( Ars Technica ) -- Buying a home video game console may soon become a lot more like buying a cell phone , according to a new report suggesting Microsoft is planning to offer a subsidized , $ 99 bundle including a 4GB Xbox 360 and Kinect sensor to anyone who commits to two years of a new , $ 15 monthly online service package . According to a report from The Verge , which cites unnamed sources , the new subsidized bundle will be available `` as early as next week '' in Microsoft 's retail stores . The $ 15 monthly subscription would reportedly include all the online game play features of a current Xbox Live Gold subscription , alongside unspecified additional content from cable or live sports video providers . Such a new content plan could help position the Xbox much more directly as a full-service living room entertainment center , rather than primarily as a video game system . That 's a transition Microsoft has been signaling for years with its slow accumulation of online entertainment apps , and one that seems somewhat natural given that entertainment apps are already more popular than online gaming on the Xbox 360 . The report also fits with a recent leak that suggested Microsoft would be rolling out a `` strategy to further monetize ( the ) Xbox subscriber base '' in time for the holiday season . The total two-year cost for the subsidized bundle as described comes in at $ 459 , compared to the $ 418 Microsoft currently charges for a 4GB Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle ( $ 299 ) and two years of Xbox Live Gold ( $ 59/year ) . Whether that extra cost would be worthwhile depends largely on the precise features Microsoft offers for the new monthly subscribers , and how comfortable consumers are with being essentially locked to their game system for a two-year period ( Microsoft would reportedly mimic cell phone providers in charging an early termination fee to those who decide to drop out before the term is up ) . Economical or not , such a move would represent a major change in the way game consoles are presented to consumers . Rather than offering hardware as a loss-leader for the eventual sale of games and accessories , Microsoft would essentially be subsidizing Xbox 360 sales to attract the potentially much more lucrative flow of monthly video subscription revenue . Given the relative sizes of the current markets for console games versus video services , that might not be such a crazy idea . COPYRIGHT 2011 ARSTECHNICA.COM .
Report : Microsoft will offer $ 99 Kinect with $ 15 per month online access fee . The move could establish Microsoft as the leader of living and entertainment . CNN has not reported the report , which comes from The Guardian .