Following on from the roll-out of the Xbox Live 3.0 "Tsunami" features on the console online service this week, Microsoft has announced that it is to revamp the retail Starter Kit bundles with new bundled software and price points. The entry level Xbox Live Starter Kit will now feature a three month subscription to the service along with a voice headset and demos of MechAssault and MotoGP - the same as the existing package - and will be priced at $39.99.
A second package, launching next week, will offer a full year"s subscription to Xbox Live along with a headset and a full copy of critically acclaimed Live title Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and will retail at $69.99. Next week will also see the expansion of the Xbox Live service to a number of new territories - with Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan going online in the Far East, along with New Zealand and Mexico. This will bring the number of countries in which the service is available to 24.