Hope you have some extra cash. Xbox Live is getting slightly more expensive starting November 1st in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The single month charge is increasing to $9.99 from $7.99, three months will cost $24.99 from $19.99 with the yearly plan increasing to $59.99 from $49.99. Why? Microsoft isn’t saying but we have some ideas.
Ever heard of Kinect? Microsoft’s motion tracking controller? Sure you have and it probably just hit you that the add-on is supposed to also launch in November. Microsoft might be trying to slip one past holiday shoppers as Xbox Live cards will likely be bought alongside the Kinect resulting in an easy revenue boost for the company.
Don’t forget about Windows Phone 7, though. The upcoming system integrates nicely with the gaming platform, which means Live will soon span multiple product lines. A simple, and honestly modest, price increase is an easy way to help the bottom line.
There is some silver lining here. To compensate current Live gamers, the One-Year Live subscription price is now only $40 until the November 1st price increase. That’s nice.