Microsoft is expanding the reach of their new subscription-based payment model for the Xbox 360, now making it available through Gamestop and Best Buy stores.
The plan, which until now has only been available until at Microsoft Stores, allows consumers to pick up a 4GB Xbox 360 w/ Kinect for $99, plus a $15/month subscription to Xbox Live. The subscription fee includes an Xbox Live gold account membership.
The expansion is still part of the subscription model's "pilot plan", according to Microsoft.
Buying the console using the subscription model will cost more than buying a similar model console and a 2-year Xbox Live gold subscription, but the model will make the console more affordable for some. More importantly, one has to wonder whether trying this with the Xbox 360 is simply a test run for the next Xbox, a.k.a. "Durango".
[Via Major Nelson]
