Let’s face it, these days it costs a lot of money to buy a console. With the mid-generation refreshes costing more than the base units, and eventually with the ninth generation on its way, prices are still going to be quite high to get a new system. I will admit I went through all of this trouble when saving up to buy myself an Xbox One X. Thankfully I was able to earn enough over the course of a few months, plus taking advantage of an Amazon Move promotion to get mine.
But what about those who can’t afford one, as well as the subscriptions to online services such as Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass? Those will also increase the overall price for the system and it builds up rather quickly?
Well it looks like Microsoft is doing something about it. Last week during Gamescom there were rumors about a new service called Xbox All Access that will includes the price of a new Xbox One console with two years of both Xbox Live Gold AND Xbox Game Pass that is paid off over the course of those two months. In ways it is similar to what we see with cell phones.
Though I admit that I will not need this, as I already own an Xbox One X and have a year of Xbox Live Gold already paid for, while I get my Xbox Game Pass usually paid off via Microsoft Rewards, I can see this being beneficial for those who want to get a new Xbox or go all the way up to a top of the line Xbox One X.
The way it works is, for $22/month or $35/months respectively, you can get either an Xbox One S or an Xbox One X with no upfront cost or interest (provided it’s paid within 24 months) and it includes both Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass with the package. The console is not a lease or rent to own and it is yours upon purchase. Of course if it is not paid in full within the 24 month period, interest will be charged.
But if it is paid in full within the 24 month period, I see this actually being a darn good deal. Let’s take this into consideration. I know a lot of people that are able to only pay Xbox Live Gold month by month instead of paying the flat $60 to cover a year, so I’ll use that for my calculations.
Example 1: Xbox One S
A typical 1TB Xbox One S console retails for $300. Paying month by month, Xbox Live Gold costs $240, as does two years of Xbox Game Pass. If you combine all of these together, the total cost comes out to $780. All Access charges $22/month. When paid for the full 24 month period, the total payment comes out to $528. That’s a savings of $252, but for those who want to come after me and say about paying the $60/year normally pay for Xbox Live, you’re still saving $132!
Example 2: Xbox One X
1TB Xbox One X consoles retail for $500. We’ll add the same charges for Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass that were mentioned in Example 1. Thus, the total price for everything comes out to $980 ($860 for those who pay yearly for Gold.) All Access charges $35/month, so in 24 months the total amount comes to $840 which means at the minimum you are saving $20, but at the most, it’s a savings of $140!
[amazon text=If you are now hungry for an Xbox One X, why not grab one from Amazon, which has plenty in stock!&asin=B07DHSRY3W]
Keep in mind that these offers have 0% interest during the 24 month period! But of course when this was announced there were the same old detractors saying the same thing ad nauseam. Microsoft is desperate to sell consoles. They are going to put gamers into debt by doing this. Welfarebox, hurr durr. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Well, for those of you who say this, let me introduce to you to something called the PlayStation Credit Card.
I’m sure most fanboys forget but Sony partnered with Capital One to offer a credit card that gave rewards points to those who purchase on the PlayStation Store as well as discounts for services such as PlayStation Vue and PlayStation Now. However, unlike Xbox All Access, which also includes over 100 games via Game Pass plus four games a month via Games With Gold (a total of 96,) if you finance a PS4 with the PlayStation Card, you are not getting a game with it unless you use it for a console bundle. And even so, you only get 0% APR for the first 6 months. Afterwards, say hello to interest rates!
And of course you can always “rent to own” either console from a store, but once again, expect your prices to go up. Sure you’re paying month by month, and we’ll look at Aaron’s and an example, but for a PlayStation 4 STANDARD edition, you are charged $69.99 per month for 12 months. So when all is said in done, you’re looking at just under $840! They charge $79.99/month for an Xbox One S and an insane $139.99/month for an Xbox One X! So by doing that, in 12 months you are paying $960 or $1680 respectively!
I’ll also bring the PC crowd in this as well because I know how much you all love to talk about how console gamers are “peasants.” I know not many people can flat out afford a Nvidia RTX 2080Ti card, even at its non-Founders Edition price of $999, so I will bring up prices for those who want to lease-to-own a GTX 1080Ti. If you go to Cutting Edge Gamer, a website that offers lease-to-own on graphics cards, they have the EVGA GTX 1080Ti-FTW3 Gaming Edition available for $99.99 a month for 12 months. So in the end, you’re paying $1,200 plus shipping! You may as well just flat out buy a 2080Ti out right, unless you want to lease one of those too. If so, I pray for your wallet.
So please, tell me how Xbox All Access looks like a rip-off compared to this! In fact, this is a surprisingly good deal for those who want to buy a new Xbox. It might not be for me (as I already own one) but I know a lot of people who would easily take advantage of this. If there was only one issue I had with it, it’s that the offer is only available at Microsoft Stores via Dell Preferred Financing. Hopefully this idea becomes successful as I can see it branching out and being beneficial to gamers everywhere.
In conclusion, I don’t understand why people complain about this. They aren’t obligated to finance a console. Microsoft is once again providing OPTIONS, and options in this industry are good. Or at least they should be.
Currently Playing: XCOM 2 Collection (Xbox One X)