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Tiered pricing coming to Xbox Live?

by on20 October 2009

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Some analysts think that is the future

It seems that some analysts think that Microsoft might move to a tiered pricing model for Xbox Live in the future as the service grows. Of course, no one is officially commenting that this will be the case, but no one wants to give anything away for free and the possibility of multiple price points for different levels of service are certainly an option that the company is likely exploring.

Multi-tiered pricing is something akin to what we see on current cable and satellite packages as an option. Some believe that the addition of features such as those contained in the upcoming update like Twitter, Facebook, and Last.Fm redefine the landscape of Xbox Live into something more than just a gaming service and, naturally, these features could eventually demand a high price to be paid for access to them by subscribers.

The thought is that Microsoft could likely build another tier above the current Gold level that would be higher priced and offer additional features, content and access. Maybe an event in this tier would offer discounts for downloadable content, for example, and additional multiplayer features that are only available to subscribers at this tier of membership.

It is well known that Microsoft is making a profit from the Xbox Live service and this does not sit well with some publishers who also feel that they should be sharing in some of this revenue generated by those that are playing their titles over the service. While we don’t believe that developers will start charging their own access fee for online play, it is certainly possible with some of the MMO titles that are said to be in development for the platform.

While Xbox Live is clearly the favorite in the console online service game, Microsoft has been quietly making changes to the cost structure. For example, the latest change saw the company move away from the 12-month plus 1 free month pre-pay cards at retail to simply a 12-month card with no additional free month.

We are doubtful that the company will make any far reaching changes quickly. Instead, the company will continue to wait till the subscriber base grows to the point where they can make the changes without the threat of losing users. Tiered pricing is likely in the future, but with many already paying $100+ for their cable or satellite bill, the introduction of a higher price for Xbox Live services premium might leave a good number of gamers on the sidelines.

Last modified on 20 October 2009
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