Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Announces Xbox All Access (thurrott.com)
Microsoft today confirmed the rumors: Xbox All Access is a new subscription offering that ties a console to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass for two years. From a report: "For no upfront cost and one low monthly price for 24 months, Xbox All Access gets you a new Xbox One S or Xbox One X, access to more than 100 great games through Xbox Game Pass, and online multiplayer with Xbox Live Gold," Microsoft's Bogdan Bilan explains. "That's more than 100 all-you-can-play games -- including highly-anticipated new Xbox One exclusives the day they're released, plus more games added all the time on the fastest, most reliable gaming network and an Xbox One console." As previously reported, Xbox All Access is available only in the United States and will cost $22 or $35 per month, depending on whether you choose an Xbox One S or Xbox One X console.
You'll own the console at the end.
The subscriptions, if purchased in the largest block available for each, will cost $360 for two years.
- 12 month Xbox Live subscription: $60 x2 = $120
- 6 month Xbox Game Pass subscription: $60 x4 = $240
The Xbox One X costs $488 new right now. This works out to $848, versus an Xbox All Access subscription total of $840.
The Xbox One S costs $257 right now. This works out to $617, versus the All Access total of $528.
That's if you're paying all up front for everything, though, which defeats the purpose of this model in the first place.
If you're paying monthly for your subscriptions, you're looking at $10/month each for Live and Game Pass. That's $480 for two years plus the up-front cost of the console.
Obviously paying up-front will cost less, and you can get occasional deals for your 12 month and 6 month subscriptions if you have the up-front cash to go that route. That puts the cost of the Xbox One X a little bit better than All Access, but the Xbox One S is still a deal without any of the hassle. Casual gamers, rejoice.
If you're going month-to-month on this, you're going to get hurt. The All Access with the One X costs $840 (that figure doesn't change, yay easy math!) versus $968 if you buy the console up front and then go monthly for your subscriptions. If you put the console on a credit card and pay the minimum, add your interest costs here. You'll lose $128 and come out with the same amount of ownership at the end.
The month-to-month One S is going to cost $737, costing you an extra $209 over All Access. Again, add interest fees if you buy the console on credit to reduce up-front cost.
So what does this all mean? If you want an Xbox One S, just sign up for All Access. It's cheaper no matter what route you go, as long as you intend to use both subscriptions.If you want the Xbox One X, and have the cash up front, go ahead and buy your setup. You'll save about $50 by getting your subscriptions on sale.
Whatever you do, don't pay monthly for either Live or Game Pass. You're paying AT LEAST double for Live this way. Watch out for Microsoft automatically adding auto-renew to your account for these subscriptions. They'll renew at the monthly rate, not whatever pass you bought.