C’mon Down to Crazy Stevie’s! Prices So High They’re INSAAAAAAAAANE!

Amid the fast-deteriorating economy, Microsoft (MSFT) opened its first online shop in the U.S.–a digital storefront through which customers can purchase first-party software, hardware, and videogames directly from the company.

Although, I’m not quite certain why anyone would, given the prices.

The Microsoft Store charges $319.95 for Windows Vista Ultimate, an OS you can purchase from Amazon (AMZN) for $249.99. It charges $149.95 for Microsoft Office. You can find that at Amazon for substantially less, as well–$92.50. On Amazon, a full version of Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2 will set you back $179.99. At the Microsoft Store it will…well, actually, it seems you can’t buy it at the Microsoft Store. Go figure.

But if you could, you’d almost certainly pay a premium for it. So, really, why bother?

And beyond that, why bother to launch an overpriced online software store in the middle of a nasty recession?