Too good to be true?
According to rumors, Microsoft may be ending the requirement that users
must have a Gold Xbox Live subscription to use popular video streaming
apps like Netflix and Hulu.
Citing multiple anonymous sources within Microsoft, tech website Ars Technica writes that "Xbox Live Gold may put other services behind the paywall to make up" for the shift.
There was a time when a Gold subscription was the single best way to
watch Netflix's then relatively-new streaming service on your
television. Previous to Netflix becoming a part of Xbox Live's Gold
tier, for most people, watching Netflix "Watch it Now" meant hooking a
computer to a television, or watching movies on a computer screen.
Both Nintendo and Sony offer these apps with no additional subscription
required. Additionally, a slew of dedicated set-top streaming devices
like the Roku, Apple TV, and now the Amazon Fire TV, offer the same
services at a lower cost. Lower-end Roku models are actually cheaper
than a year's subscription to Xbox Live Gold.
Ars Technica says that "the possible change in policy is directly linked
to a changing of the Xbox guard after Don Mattrick left the company."
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