Microsoft has announced that Xbox Live Gold subscription costs will be increased as of November 1, 2010.
It has been noted that only select countries will be affected by the increase: USA, UK, Mexico and Canada. South Africans currently using Xbox Live typically have either a US or UK account, as there is no local option at the moment. This, however, is set to change in November, when SA will finally be added to the Xbox Live grid.
Unless Microsoft makes it possible for SA users to migrate their Live accounts to SA Xbox Live, it is unlikely that many gamers will switch to the local service, as they would lose their Gamerscore and Xbox Live content.
With that in mind, these are the new UK and US prices, to take affect from November 1.
US pricing
1 month is currently $7.99 (R58), will be $9.99 (R73)
3 months is currently $19.99 (R146), will be $24.99 (R182)
12 months is currently $49.99 (R365), will be $59.99 (R438)
UK pricing
1 month us currenty 4.99GBP, will be 5.99GBP
Further details unavailable at the time of writing
It is not a major increase, but gamers are bound to be irate for a few reasons. Firstly, nothing significant is being added, and many will argue that Microsoft is failing to justify the increase. Secondly, gamers tend to be far more critical of price increases than regular consumers, who accept frequent price increases taking place due to inflation.
A Gold account is required to play a game online over Xbox Live. Sony allows gamers to play online for free, however despite this, research group EEDAR claims that 30% of Xbox 360 gamers have played a game at least 15 times online in the past 3 months, while only 23% of PS3 gamers have done the same.
No details are available regarding local Xbox Live pricing when it launches in November. It is worth noting that it will be possible to purchase a 12 month subscription for the old price just before the new prices kick in.
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