Living in a multi-Xbox, multi-gamer household can get expensive. Even with a one year LIVE card on sale, gamers can pay from $34.99 to $59.99 per year for the privilege of playing online, streaming NetFlix (if you’re in the US), and getting exclusive Gold Deals of the Week. That’s a pricey endeavour for most, so it’s great to hear that Microsoft is announcing an Xbox LIVE Family pack (thanks 360Junkies).
Here are the details:
Xbox 360 makes family time, quality time. Only Xbox LIVE delivers a world of games, movies, social entertainment and starting this November, live sports, allowing you to share them with the people you care about, around the world.
This November, the new Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack will offer up to four individual Xbox LIVE Gold memberships for only US$99.99 – the price of two regular Xbox LIVE Gold subscriptions. Now as you prepare for the launch of Kinect for Xbox 360, which makes YOU the controller, consider giving your family premium Gold experience and access to the biggest names in entertainment.
Perfect for families, the Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack will also offer access to additional conveniences and services including the new Family Center, accessible on the Xbox dashboard and Xbox.com for easier family management, access to activity monitoring reports, and the ability to purchase and give Microsoft Points to other Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack members.
An Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack includes:
- 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.
The industry-leading, built-in Xbox 360 Family Settings are also being taken to the next level this November. It’s Microsoft’s goal to provide parents and caregivers with tools and resources to manage their children’s gaming and entertainment experiences, and these features are available to all Xbox LIVE members:
- Family Programming that removes all mature games, movies, and content from the dashboard, based on ESRB, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ratings and the TV Parental Guidelines system . Family Programming is password protected, and easy to turn on and off for each member. (Compatible with international ratings systems.)
- Title exceptions – the ability to allow your family members to play specific games above the console’s designated ESRB rating if you deem appropriate. (Compatible with international ratings systems.)
- Intelligent default settings for child, teen, and adult profiles. Xbox will automatically assign default privacy and activity settings for each member that can later be individually customized.
- Family Settings are displayed prominently in the MyXbox channel. Current tools include the Family Timer, which allows you to control the amount of time – either daily or weekly – your children may use the console.
Whether you want to play your favorite games, stream movies and music from Zune, or watch the latest sporting event together via ESPN on Xbox LIVE*, Xbox 360 brings the best family-friendly entertainment straight to your living room.
*ESPN on Xbox available for Xbox LIVE Gold members that are ESPN viewers in supported markets. ESPN on Xbox LIVE, providing great content from ESPN3.com and ESPN.com, is only available to Xbox LIVE Gold members. For access to ESPN3.com content, Gold members must receive theirinternet connection from an affiliated broadband provider. See ESPN3.com for details and providers.
It’s yet to be seen whether this will be restricted to a single Xbox or even a single residence. Gamers could, feasibly, purchase a family plan with friends and reduce the impact of LIVE on their wallets while signing up for exclusive family deals.
Xbox LIVE family plans launch in November, but the exact date is unknown at this time.
There’s a simple way to eliminate the multi-home usage of this package.. Microsoft could compare the subnets of each device, or better yet the routes they take to XBL to determine if devices are indeed sharing the same location. It’s feasible.
How about if they just check the IP addresses used to connect to xbox live
If I had that much family it would rule. But I can’t deny that this is a killer deal.