Rumor: Microsoft Planning to Launch $99 Xbox Kinect Bundle

A post on the Verge today cites anonymous sources, who reveal that Microsoft may be launching a Xbox/Kinect bundle as early as next week—a package that will then cost another $15 a month for two years of Xbox LIVE Gold and a two-year warranty. In addition, there will be an early termination fee should users want to cut their subscriptions before the two years are up.

The post notes that the package will be touted as a competitor of Roku and Apple TV, machines that are basically stand-alone content delivery boxes. The Verge post also does the math for you, pointing out that buying all of that stuff up front will cost $420 in one shot, while paying the monthly fee will equal out to $459 over two years. Let’s also not forget that in two years, an Xbox 360 may not feel like it’s worth that much money…but all things considered, it’s not too bad a deal.

All of this is pretty unconfirmed at this point, and we’ve heard nothing about this until now. Not only that, it does kind of fit in with Microsoft’s statements that they’re not planning on showing a next-gen Xbox at E3 this summer…so it stands to reason that coming up with an attractive-looking package for their old hardware is certainly a savvy business move.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see if this happens…

Via The Verge