Because they, the company, has to cover the cost.  It's never a good idea to borrow money - as it cost more because you have to pay interest on it.  Microsoft has several Olympic Sizes Swimming Pools of money, aka several billion dollars just sitting around.  They basically pay for it for the consumer, and the consumer pays them back with interest.

For the health of Sony I hope they do not borrow money.  It will just hurt them more long term.

Nintendo maybe.

TheBlackNaruto said: At first I was going to jump on the deal because I was like $99 man that is a steal and I could always just get another HD for it. Then I saw the 2 year contract and it turned me away. I will have to wait until an official price cut comes around before I buy another 360, I sold mine a while back after every kind of stopped playing Gears 1 which sucked. But I want to get another one soon though. But this deal....is kind of a rip off if IMO that is....

Why not get a used one?  It's another $50 or so, but then you could join my buddies and me playing Gears of War!

Where I'm going with this is that this deal has had very little effect on sales despite the mass marketing.

I think for sony and nintedno this may not be an option. With the yen and dollar fluctuating the may get differing amounts each month based on what the yen and dollar did. I am not sure though how it all works out though in the financial world

Unlikely.

well you see it's quite expensive this way

and xbox for 99$ and a XBL contract at 14.99/month

equation: 99.99+14.99(24)=459.75 before tax

whereas a simple xbox 360 250 GB and 2 XBL cards

249.99+59.99(2)=369.97 before tax (not including the chances to get XBL cards on discount)

you essentially end up spending 100 extra dollars for no reason

Zappykins said: TheBlackNaruto said: At first I was going to jump on the deal because I was like $99 man that is a steal and I could always just get another HD for it. Then I saw the 2 year contract and it turned me away. I will have to wait until an official price cut comes around before I buy another 360, I sold mine a while back after every kind of stopped playing Gears 1 which sucked. But I want to get another one soon though. But this deal....is kind of a rip off if IMO that is.... Why not get a used one?  It's another $50 or so, but then you could join my buddies and me playing Gears of War!

Wait Gear of War 1? The original? MAN!!! Finally some people who understand lol!!!

And I was thinking about getting a used one but I have a VERY STRONG feeling the will be slashing the price by $50-$100(depending on the models) VERY SOON. SO Iam just holding out until that price cut so I can buy the system along withw hatever games I might want with no problems at all!

"mass marketing"? Anecdotal at best. I only just yesterday saw my first TV ad for it. And among the retailers that offer the deal, I know it's not advertised in store at Walmart or Best Buy. And on the websites, only Gamestop puts a big emphasis on the deal. TRU shows all systems at normal price and only tells you in fine print at the bottom of the 4GB Kinect/250GB bundles about the promotion. Walmart has a small bundle ad on their 360 systems page but it's in the corner under their huge banner for their own bundles. Best Buy does not even promote it on their website, the only way to find it is to Google. And then it just tells you in stores.

There has been no "mass marketing" of this promotion. I don't think you realize how far back this promotion goes.

And even still, there's no way for anyone to know what effect its having on sales. You can point to lower sales YoY, but logic would tell us that is natural for a console in its 8th year and in a territory where it has a huge advantage in install base. I could counter with the facts that 1. the promotion is still going. If it was having no effect then they wouldn't continue it. And 2. they recently expanded it out into more retailers. Again, something that would be not done had it not been showing some form of impact.

TheBlackNaruto said: Zappykins said: TheBlackNaruto said: At first I was going to jump on the deal because I was like $99 man that is a steal and I could always just get another HD for it. Then I saw the 2 year contract and it turned me away. I will have to wait until an official price cut comes around before I buy another 360, I sold mine a while back after every kind of stopped playing Gears 1 which sucked. But I want to get another one soon though. But this deal....is kind of a rip off if IMO that is.... Why not get a used one?  It's another $50 or so, but then you could join my buddies and me playing Gears of War! Wait Gear of War 1? The original? MAN!!! Finally some people who understand lol!!!   And I was thinking about getting a used one but I have a VERY STRONG feeling the will be slashing the price by $50-$100(depending on the models) VERY SOON. SO Iam just holding out until that price cut so I can buy the system along withw hatever games I might want with no problems at all!

Yup! That's the one,  Gears of War (the original).  My buddy needs to play through as Dominic to get the achievement.  Then we will either move to Gears3 or the new Judgment.

Yes, prices may go down, but in the mean time, fun is to be had, don't wait too long!

The subscription model reeks of scum lol. Xbox live must be special if I'm to be LOCKED into it for 2yrs....

Nothing on there is worth a CONTRACT!