How Much Would You Pay for an Xbox Tablet that Plays Halo 4 and Gears of War: Judgment?

Barnes & Noble

may be

, but rumors persist that an Xbox-branded tablet is about to be announced.

Assuming that's the case, how much would you be willing to pay for this device? A colleague of mine asked that very question. "Show me a few games that I can't live without, then we'll talk price," I replied. He asked if I'd be willing to pay $500 -- the base price for an iPad -- if it had some games that I wanted. The answer is yes. That does not mean that Microsoft

is free to charge whatever it wants for a video game-enhanced tablet. But if the company plans to sell a tablet that provides consumers with everything Apple

offers and more, Microsoft can get away with attaching a premium price point. That said, the Windows maker should not go overboard. Microsoft would be foolish to charge

than its competitors.