If you’re an Xbox Live Gold subscriber living in North America or the United Kingdom, you better renew now because come November 1st subscription prices are going up across the board. For the US in particular, one month subscriptions will increase from $8 to $10, three month subscriptions will increase from $20 to $25, and 12 month subscriptions will increase from $50 to $60. Check this chart for subscription prices in your region.
Coincidentally enough (or maybe not so much now), Kinect launches in November along with the new Kinect video chat service, so perhaps the price jump has something to do with that (there certainly aren’t any other upcoming Xbox Live features I’ve heard about that would justify an added cost). If so, that will certainly suck for Gold subscribers who don’t intend to buy into Kinect and/or Video Kinect, and will thus be paying an extra sum for a service they won’t use.
Before the price hike goes into effect, though, Microsoft is at least offering a discounted subscription rate through October 31st. If you upgrade or renew your Gold subscription before November, you will lock in an extra year for $40 and give yourself time to save up for the $60 charge next year. Lock in your subscription discount here.
Personally, my Gold subscription has been expired since springtime, and I really haven’t missed it at all. I was planning to re-up for Halo: Reach, and still may now that I can do so at the discounted rate. But I’m really only interested in the Reach campaign, so I’m still on the fence. I really don’t do much multiplayer gaming on my 360 with online play being free on every other gaming platform I own…as it should be!
Price change for Xbox LIVE Gold subscription [Major Nelson]
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
That’s insane!
I love my free online play on my ps3. will never ever get a xbox 360 🙁