If you’re a big Microsoft fan — and we mean big — then you’ll definitely be interested in the company’s latest subscription offering. A new promotion Microsoft added to its site Monday allows a person to get one year of Microsoft’s major subscription services for the somewhat-low price of $199. It’s a clear indication of the company’s efforts to push its subscription services as a way to boost the bottom line.
That list of services includes a one-year subscription to Office 365 Home (normally $100 annually), Skype Unlimited World ($14/month), Xbox Live Gold ($60 annually), and Xbox Music Pass ($100 annually). If you do the math, you’ll find that you’d be spending north of $400 to obtain all these services individually. Microsoft’s offer, though expensive on its face, is still around a 50-percent discount for those who really do use all these services.
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Plus if you already subscribe to some of these service and still want to take advantage of Microsoft’s offer, you can. Signing up for the one-year “everything and the kitchen sink” promotion will simply add an extra year onto any existing service you’re signed up for.
The catch? You can’t just plunk down your credit card and sign up for all these services online. You’ll actually have to go in to a Microsoft retail store at some point between now and January 4, 2015 (or while supplies last) to take advantage of the promotion. Retail store? What gives?
It remains to be seen whether Microsoft will keep the Work & Play bundle going past the January expiration date for the promotion. Perhaps it will, if there’s enough interest — and who knows what the price might jump to at that point.
