just-going-become-cable/
- Published: 2012-05-02T19:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2015-11-17T15:07:53.000Z
- Description: The Verge has an interesting piece up on a revolutionary new subscription-based service for the XBOX soon to be unveiled: Microsoft is planning to launch a $99 Xbox console package with a monthly subscription as early as next week, according to our sources. The software giant will offer the 4GB cons
- Author: Yannick Lejacq
- Tags: News, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-26 09:39

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/84/2584b75d-4bd6-4cce-8259-f1d1c65abbb5/content/images/7mqli.jpg)

*The Verge* has an [interesting piece](http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/2/2993600/99-xbox-360-kinect-subsidized-bundle?ref=killscreen.com) up on a revolutionary new subscription-based service for the XBOX soon to be unveiled:

> Microsoft is planning to launch a $99 Xbox console package with a monthly subscription as early as next week, according to our sources. The software giant will offer the 4GB console with a Kinect sensor at its range of Microsoft Stores in the US, subsidized with a monthly cost of $15\. We’re told that the two-year subscription will provide access to the Xbox Live Gold service and possibly some additional streaming content from cable providers or sports package providers. Customers who sign-up for the deal will also be covered under a two-year warranty.  
>  
> There will be an early termination fee for those wishing to break the contract ahead of its two-year duration, and we understand that Microsoft will position the package as a competitor to Apple TV, Roku, and PlayStation 3\. For those buying the bundle now and getting the cheapest two-year Xbox Live Gold option, that’s about $299.00 + $120 = $420 vs. $459 over a duration of two years. With [E3 2012](http://www.theverge.com/tag/e3-2012?ref=killscreen.com) on the horizon, and Microsoft working on a “[Woodstock” music service](http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/25/2973682/microsoft-xbox-live-music-service-codename-woodstock-e3-2012?ref=killscreen.com) — it’s clear that the company wants to ensure as many people as possible have an Xbox in their living rooms.

This comes just a week after *The Walking Dead* videogame seemed to finally break into an episodic content model more similar to television distribution than that of traditional videogames (*Kotaku* even said that, content-wise, the game is [far better than the TV show](http://kotaku.com/5905847/5-reasons-the-walking-dead-game-is-better-than-the-tv-show?ref=killscreen.com)). Does this mean the AAA game space may slowly trickly over in a subscription-based model like cable? It may finally be a way to curb the steadily rising and [prohibitively expensive pricing](http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/opinion-kohler-video-expensive/?ref=killscreen.com) of games and consoles today.

\[via *[The Verge](http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/2/2993600/99-xbox-360-kinect-subsidized-bundle?ref=killscreen.com)*\]