Back in November 2010, Microsoft rolled out a great service to families with numerous gamers within the household called the Xbox Gold Family Pack. The deal was actually really sweet, you get four Xbox Live memberships for $100 (a savings of $100). This was great for families and friends who pitched in together to get a cheaper subscription to Xbox Live.
Today it was announced by Microsoft that the plan is no longer available. Read on for the official statement from a Xbox representative.
“The Family Gold offer is no longer available for purchase,” a Microsoft representative states. “The Family Center experience with settings management, allowance granting, child activity reports and family subscriptions management are still available for current Family Gold members at this time. We continually evaluate our business focus and work to offer services that make the most sense for our customers and Xbox.”
It’s been stated by various people who use this plan that when they contacted Microsoft support, they were told that, “if you are a current subscriber and you have auto-renew set to on with a valid payment source, it will renew at the family plan rate.”
How long that will last is anyone’s guess, but hopefully they have something better else in the works that will be similar. My guess is that it has something to do with the pending announcement of the NextXbox and how its’ subscription will work out. But again, this is only speculation on my end.
I’m hoping that something similar gets announced soon or at least that mine doesn’t get discontinued as I have this plan for myself, my wife, and my daughter. Anyone else affected by this? If so, what are your thoughts?