The Subsidized Xbox 360

For $99 you’ll get an Xbox 360 plus the Kinect and an Xbox Live Gold account provided you pay $15 a month for the next two years, as Tom Warren scoops for The Verge.

This seems like a pretty smart move by Microsoft — even though basic math shows that the current full-price Xbox 360 + Xbox Live subscription is a better deal. People are going to look at this and think: “Oh! $99 Xbox 360 plus Kinect! In!”

It’s the phone carrier subsidy model. 

Too bad it’s only in Microsoft Stores. Or maybe that’s part of the point too?