Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Microsoft’s plans for $99 Xbox 360 in Europe cement the Xbox 720’s future as a subscription-based console

Anthony John Agnello
By
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Microsoft is cagey. Cunning. Wily even. Even after 7 years, the company has found ways to keep the Xbox 360 a profitable business, even if its growth has slowed considerably. The average price of an Xbox 360 console is $285. Keeping the price of a machine that is ancient by entertainment industry standards that high is impressive. It’s also, according to some, damaged the console business to an extent that it can’t recover. Microsoft isn’t showing any signs of lowering the price of the Xbox 360 any time soon either. In fact, the price is going up even as it embarks on a campaign to convince consumers that the price has dropped. That campaign is going international as Microsoft brings its $99 Xbox 360 to Europe, signaling a permanent change in how the company does video game business.

Back in May, Microsoft introduced a new payment model for the Xbox 360 through its chain of Microsoft Stores. Like with mobile phones, customers pay just $99 up front for the console, but have to sign a two-year contract to the Xbox Live Gold service with monthly payments of $14.99. That’s $180 per year twice over, and contracts carry a nasty cancellation fee. Weeks after Microsoft started offering this plan at its own stores, retailers Best Buy and GameStop joined in.

Recommended Videos

VG247 reported on Tuesday that Microsoft is now targeting its second biggest continental market and is bringing the $99 Xbox 360 to the UK and other European countries.

Related

“We’ll watch [the $99 Xbox] with interest, then we’ll decide if it makes sense for us to expand more fully in North America, globally or by region,” said Xbox Europe head Chris Lewis, “It’ll be very interesting to see how it works out. We listen to what the consumers are asking for and we experiment with different propositions in different markets. There are certain things we’ve done in Europe over the years, for example; a lot of our soft and hard bundling initiatives have ended up becoming global initiatives based on consumption patterns. The one you describe there, we’ll similarly track and see how that goes down. I think it’ll be very popular.”

“We just want to be where our consumers want us to be,” said Lewis.

The truth is that the $99 Xbox 360 and its attendant subscription package isn’t a new dawn for the Xbox 360 in Europe or the US. This 2012 campaign is merely a test bed for the Xbox 720, a device that is expected to be sold chiefly through subscription-based subsidization with the support of cable companies.

Microsoft, you be sinister.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Anthony John Agnello
Anthony John Agnello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
Microsoft lets Xbox Series S devs increase console’s memory
Xbox Series S placed on a white table with the controller just in front of it

Microsoft is allowing Xbox Series S developers to increase the console's memory, giving them more space to access games and boost the performance of some titles.

The June Game Development Kit (GDK) is Available Now

Read more
Microsoft will no longer offer Xbox 360 games via Games with Gold
Marcus Fenix and other COG members of Gears of War.

Microsoft will discontinue Xbox 360 games from its Games with Gold service starting in October 2022. This news comes by way of an email from Microsoft, which was translated by Twitter user Wario64.

Following the removal of Xbox 360 games from Games with Gold, Microsoft will continue to add Xbox One titles for the foreseeable future. The email from Microsoft explains that the company has reached the limits of adding Xbox 360 games.

Read more
2022’s Xbox and Bethesda Showcase is vital for Microsoft
Senua stares ahead wearing war paint.

On June 12, Microsoft will hold its second annual Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase. Following a series of delays and reports about development issues at Xbox studios, it is shaping up to be one of the most pivotal shows for Xbox ever.
Xbox had a strong showing in 2021 with critically acclaimed games like Forza Horizon 5, Age of Empires IV, and Halo Infinite, but has lost that positive momentum in the first half of this year. As debates rage over just how compelling Xbox’s 2022 lineup is now that Bethesda’s heavy hitters Starfield and Redfall have been delayed until 2023, Microsoft needs to prove why gamers should care about its platforms and services this year, and the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase is the right place to do that.
First-party woes
The back half of 2022 is looking pretty dire for Microsoft in terms of first-party games it's directly developing or publishing. Originally, it seemed like Microsoft was relying on Bethesda to provide it with two blockbuster titles, but that strategy went out the window when those games were delayed. While Microsoft has announced plenty of games since the Xbox Series X's reveal in 2020, none of them are publicly dated to release this year. It's relying on third-party exclusives like Warhammer 40K: Darktide and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, the latter of which could have its release date impacted further by Russia's war on Ukraine.

This isn't a good situation for Xbox, so the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase is the best place for the companies to reassure fans that first-party games are actually coming. So, what could possibly be in store? We know for sure that Redfall, Starfield, and Contraband won't release this year. State of Decay 3 and Perfect Dark also seems unlikely due to the reported development trouble both titles are facing. That said, other Microsoft titles could sneak in a 2022 release. To start, Grounded will likely leave early access this year. 
When you consider that Forza Horizon 5 wasn’t revealed until E3 2021 and managed to be one of the best games of the year, it seems likely, if unconfirmed, that Microsoft will put out the next mainline Forza Motorsport this year. The next entry in the series has been in development at Turn 10 for some time and is rumored to be beta testing.
As for its other first-party studios, it's possible that Senua's Sacrifice: Hellblade 2 or Avowed will actually manage to come out this year and fill the void left by Redfall and Starfield. Age of Empires IV and Deathloop could also strengthen the lineup if ported to Xbox consoles this year.
It's also possible that there are announced first-party games slated for this year, like the rumored non-combat RPG from Obsidian's Josh Sawyer, the leaked remaster of Goldeneye 007, or one of the many Xbox Game Studios Projects that were exposed via the Nvidia GeForce Now Leak last year. Xbox Game Studios Publishing could also help bolster the 2022 lineup if As Dusk Falls launches this year and they release some other unannounced games from second-party partners. If any of those guesses are true, this Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase is the place to confirm it. Microsoft can't afford to wait any longer to show us what's in store from them this year if it has anything at all.
Forza Motorsport - Official Announce Trailer
Other parties
If Microsoft is truly unable to provide that many compelling first-party exclusives this year -- which is a very real possibility -- then it will need to add some extremely noteworthy heavy-hitters to Xbox Game Pass on day one in the back half of 2022. In the 2021 conference, all but two games featured were to be included in Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft needs to repeat that this year, and it would certainly help if many of those games are launching in 2022. Managing to net some of this fall’s big titles like Saints Row, Sonic Frontiers, Gotham Knights, or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to be on the service day one would make the lack of exclusives and first-party games would sting less for Xbox fans.
The worst-case scenario for Microsoft here is having no compelling AAA games launch day one on Xbox Game Pass this fall, first-party or not. It might be able to fall back on Xbox Game Studios Publishing, which has partnered with developers outside of Xbox Game Studios to create Xbox-exclusive titles. If Microsoft is not able to provide anything compelling for this year across the board, 2022 could be one of the most disappointing first-party years for Microsoft since 2017.
Gotham Knights would be a very compelling Xbox Game Pass title in 2022. Image used with permission by copyright holder
Whether it’s with secret first- and second-party exclusives or some compelling Xbox Game Pass deals, this is a very important showcase for Xbox. It has spent years acquiring studios to bolster its exclusive lineup but still doesn’t have much in the way of palpable results to show for it. In a tweet after Redfall and Starfield's delay, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer tweeted "These decisions are hard on teams making the games & our fans. While I fully support giving teams time to release these great games when they are ready, we hear the feedback. Delivering quality & consistency is expected, we will continue to work to better meet those expectations." 
While Microsoft having that mindset in the future is appreciated, it could come at a real cost of there not being that many compelling games on the system this year. And if it’s bad, the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase will leave us questioning if we can ever expect consistent results from Xbox. As such, Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda both need to come out strong during this showcase with lots of games. Not just ones for years to come, but for 2022 as well. 

Read more