The article you are currently reading will cost you around $0.00, but in the spirit of inflation, you may have to pay a whopping $10.00 for copy like this in the near future. That is if Microsoft’s decision to raise it’s Xbox Live membership fee has set a new pricing trend. That’s right folks, Microsoft has increased it’s 12 month XBL service fee from $49.99 to $59.99 with additional hikes to the one month and three month plans, now $9.99 and $24.99 respectively. These price changes will effect North America as well as the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico.
The increases are said to be in part due to inflation, as well as the newly added features of the XBL service. Electronic Entertainment Design and Research analyst Jesse Divnich had this to say about the November 1st price change, “When originally launched in 2002, a Gold subscription cost the same as an AAA video game, $49.99. When taking into account for inflation ($50 in 2002 is roughly $60 in 2010) and the additional services available to Gold subscribers in 2010, such as ESPN, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Last.fm and Video Kinect, a $10 price increase still represents an incredible value to consumers”. Never fear loyal XBL account holders, existing customers can “lock in” their current price by renewing before the scheduled change goes into effect. Will you renew?
The community’s response has been understandably negative. Considering the state of the economy, this is a risky move. People are faced with foreclosures, rising gas prices and an ever growing cost of basic living. Video gaming is a passion for some, an occupation for a select few, but for the vast majority it’s just a hobby. In tough times non-necessities are the first things to go and we all know that gaming is an expensive hobby. The flip-side to that coin is the cost to produce the product. The good people at Microsoft are made up of families just like ours, people who are trying to survive while eeking out a bit of entertainment here and there themselves. Sure, the increase could be due to inflation, could be development costs and might just be old fashioned greed. Regardless of the culprit the increase is coming, whether or not it is a mistake on the part of Microsoft is yet to be seen. Thanks for reading, that will be $10.00.
Leave your comments below, give us your thoughts on the price hike and if you intend to renew your XBL subscription.
