Microsoft Discontinues Xbox Fitness Programs To The Dismay Of Users
When it comes to physical fitness, there are numerous ways to get a workout: going to the gym, playing sports, jogging and even programs through gaming consoles. Well, most gaming consoles. As of Monday, Microsoft announced that they will be pulling the plug on the Xbox Fitness program through the Xbox One… and users are not happy.
Since the launch in 2013, customers had been able to make a one-time purchase of the program and then, in return, have access to the content indefinitely. That content will officially be discontinued on July 1st, 2017. Those who have already paid will have access until then but no one will be able to make the purchase from here on out. The announcement is a harsh reminder that you don’t actually own any of your digital content through the Xbox Store.
This means those who spent the money will lose the product they paid for and (as of now) will not be receiving any sort of refund. Reading through the forums, it is easy to see how unhappy customers are.
Here are some words from those who are subscribed to the fitness programs:
It seems that Microsoft is offering a free game (which usually costs around $60, new) in place of the fitness program but that obviously doesn’t change how the users feel seeing as many have paid over $100 total.
As for the reason why, Microsoft’s Marketing Coordinator and Community Manager for Xbox Fitness, Erica Bell, wrote, “Given the service relies on providing you with new and exciting content regularly, Microsoft has given much consideration to the reality updating the service regularly in order to sustain it. Therefore, the decision has been made to scale back our support for Xbox Fitness over the next year.”
It seems that there just wasn’t enough revenue coming in through the program to keep it going. One reason this may have happened is because the Kinect (the system’s hands-free controller that’s required to use the fitness programs) no longer comes with a purchase of an Xbox One and must be bought separately. In addition, the new upgrade to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality is also most likely taking away from the interest in motion capturing technology.
Maybe Microsoft will create an all-new VR fitness program in the near future? If so, they should probably include those customers who already gave them their money in some way.
