Well it is a negative, though not in the way people here are saying.

It's a negative for MS because they find themselves in a position of at least perceiving the need to give stuff away to try to attract more sales. If Xb one was strongly competing in pre-orders this give away would not be happening, neither would free Xbox Fitness or Free Fifa. These things are all signs of a product not meeting targets, not by a small gap but by a fairly substantial margin. Funny thing is I think the only people likely to be disappointed in Xb one launch sales is Microsoft.

As to Skype itself, I don't know where the Skype hate is coming from, we've made lots of good use of it over the years. I've certainly never regretted getting it. Though I never saw a need to get premium for video conferencing, audio conferencing is enough for me.

Text Messaging on Xbox One is a feature of Xbox LIVE, as it has been since forever.  Although under Xbox LIVE with the Xbox it required a paid subscription.  With Xbox 360 it is available with a Free account.  Via the Web a feature of Xbox LIVE Gold.

Text Chatting is a feature of Xbox LIVE Gold, as it was with the Xbox 360.

Skype Voice and Video chatting is a feature of Xbox LIVE Gold, as these features were with the Xbox 360.  Under the Xbox One, Skype gains the ability to video conference with up to 3 people (four total). 

Skype Voice and Video calling is a feature of Skype Premium and requires Xbox LIVE Gold and a Skype Premium account.  Skype Premium gives the added benefit of allowing you voice call any mobile or landline phone number.  I suppose if you someone has a video phone that is Skype compatible, you can directly dial that as well.

Since the Skype Premium account is tied to your Skype account, it's usable on any device where Skype is present including Windows, Mac, or Linux computers or any supported mobile phone or tablet.

TL;DR  Skype is a feature of Xbox LIVE Gold with the added benefit of video chatting for up to four people.  Skype Premium has some added benefits. 

Don't know if I agree with this.  I suggested long ago that Microsoft should include Skype Premium with an Xbox LIVE Gold account.  I saw it more as an incentive to use Skype beyond the basic uses.  An "If you got it, flaunt it" type of thing. 

I think an Xbox LIVE Gold sub gives all the major features you'd want with Skype.  The only real significant added feature of Skype Premium on Xbox LIVE is the ability to call landlines.  Though I could have sworn Skype provided you with a landline for a Premium account but I can't find that to be true.

All I can say is hopefully the people who care about it are already subscribed.  As a gamer my cellphone is quite beautiful sitting in my pocket while I game. :)

Same here.

Umm...nice try, but you're wrong.  Keep playing!

Now read this...
http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=5786335

There's alot of crying and whining in this thread from both sides of the fence. I mean who gives a shit about microsoft giving skype 6 months for free ? This thread is mostly trivial.

I use Skype everyday so this is good, but I won't be using group calls. I may use the free minutes though.

it's giving away a 6 month feature that gamers won't really use, it just looks good that Zeus getting 6 months free,

if it was 6 months netflix free them vats different

Well, I didn't know. I just knew I used this feature for quite a few time and then there was a paywall.