Xbox Live Gold Discount Family Pack Unveiled

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Microsoft has unveiled an discount Xbox Live Gold membership subscription for four to solve the apparent problem of families sharing a single Xbox 360 and Live account.

The $99 annual 'Xbox Live Gold Family Pack' subscription offers up to four Gold memberships controlled by a primary account which has the ability to dole out Microsoft Points and monitor activity. "Exclusive family content and discounts" are also promised.

If you're sharing your living space with a few chums and can trust them not to mess with or stiff you, the fact that $99 will usually only buy two Live Gold memberships might give you all a good reason to play mummies and daddies together.

The Family Pack will launch in November, which just so happens to be the month when Microsoft's motion-sensing controller Kinect is due to be released. Microsoft's description of the Family Pack follows below.

  • Up to four individual Xbox LIVE Gold memberships for the price of two - (US) $99.99.
  • Family Center - a single, easy to use, destination for Family Settings and account management, accessible on the Xbox dashboard and on Xbox.com.
  • The primary account member has the ability to purchase and dispense Microsoft Points to other Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack members.
  • Activity monitoring reports viewable on Xbox.com to help encourage discussions about safer more balanced gaming and entertainment habits.
  • Simplified billing that applies all purchase charges to the primary account holder's billing account and the ability to authorize purchases, helping to manage the family's entertainment budget.
  • Exclusive family content and discounts.
From The Chatty
  • reply
    June 22, 2010 7:05 AM

    It's like they know I just bought a 360 and I'm running into this exact problem with all my kids wanting accounts and stuff. This could be handy.

    • reply
      June 22, 2010 7:15 AM

      november is a while off though...

      • reply
        June 22, 2010 7:29 AM

        Yeah, just saw that part. Oh well. It's not like I'm gonna let them play on the 360 anyways. If I let them do that then it means I have to share. Yuck.

    • reply
      June 22, 2010 8:49 AM

      My second Xbox (for the kid) should be arriving today, but this doesn't really help me. I need two for the price of one Xbox Live accounts. :)

      • reply
        June 22, 2010 9:11 AM

        I think I've got it. We need a Steam 4 Pack sale on the Xbox Family Pack.

    • reply
      June 22, 2010 9:12 AM

      Your problem would be solved with a PS3, all accounts to play online are completely free. This is a ripoff and only worth it if you need some specific feature PS3 didn't have, and the only one I can think of is the upcoming ESPN, which looks very cool, but I doubt your kids would ever use. PS3 would save you $100/year.

      • reply
        June 22, 2010 9:55 AM

        So your solution for me to save $100 a year is to spend $300 right now?

      • reply
        June 22, 2010 10:12 AM

        Well he is right about it being a rip-off. Xbox Live should be free by now, I can't think of one thing that makes Xbox Live worth the $50/year.

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