The new upgrade pricing is all part of a campaign to push Windows back into the heart of the consumer and also to help convince people to move to the new OS. It seems that Microsoft might feel that price will be one of the motivators that will keep Windows 8 on the shelves. What they might not understand is that many will not want to move simply because they like the OS they have. After all there are still people on Windows XP and despite not having full Microsoft support anymore they still have no plans to move to Vista or 7.

Because of this it is very unlikely that the new $39.99 price tag will motivate that many people. It is bound to grab more than the Windows 7 upgrade pricing (which was over $100), but we doubt it will have that big of an impact. There is also a little issue with drivers from OEMs and system builders. If you throw an upgrade at someone and there are no up-to-date drivers for all of their hardware they are left in the lurch with not much recourse.

Microsoft is trying to sweeten the deal though as they are going to give Media Center for free with the new Windows 8 Pro Upgrade. This might make a few of the HTPC enthusiasts interested, that is if there was a good way to get Media Center to load on startup and stay on top of all of the other windows. Unfortunately with the way that Windows 8 forces Metro down your throat that is not likely.

So if you are pining for Windows 8 on your desktop, laptop, tablet, ultrabook etc… between the launch and January 13 2013 is your best chance to grab Windows 8 Pro for not a lot of cash.

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