Xbox 360 Live subscription price cut to under $40

From Punch Jump: "Amazon.com this week discounted Microsoft Corp's Xbox Live subscription for the Xbox 360 to under $40 in the latest wave of video game price cuts."

Hit the link to read on.

[lnfinite]

It's Clearance Time,all Flops must Leave Inventory

[lnfinite]

Do not worry,Pigs dont have Feelings,only Stinky Fur and Snotty Snouts is what they Possess

[theKiller]

the bots love paying for it 50$ a year

[-_-]

[[even amazon doesnt support the xbox 360]]

[ape007]

good step

but 30$ a year would be better

[Anton Chigurh]

you pay more than 40$ to fill your car's tank for one week or less and you can't pay 40$ for a yearly subscription ???

[jmare]

It's the fact that there are other options that are free. That is why most people have a problem paying for Live. It's like buying oxygen instead of just breathing.

[Megatron08]

Well people buy oxgen all the time and if you know of a free way to get a gold membership to XBL we'd all love to hear.

oH and there are something like 12 million people on XBL so obviously very few people have a problem paying for it.

[DiabloRising]

Very few? Nicely done. Good job ignoring the people who play online for free on the PS3 or the PC. Very few indeed.

[jmare]

I guess I must have been referring to all the people with Silver accounts or play online with their PCs or PS3s. I couldn't have been referring to them. And I'm sure you asked all 12 million Gold members whether or not they like having to pay just to play online? People don't like having to pay for food, but they do. And if you want to play online on the 360, you have to.

[rogimusprime]

drop the price 10 bucks after you've grown fat from charging 50 for almost 30 years. And that's only the 1yr subscription right?

you can make the argument that its cheaper than other things we buy, but its still 50 bucks just to connect. You can't get anywhere without gas and you die without food, that's a stupid comparison.

They make $hitloads off of old A$$ content like movies from the 80's and TV shows you can get elsewhere for free. They also have Xbox live arcade....plenty of streams of revenue. They don't need to rape you just to connect and play with friends...especially since that's what their "it's good to play together campaign" is trying to do.

I pay for it, but I enjoy sony's free service better. Who here honestly WANTS to pay for it. I just do it because more of my friends are on it than PS3...I suspect others do as well.

Did they drop the price of the 1 month and 3 months subscriptions, or do they just want you to bite for the whole year?

[Rofflecopter]

i also enjoy sony's service thanks to it being free, but i also pay because of where most of my friends are.. the reason xbl isnt free is because microsoft hosts the servers, whereas on the playstation it is the developers job to do that. therefore, no cost to sony means no cost to us. a cost to microsoft means they overcharge to make a huge profit off of what costs them very little in respect to how much they make off of it.

[Lord Vader]

Lol, good stuff but I paid $39.99 for my 13 month ( yes 13, you get a year + 1 month, very common ) subscription just 4 months ago. Amazon always runs good deals on xbl cards. All you have to do is use Pricegrabber.com or Dealtime.com for best price. I've never paid $50, except my first year when I bought the card with my x360 from Best Buy.

[thewhoopimen]

according to your theory, I would want the PSN's developer servers then... Why would i want to share my game bandwidth playing bad company with ppl playing cod4, halo3, shadowrun, and 30+ other games off of MS's same servers?

[PATthePlague]

why isn't this service free?

[thebudgetgamer]

it would be better if they gave you dedicated servers but you are paying for peer to peer and its just not as good.
feature wise its worth the price its just the server issues that keep me away

[N4Flamers]

if you dont like paying for gas then ride a bike or walk. There are allways options. If you dont like paying for live then dont. I think we all wish it was free. Why do people even argue that but the fact is that it isn't. I dont like paying for cable because I get T.V. for free. Same arguement (I think cable is way overpriced by the way) Still live is cheaper.

[Willio]

1st party games from Sony offers own servers for multiplayer. It does cost Sony to offer free SonyLive.

[HighDefinition]

IMO.

It should be FREE, or max 10 bucks.

Don`t Hate, Debate.

EDit: To those who disagree, PC gaming OFFERS just as MUCH and MORE for FREE.

[ape007]

that what I call WHINING imo

[GameOn]

Cheaper is always nicer, but it is worth the money.

[HighDefinition]

PC gaming and PS3 gaming are FREE and always will be. Especially PC gaming which almost always has MODs, something which XBL doesn`t allow.

So.........

You were saying?

@gameon

"but it is worth the money"

So is PC gaming.

[Close_Second]

...they need to charge 1 XBL subscription per console and not per XBL account. This is the No.1 reason I gave up playing on-line on the 360 as I now have 3 kids old enough to want to play on-line and there is no way I'm paying for XBL x 3.

If Sony did that then it would kill a game like Little Big Planet.

[GameOn]

You can usually have guests play with you on xbox live.
You only need separate accounts if you want to play together in ranked matches.

[DevastationEve]

Close_Second hit it pretty well on the head. I love my x360, but when I see that you have to pay PER account, it can add up. Roommates tell me "so I have to play the game on YOUR account if I want to get online". Yep. It truly sux.

(breath in...breath in)

MICROSOFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!
ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

[OOG]

@HD

Uh.... nothing would satisfy you about the 360 so how about stop being a fanboy and stay in your ps3 articles.

@Close second

Yeah dude I totally see what you mean about having kids etc and having multiple accounts that pretty crappy...they should have some time of family bundle er something for people like you.....but having on live account and being able to go online with multiple profiles would get rid of the whole reason behind having profiles etc because people would stat whore by using multiple profiles in games in order to rank up....which the 1 account at least prevents a bit.....

but I do still understand what you mean.

@HD below....

dude like really if you think your not a fanboy then you are retarded all you do is try to post first in almost every single 360 article and usually have quite the negative mouthful to say.....usually nothing productive tho....so how about keeping to the stuff you like instead just infecting this site with your fanboyism.

[HighDefinition]

Funny Ive already owned a 360 and I`m buying another when the PRO is $199.

So, think what you must.

Edit: Like I said, think what you must

[thor]

My household has 3 PSN accounts. That would cost a LOT per year on live. It's all very well having an online system with achievements/friends but if you then have to share that account (or pay for a new one) those features are either downgraded or expensive.

[beans]

That wouldn't make since to allow you to open 3 totally seperate accounts although it would be nice. We share one account at my house and friends list but all have different screen names to play each of our game saves seperatly.

This is a good deal as far as I'm concerned and as long as I don't mind paying I see nothing wrong with this discounted price. Now I just need to get each of my little ones an arcade this holiday so they can start there own live accounts.

[joeynox]

pc gaming offers too many problems, system spec/lag, viruses, anything. Im a pc gamer also but a network like live andpsn is much better than open pc gaming because on a pc thers no standard. Also $40 - $50 for live is worth it and And Ive been paying for it Since day 1 launch.If psn was $50 id pay for it aswell. If you cant afford it recycle some soda cans :)

[Megatron08]

Well MS is adding a ton of new features to the dashboard. Maybe one will address the issue about not allowing to use more then on profile on an account

[beans]

I'm sorry guys but it just wouldn't make since to allow you to have 3 or 4 gamertags on one console with separate friends lists for 40 or 50 bucks unless you couldn't transfer the account. That would be a steal if you set up a bunch of accounts and then transferred them to other 360's with out paying for them.

[Megatron08]

Bean it wouldnt be that hard to do they could simple link the account or something. So like you sign in to 1 account then from then there you could pick a profile that is on that account

[beans]

Yeah I guess anything is possible and we will just have to wait and see.

[MaximusPrime]

Free is better.

*back to playing Burnout Paradise online on my PS3 *

[lnfinite]

Poor Xbots,still being Charged for something that is Free to Everyone Else

[StrikingDmc4]

to play better online unlike the firmware 2.4 shenanigans that Sony did rofl

[Freezingduck]

typical

[-_-]

[[i wonder if they will bring down the console price to under $40 as well]]

[lnfinite]

Let us Applaud Amazon for Making the Right Decision in Dropping Support for the Xbox Brand

[---------Nona-------]

Only losers would pay for online gaming

[militant07]

only cheapes wouldnt pay to get the best

Droid cheap they want everything free even if its become worse

[silverchode]

learn to write better, and using words like droids or bots make YOU sound stupid.

[Raoh]

is that a price cut?

or an amazon sale?

the title and wording is misleading if this only a temporary amazon sale.

[WAR_MACHINE77]

its an amazon sale not a price cut.

[---------Nona-------]

Come to think of it,WOW,the xbox 360 is still the most expensive current gen console out there!

[Drealmcc0y]

I have both a PS3 and a 360
I think Live is overpriced, and it sucks that im paying money for online, but at the end of the day Live is a better service than PSN

[Crazyglues]

Of course it's suppose to be better it cost money...

PSN is free so by default how can it be bad, it's free... LoL

That's like getting a car for free and being mad it doesn't have leather seats...

And then paying for a car with Leather seats and saying see mine is better because I paid extra for leather seats... uh..? ....lol

-Of course it should be better if you have to pay for it...

It just makes no sense... you can't even compare a free service to a pay for it one... because the free one is free!!! ...LoL

Here is a better example:

I give you a PS3 game for free and your friend pays for his copy, he goes home and says the game is not worth the money... so I can see why he is upset.

-but you got the game for free, so even if the game sucks how can you be mad.. it's free, what do you really expect for free..LoL

Now PSN is free and it's actually pretty good, and that's amazing especially since it's free..

[---------Nona-------]

^ I'd like to have some of what you've been drinking,preferably Chilled

[Drealmcc0y]

right..... online is microsofts speciality. They've been doing this $hit since the original xbox. they know what they are doing when it comes to online. Get over it fanboy

[Sergeant Osiris]

RROD has been a MS specialty since the very beginning, nobody knows how to make a defective console better than MS. get over it fanboy.

[ambientFLIER]

Actually, the original xbox was rock solid. I'm willing to bet the next xbox surely will be as well, after all this crap.

[Shane Kim]

It better be or else I'll be fired.

[random6789012345]

man that must suck haven to pay to go online and for batteries or that pack deffinelty glad i dont have to

[Drealmcc0y]

Batterys are worse than paying for online IMO.
i have to pay for bluddy batteries once every two weeks, its starting to take the pi$$

edit: too true, dirtrider. they spent 100's of dollars if not 1000's on gaming, console, games, HDTV's, but they suddenly become dirt poor when it comes to paying 5 bucks a month for online, for the best online service on consoles

[dirtrider]

yall nit pick over anything that costs a penny so i wonder.....how many ps3 users have hd-t.v.'s and how many actually bought hd cables. ps3 users are so cheap i bet you guys cut open a tube of tooth paste to get that "one more use" before you throw it away.

[GameOn]

Re-charge them man. It's better for the environment.

[TheColbertinator]

@Gameon

I agree.It is good for the economy.

[jcfilth]

"..they suddenly become dirt poor when it comes to paying 5 bucks a month for online, for the best online service on consoles"

The best online services? why? because Microsoft says so? get serious, go play online on your 360 then change to the PS3, you won't see any difference. What is it that makes Live "the best online service"? come on people plz stop being dumb. As for the $5 a month..why? why do I have to pay? I could also throw $5 a month out the window every month but why?? seriously you people are dumb. I bet that if SONY suddently started charging for online and the PS3s started breaking, many 360 players would start buying them.

[ambientFLIER]

"man that must suck haven to pay to go online and for batteries or that pack deffinelty glad i dont have to"

- So your internet is free???

"i have to pay for bluddy batteries once every two weeks, its starting to take the pi$$"

- It's called rechargeable batteries for $5, you idiot.

Live is the best because it has more of everything: demos, arcade games, options, friends lists, etc etc. Everything is designed to work perfectly with the whole system. More than worth $5 a month.

[random6789012345]

wow fack you ya it is free in my apartment its called wireless you retard oh and guess what it has bulit in wireless 5 bucks is 5 bucks more i have to pay and i can charge while i play so does all a favor and kill urself perferably with ur xbox Live is the best because it has more of everything: demos, arcade games, options, friends lists, etc etc. Everything is designed to work perfectly with the whole system. More than worth $5 a month. haha you fackin idot psn has all those things and more lag free see this is why parents should beat kids so they dont be mouthy and retards like you

[DevastationEve]

I think it's doing its job: keep the low IQ people away from the real gamers...and sharp objects.

[GameOn]

Half of them are on my ignore list.

[chanto23]

it shouldn't cost more than 20$ a year IMO...but a price cut is a price cut.
Plus coming from M$ this means even MORE :)

[GameOn]

Lets hope they spread the love to other regions. Especially the UK where a 12 month card is just under £35 on Amazon.

[---------Nona-------]

Since this news is Zzz worthy and means nothing to smart gamers,did anyone else hear about the 3 headed baby that was born in kuala lumpur(sp?)?

Crazy stuff

[jmare]

The biggest problem with live is paying to play online. If you could play online for free and all the other stuff was premium, nobody would have a problem with paying for extra stuff. Also, if you could play online for free, there would be a lot fewer Gold accounts. Besides, this is Amazon, not MS, so it's not really a price cut; it's just a deal from Amazon.

[DevastationEve]

It's one of the biggest gripes. But look at it this way: season premiere of Dexter is a week from tomorrow. But you need Showtime in order to see it, right? If you think Showtime is luxury, then you won't pay for it. Well, same thing goes for gaming. And gaming is worse, since it's arguably an already expensive hobby as it is.

[jmare]

The point is you don't have to pay to play online elsewhere, only to play on Live.

[kewlkat007]

And that's just to play *1 game on top of your Internet bill.

Now you pay for XBL to play "every game" that takes advantage of the network.

Should Blizzard cut it's WOW players some slack, since there are Free MMORPG's out there, When the business model was to charge and be profitable?

Hey Free is Great but MS's service is no different then many others "Pay to View/Play" services out there.

The fact that XBL membership grows just tells you a lot about the service. Some will never be able to afford it, I know that but that goes with many products and services that is not within grasp of certain demographics.

[N4Flamers]

dont get me started you have to pay extra to play mmo's on 360 also. Ever play fantasy star or FFXI, extra charge from the company to play online. Thats why i was glad fantasy star had a single player campaigne. I get your point though.

[Exorgasm]

There could be a story about how the xbox 360 cured cancer,AIDS, solved world hunger and payed off the US national debt and PS3 fanatics would be here reaching for things to slander it for.

[jmare]

And vice versa.

EDIT: Eveyone that disagreed is a liar. Everyone knows that: "There could be a story about how the Xbox 360(Playstation 3) cured cancer,AIDS, solved world hunger and payed off the US national debt and PS3(Xbox 360) fanatics would be here reaching for things to slander it for."

You can interchange the names and it all comes out the same.

[Exorgasm]

I didn't disagree because what you said is true but it wouldn't be as bad and it would be the same 360 fanatics most of the PS3 only fanboys already have on ignore anyway. In a PS3 topic you might have 3 or 4 people trolling in the open zone but in almost every 360 article half the posts are sony trolls dropping in just to tell everyone how much better they are. The sony trolls have a much bigger team with a lot of multiple accounts compared to the same 3-6 360 trolls that pop up regularly.

Someone had posted before that you should have to have a valid gamertag/psn id to post in the comments for a console-specific article and at the time it seemed extreme but at this point I'd welcome it. At least then peoples bias would be based on experience and not on the fact that they only own the "opposing console".

[DevastationEve]

Well...you just may be already set in your decision. But that doesn't change the fact that I have Live. I play on Live. I thrive on Live. I don't have PSN. I don't care for PSN. Anything PSN does not interest me. I do not own a PS3.

So, we are in agreement to disagree. But what does that have to do with this article? Nothing. Amazon prices a discounted XBL subscription. Does it interest you? No, so don't be here to argue with the people that ARE interested. Nothing against you personally, but I don't wander into other peoples churches to diss them about their beliefs. Neither should anyone else, including you.

[jmare]

While we can agree to disagree, I think you are taking it too seriously if you are comparing it to religion. And who says it doesn't interest me? I have considered buying a 360 several times, can you say the same about the PS3? I still believe that Live is a ripoff for charging to play online. If everything else, the movie downloads, netflix, cross game invites, etc was a premium service, I feel that the Gold membership would be a better value. It's ridiculous of MS to have very solid MP games and then charging to play it. It's like going and paying to get into Disneyland, and then paying to go on the rides. Also, if there had been an actual pricecut to Live, it would be another thing to make me consider buying a 360, hence why I am here.

[beans]

That was good one but at Disney you still need to pay for food, drinks,
and souvenirs. I know the whole paying to play online stuff sucks but it's really not that bad and once you use it a lot you really see that you at least got your moneys worth.

[HadeShade]

Its been under $40 in newegg for like the longest time now. Free shipping too.

[J BO]

It is weird that some people disagree for others because they ask for free live!!!

[DevastationEve]

I want free Live. There, I said it. I'm in perfect agreement with every one else here who sees that Live should be free.

Why isn't gas free? Why isn't electricity free? Why do we not only pay for city water, but also BOTTLED water?

[cereal_killa]

ApocalyPS3

Why isn't gas free? Why isn't electricity free? Why do we not only pay for city water, but also BOTTLED water?

Lets not forget that Gas and the Electric company's do the same thing.. They over charge for Greed Gas is a sure thing all over the world when it comes to greed electricity vary s from city to city.

[J BO]

Because psn is free???

[rawd]

Fire floppery saleeee

[peowpeow]

This is only amazon im guessing..

[Raoh]

@ kewlkat007

microsoft is using mmorpg reasoning for charging.. those mmorpgs are private servers and have admin in game constantly.. updates are plentiful and at times large not including expansions..

there should be no reason why i cant play an online only game for free if the developer/publisher intended it to be free..

there is one clear way to prove how full of crap this pay to play is by MS. they tried to impose these fees on windows users.. they had a fit, microsoft said, ok its free..

if its need to be paid for they wouldnt bend..

and since the 360 is considered the best online console, that means LIVE is a must.. that means every 360 has an extra $50 price tag making its retail price a lie.

[juuken]

This should be free.

[militant07]

its OK for me to pay 50$ ( actualy in middel east we pay 70$ "prepaid cards" ) even its continue to be the best online service !

[-LETS-ALL-GET-ON-]

The only reason people pay is because people have a tendency to buy something that they believe is better or is needed to keep something alive. The fact is it isn't.....Xbox Live should be free but will continue to charge people money forever if you keep buying into it. I got money to burn but that does not mean i should go burning it. Microsoft is a money spinning factory, its all about making money to them. With Sony its about the games. why you think they have endless First Party games? Why you think they have Dedicated Servers that offer no extra money to themselves? Why you think they have endless companies work hard at getting good software and good hardware to their customers? You want to know why? Well its all about the simplicity of trying to make everything enjoyable for the gamer. Now what does Microsoft do........Make a money factory online where gamers buy endless pointless virtual data that amount to nothing but money in Microsoft's pocket! Until this service hits rock bottom price or goes free i shall not be buying another yearly subscription again. No need, i can do everything i can on my PS3 that i would do on my Xbox but better and more enjoyable and hardcore at the same time.......

[Sergeant Osiris]

it doesn't matter if LIVE is free with a cherry on top.

THE CONSOLE IS UNRELIABLE AND STILL DYING ON PEOPLE.

[Shane Kim]

Don't forget that people are dying on the console as well.

[meluvulongtime]

XBL Gold membership is a joke to be priced period. Microsoft was pretty smart charging ppl to play online for something that PC gaming has had for free all along. They charge for gamer pics, and themes (occasionally there is free ones, but not many). These things are all free on PSN. I especially like their large selection of card games/arcade games on XBL Arcade...especially when a large portion can be played on PC online for free. Microsoft is really smart targeting the ppl that think just because you pay you're getting a better product. I own all three consoles of this gen and I did try XBL for awhile and am not very impressed. If you really like it, good for you.

[test123123]

Free is the way to go. PC & PS3 are free why not XBOX 360

[Wii60Fan]

Wii is also free online... not that they have much online to begin with...

Signs of desperation from Microsoft me thinks.

[clrlite]

TY SO MUCH I CANT WAIT TO GIVE THEM MY 40 DOLLRZ. Sure, it may not be 50 anymore there. But at least i can still pay 40. SCORE

[Sanzee]

The Xbox Live previous $50.00 price was well worth it too. PlayStation 3 Network users say it should be free. But PSN is free and so NO money gets pumped into it. Xbox Live made 250 million last year so its getting mad upgrades.

Fourty Dollars... even better!

[jcfilth]

"Microsoft in May said that the service, which allows 360 owners to play multiplayer titles, download game titles and view HD TV and movie offerings..."

F*ck that!! I can get all this and more for free on my PS3!!!
It should be free.

Read well that paragraph 360 players, there are people getting the same for free in others consoles...DO SOMETHING!!! YOU CAN STOP MICROSOFT FROM CHARGING TO PLAY!!! GO ON STRIKE. DON'T PLAY ONLINE!!

lol

[GameOn]

I have read that quote 3 times now and I don't understand your point. probably because you haven't given the full quote..

[Final_Rpg]

Would these subscription cards work for Australian 360's?

[Final_Rpg]

Does anyone know if these subscription cards would function for an Australian Xbox 360 live account?

[peowpeow]

Not sure but i do hope so!! Is it just australia that has 1 year xbox live subscriptions for $100?..Where is our pricecuts microsoft!
This is so not fair!
$349 for arcade
$499 for pro
$649 for elite
And ps3 at ebgames is $699
!!!!!!!
Sorry but i am one to complain

[OmegaRed]

Ok let me get this right you don't mind pay 50 bucks annually to play on the best online service compare to that of PSN but wouldn't pay 399 for a the better hardware and free online some of you need your brains cross examined. Sony just went ahead and offered gamers a package deal. It's like a Honda Civic vs Ford Mustang and gas is @ 3.99 consistantly for a year which one is going you more bang 4 your bucks Instead of MS offering a package deal all their add-ons are sold seperately and for the batteries get rechargable or Xbox charge kit I think no I know you'll just end up spending more $$$ on 360 than PS3 and for HDTV you will need one if you are to reap the benifits for both systems.

[hotrider12]

why even bother, 40.00 is not enough for xboxlive, 20.00 yes watching classic tv or movies is still not a reason to buy a 360. with a ps3 psn is free like all said. and pc games on the net is free, far as movies concern we all can go to www.watch-movies.net to see free CURRENT movies so whats the point??

[VMAN_01]

The reason I see is that if your already playing PC games online for free why should you pay for consoles I mean I already pay $80AUD a month for ADSL 2+ so I am not going to pay anymore for using my internet to play online on consoles, I am verry happy with my purchase of a PS3.

[juuken1]

NOT ENOUGH IT SHOULD BE FREE!!!!!!!!!!! JUST LIKE DOUBLE CHEESE BURGER MEALS SHOULD BE FREE FOR ME STOOOPID XBOXS!!!!!!!!

[badkolo]

ms is limited themselves and they know it, if live was free the amount of live users would quadruple over night and they would be able to brag to no end, but instead they still want to charge for online play, that all we pay for, p2p online play.

cause you get that and everything else for free on ps3 even though its not up to par with live it still has free online, the one thing we pay for.

demos are free on ps3 and so is everything else.

[devilhunterx]

They should have increased the price to $100. Cause its worth it!

[Pika-pie]

Any £ or $ is one £ or $ to much.. Especially when you have no content sharing.. Look at LBP, MS would never alow that on the XBLA due to there iron fist policies..

Will be sticking with my silver membership

[GameOn]

Halos' Forge says otherwise.

[MADTHEO 1994]

oh yeah we are losers but we don't wait 20 minutes to download a game update

[xg-ei8ht]

Slash those prices M$, they are sh^tting a brick.

THE PS3 TRAIN is in town.

[Solid_Snake666]

but but but PSN isnt a threat to Live? lol feeling the pressure arnt we M$

[J5ONFIELD]

I would prob choose the ps3 now that some games are finally coming out for it. Prob is the xbox360 allows me to burn backups and try out crap games before buying. Ps3 still wont do that. Paying for online play is b*llsh*t and anyone paying for tvshows/movies on live is retarded.

You ppl are really pathetic with all this fanboy non-sense.

[J5ONFIELD]

I got my 13month for "$32 shipped" months ago with buy.com $10 GC discount. Hard to complain but being from xlink-kai I want it free again.