Microsoft to increase Windows 8 upgrade pricing on February 1

[Shawn Knight]

Microsoft has revealed that the upgrade edition of Windows 8 will be receiving a price increase starting February 1. If you’ve been on the fence about upgrading to Microsoft’s latest operating system, it’d be wise to make a decision one way or another before the end of this month in order to save some dough.

The standard edition will be priced at $119.99 at retail and online while an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro will set you back $199.99. We also learned that a Pro Pack will cost $99.99 and the Media Center Pack will sell for $9.99. Users currently running Windows 8 Pro can get the Media Center Pack for free until January 31.

As of writing, Microsoft is offering an online upgrade from Windows 7, Vista and XP to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99 via Windows.com – or about five times cheaper than it will be come February. Identical pricing has been available to those running Windows 8 preview builds as well (Developer Preview, Consumer Preview and Release Preview) but as you may or may not be aware of, licenses for all of those builds expired last week. A retail copy of Windows 8 Pro is also available for a limited time for just $69.99 should you prefer to go that route.

It’s also worth mentioning that consumers who bought an eligible Windows 7 PC between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013 can register for the Windows Upgrade Offer. This promotion brings the price of upgrading to Windows 8 Pro down to just $14.99.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/51386-microsoft-to-increase-windows-8-upgrade-pricing-on-february-1.html

 

[cliffordcooley]

Microsoft must not be making enough money on Windows 8 sales, so they are raising prices to compensate. This makes me laugh so much more than I was already.

 

[Sir Alex Ice]

Gee, like people did not have enough reasons to bash Microsoft and Windows 8. Nobody wants to use that crappy OS.

 

[Duckula22]

Yes, because W8 is doing so well, so by rising prices W8 should sell even more, specially people who have the choice not to upgrade their systems. Of course that's sarcasm, why would anyone want to cripple their W7 systems by upgrading to W8, and now at a higher price tag. If anyone considers upgrading from XP or a Vista machine, perhaps a new PC would make more sense.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

It's reverse psychology, see... if it costs more then it must be better. There's no way an OS that costs $200 to upgrade could be hard to learn and a pain to use with a mouse!

 

[ghasmanjr]

It's reverse psychology, see... if it costs more then it must be better. There's no way an OS that costs $200 to upgrade could be hard to learn and a pain to use with a mouse!

It sounds like Apple's ideology. If Apple took the iPod Touch 4th gen and renamed it the iPod Touch 5th gen and raised the price, people would buy it by the truckload. Wait a sec, that sounds familiar....

 

[ghasmanjr]

Business strategy*** (not ideology)

 

[Burty117]

It's reverse psychology, see... if it costs more then it must be better. There's no way an OS that costs $200 to upgrade could be hard to learn and a pain to use with a mouse!

It sounds like Apple's ideology. If Apple took the iPod Touch 4th gen and renamed it the iPod Touch 5th gen and raised the price, people would buy it by the truckload. Wait a sec, that sounds familiar....

Well Microsoft have been copying Apple as of late, I seriously wouldn't be surprised if they raised the price to sell more xD

 

[ghasmanjr]

It's reverse psychology, see... if it costs more then it must be better. There's no way an OS that costs $200 to upgrade could be hard to learn and a pain to use with a mouse!

It sounds like Apple's ideology. If Apple took the iPod Touch 4th gen and renamed it the iPod Touch 5th gen and raised the price, people would buy it by the truckload. Wait a sec, that sounds familiar....

Well Microsoft have been copying Apple as of late, I seriously wouldn't be surprised if they raised the price to sell more xD

It would be funny if Apple tried to sue Microsoft for using their business strategy of raising prices.

*Sorry for the edits. My research computer doesn't like forums*

 

[mrjgriffin]

Microsoft must not be making enough money on Windows 8 sales, so they are raising prices to compensate. This makes me laugh so much more than I was already.

or theyre hiking up their upgrade prices to encourage people to buy the full OS instead of the upgrade and reformatting their computers like they should when installing a new OS. upgrading is ****ing stupid do a fresh reformat

 

[Vrmithrax]

"Yep, allowing the introductory pricing on our slow selling and often maligned OS to expire will definitely boost its adoption rate! I mean, the best thing you can do when your product's sales are disappointing is to raise the prices to make it even less attractive, right?"

~said no smart marketing person, ever

 

[Guest]

Switch to Linux. Save Money. Be Free. Be Happy.

 

[cliffordcooley]

upgrading is ****ing stupid do a fresh reformat

Which you could do with upgrade media. With upgrade media you are bound to an older license of which you are upgrading, but yet you can perform a clean install.

 

[Guest]

Let's see...

Apple Mountain Lion OS X $19.99 Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. Modern. A single full professional version. Virus-safe and crapware free. Loaded with GREAT software, all most people will ever need. "It just works". Easy upgrade. No driver nonsense.

Microsoft Windows 8 .

I can't seem to find a single page missing from Apple's book. Looks like Microsoft authored this one all by their little selves.

 

[ET3D]

The strange world of internet comments...

Microsoft said from the get go the offer will expire on January 31. News item says price will be higher after January 31. This strikes people as strange and unprecedented. Lots of discussion follows to analyse how it's possible that Microsoft made the move that everyone expected, and why Microsoft shouldn't have made the expected move (which would of course have resulted in similar comments had it happened).

 

[Guest]

Apple Mountain Lion OS X $19.99 Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. Modern. A single full professional version. Virus-safe and crapware free. Loaded with GREAT software, all most people will ever need. "It just works". Easy upgrade. No driver nonsense.
Microsoft Windows 8 .

Apple's OS is cheaper to upgrade, because you've already paid the Apple tax when you bought your MAC for an extortionate price.
Microsoft don't sell PC's to subsidise the cost of the OS, so have to charge accordingly.

Also what are you all complaining about, Microsoft announced the price would increase in February when they launched Windows 8

 

[Guest]

Virus-safe and crapware free. Loaded with GREAT software, all most people will ever need. "It just works".

Oh God, that old "Virus-safe" from a Mac user, obviously head still buried in the sand.
"It just works".. nope, I use one at work and it crashes far more than the PC I also use.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Also what are you all complaining about, Microsoft announced the price would increase in February when they launched Windows 8

For the record, the launch is what I'm complaining about. The price increase simply makes the launch that much more humorous.

 

[SNGX1275]

The strange world of internet comments...

Microsoft said from the get go the offer will expire on January 31. News item says price will be higher after January 31. This strikes people as strange and unprecedented. Lots of discussion follows to analyse how it's possible that Microsoft made the move that everyone expected, and why Microsoft shouldn't have made the expected move (which would of course have resulted in similar comments had it happened).

Indeed man. I was reading these comments and was completely surprised by them, well not the out of nowhere Apple bashing, but the other comments. I'm sure Techspot ran a story or 2 about the pricing and how Microsoft was going to raise it.

 

[Guest]

mrjgriffin, have you even seen a RETAIL Full Windows Pro 8 OS????
if you have..please tell me where!? ...otherwise you just don't know what you're talking about.

 

[Guest]

Oh God, that old "Virus-safe" from a Mac user

Been running my 3 macs without a virus app for 10 years. Not even a single virus or spyware issue.
Been running my 3 windows machines for 12 years with virus\spyware protection. More infections than I could possibly count.

Not sure how other's value their time but the extra cost of my Macs has been made up for 10x-over relative to the constant care and feeding my Windows machines have required. For me, in terms of value, there is no comparison - not even close. Sorry.

Of course there are viruses out there for OS X but you have a greater chance of being killed in a car accident than catching one with just a little bit of common sense. With Windows it's more like the common cold. Inoculate all you want but you'll probably still get sick at least once every couple of years.

 

[Guest]

They can do whatever they want with it. After throughly testing the 9200 build I guarantee a non sale on my part. Very buggy compared to Windows 7 beta's and I just don't see the point of a start screen. This was tested on a tablet btw.

 

[Guest]

Settle down folks. This pricing was announced before the OS even went on sale in retail.

 

[Guest]

Of course there are viruses out there for Windows but you have a greater chance of being killed in a car accident than catching one with just a little bit of common sense. The last 5 words are where it falls short for most people.

 

[Vrmithrax]

The strange world of internet comments...

Microsoft said from the get go the offer will expire on January 31. News item says price will be higher after January 31. This strikes people as strange and unprecedented. Lots of discussion follows to analyse how it's possible that Microsoft made the move that everyone expected, and why Microsoft shouldn't have made the expected move (which would of course have resulted in similar comments had it happened).

Heh, you are quite right... My comment was more of tongue-in-cheek observation of the latter there. I mean, it's one thing to raise your prices, it's quite another to decide to let your special pricing expire when there might be practical reasons to extend it. Just look at the whole "fiscal cliff" debacle for a prime example of how upset people can get when you take away their discounts. Heh.