Microsoft ends $99 Xbox 360 console deal, "intended as pilot experiment"

Xbox 360 consoles with Kinect could be yours for just $99 when bought with a two-year Xbox Live subscription, but that was before Microsoft quietly killed off the incentive, stating it was a "pilot experiment," and nothing more. The 'pilot' lasted around two years.

It follows Microsoft's Albert Penello debunking claims that Xbox One pads aren't compatible with PC because the company wanted to introduce a new PC-only pad.

A report by the Wall Street Journal states that Microsoft's deal was actually nuked last year without any fanfare.

The offer was never released outside North America. Microsoft spokesperson David Dennis told the site, "This program was intended to be a pilot experiment from the start, and Microsoft routinely adjusts the mix of offers available to its customers and this change was simply standard business practice."

As Eurogamer notes, the cost of the bundle and the two-year subscription combined would be more than $99 over a period of time.

Might you have been tempted to pick this up, had it launched outside the States?