MS Points now sold in 400 point increments over Xbox Live

[Queasy]

Microsoft snuck in a an update to how MS Points are purchased on Xbox Live Marketplace sometime within the last couple of days. MS Points can now be purchased in sums that are reasonably related to the prices of content on Xbox Live Marketplace.


Since the launch of the Xbox 360 in 2005, consumers of Xbox Live have complained about how MS Points are sold through Xbox Live. The points were sold in bundles of 500 points while most games and content were sold in increments of 80 or 400 points. This resulted in a vicious cycle with Xbox Live users having points left over that could not be used without the purchase of more points. This has now changed as MS Points are sold in increments divisible by 400 as seen in the image above captured from the web version of Xbox Live Marketplace on Xbox.com.


Earlier this year, Microsoft was sued by a Philadelphia attorney over how MS Points were sold on Xbox Live. Fixing how MS Points were sold even made our list of what needs to be fixed for the Xbox 360 in 2010. Prior to this update, the best way to purchase MS Points without having to worry about left over points was to purchase points through retail cards or through Zune Marketplace. Whether the change is in response to the lawsuit or not, this is a welcome change for many Xbox Live users.

 

[blurredvision]

Wow, that was 4+ years in the making.

 

[thegimp03]

Wow, that was 4+ years in the making.

Yeah, they were a little slow on the uptake.

 

[R Nilla]

I wish they'd just eliminate the funny money altogether. I'd rather pay in real dollars. Sony is the only company that got it right so far.

 

[Queasy]

I wish they'd just eliminate the funny money altogether. I'd rather pay in real dollars. Sony is the only company that got it right so far.

Yeah, it's strange that they're doing dollar transactions for Games on Demand now but not everything else. Hopefully, they'll move to it eventually.

 

[juiio]

I wish they'd just eliminate the funny money altogether. I'd rather pay in real dollars. Sony is the only company that got it right so far.

No way. Many great deals on point cards have been found over the years. I haven't yet paid full price for points. If it was straight cash for games, then most of us would have paid a lot more for the same amount of content.

 

[gorcorps]

I doubt they'd get rid of the points... it's too easy to forget how much you're spending with points. It's what makes places like Dave and Busters such a money sink.

Not sure if D&B was the first to do points like this, but whoever was first is fucking brilliant.

 

[EightySix Four]

I doubt they'd get rid of the points... it's too easy to forget how much you're spending with points. It's what makes places like Dave and Busters such a money sink.

Not sure if D&B was the first to do points like this, but whoever was first is fucking brilliant.

Casinos. Yes, you know the dollar denomination of what you put out, but it's a hell of a lot different pushing $1000 in chips out in front of you than it is pushing 10 $100 bills out.

 

[BD2003]

About fucking time they injected some sanity into the system, it only took a class action lawsuit to make it happen.

 

[fatpat268]

About fracking time. I mean, you could always have bought in 400pt increments off of zune.com, but that was an unnecessary step.

Now, let me buy in $1 increments, and I'll truly be happy because I hate it when something is priced 560 points. 400pts isn't enough, and what will you do with the 240pts after you buy 800pts? Buy tv shows? no thanks.

 

[Saga]

Why don't they just invent a fucking straight currency trade system and let you buy the content for that price? IE 100 points = $1. If a DLC is 150 points it's just $1.50.

The entire points system is garbage and would just be more convenient as a dollar amount. The only reason for using "points" is to attempt to delude the stupid people that they aren't spending real life money for virtual shit.

 

[gorcorps]

Why don't they just invent a fucking straight currency trade system and let you buy the content for that price? IE 100 points = $1. If a DLC is 150 points it's just $1.50.

The entire points system is garbage and would just be more convenient as a dollar amount. The only reason for using "points" is to attempt to delude the stupid people that they aren't spending real life money for virtual shit.

Well you kind of answered why they do it... when it's not put into a dollar amount you don't think of what you're spending. It's smart business. I don't have a problem with the point system itself, I just have a problem with how you can't just buy the points you want to use. If I see a song on rock band for 80 or 160 points, I want to buy the song for 80 or 160 points... not buy 400 points and hope I can find other stuff to buy later.

 

[R Nilla]

No way. Many great deals on point cards have been found over the years. I haven't yet paid full price for points. If it was straight cash for games, then most of us would have paid a lot more for the same amount of content.

I'd rather see real prices and frequent significant discounts like Steam. I know it will never happen because that's not MS's (or even Nintendo's or Sony's) MO, but that's what I'd rather see.

 

[mmntech]

I wish they'd just eliminate the funny money altogether. I'd rather pay in real dollars. Apple is the only company that got it right so far.

Fixed. Sony still requires you to buy blocks of credit. (Or at least they did. Might have changed. haven't bought anything for awhile) $5, $10, $20, etc. Just like buying gift cards. iTunes is so far the only portable gaming service that offers direct payment.

 

[KaOTiK]

Fixed. Sony still requires you to buy blocks of credit. (Or at least they did. Might have changed. haven't bought anything for awhile) $5, $10, $20, etc. Just like buying gift cards. iTunes is so far the only portable gaming service that offers direct payment.

Sony just requires the purchase be at least $5. So if you are buying something that is $2 you are charged the minimum $5. But if you buy something that is above $5 you are only charged that amount.

 

[Ben90]

Earlier this year, Microsoft was sued by a Philadelphia attorney over how MS Points were sold on Xbox Live.

It really enrages me how frivolous some of these lawsuits are.

"I want to buy a Lamborghini, but I don't need all that fancy shit that comes with it like the 640hp engine and scissor doors. I'm gonna go file me a lawsuit"

"I only want to buy half of a McDonald's hamburger, but they are gonna make me pay for the whole thing. Total BS, lets sue someone."


Seriously, if you get butt hurt that you are going to have left over points from one of these transactions, don't file the transaction in the first place. Problem solved. Instead they are going to waste a ridiculous amount of money for MS for court costs and pass the cost off to us consumers.

 

[purbeast0]

this is still stupid.

if i can't use up all my points when i purchase them, i most likely won't be buying stuff from the marketplace. they need to just make it like the PSN where you can just purchase stuff straight up.

last week i didn't buy SSF2HDR out of principle, because i had 60 points in my account, and the game was 560 points. so i would have had to buy 1000 pts just to get the game (or 800 had i bought from zune marketplace), but still it was more than necessary and would cost me more than necessary. i've probably spent $30 total on the marketplace since the 360 was launched.

 

[fatpat268]

It really enrages me how frivolous some of these lawsuits are.

"I want to buy a Lamborghini, but I don't need all that fancy shit that comes with it like the 640hp engine and scissor doors. I'm gonna go file me a lawsuit"

"I only want to buy half of a McDonald's hamburger, but they are gonna make me pay for the whole thing. Total BS, lets sue someone."


Seriously, if you get butt hurt that you are going to have left over points from one of these transactions, don't file the transaction in the first place. Problem solved. Instead they are going to waste a ridiculous amount of money for MS for court costs and pass the cost off to us consumers.

No, it's stupid that they sell stuff for 560pts, for example, and only offering to buy points in 400 and/or 500 point increments.

Your analogy is terrible. The way microsoft is doing it, is like charging you $1 for a cheeseburger, but the fast food place requires you to pay $5 total to order.

 

[Ben90]

Then don't buy the 1$ cheeseburger if your not happy paying 5$ for it. I understand how lame Microsoft is being by doing this, but my post was geared more to how we can get a lawsuit out of it.

I hate imaginary money that you "have" to buy in bulk just as much as anyone on this forum. For this reason I have yet to purchase any of this imaginary money. If everyone did this then the problem would be solved.

 

[mugs]

No way. Many great deals on point cards have been found over the years. I haven't yet paid full price for points. If it was straight cash for games, then most of us would have paid a lot more for the same amount of content.

Bingo. Everyone who complains about them forgets that they've probably managed to save more than any unusable balance they could end up with.

 

[BD2003]

Then don't buy the 1$ cheeseburger if your not happy paying 5$ for it. I understand how lame Microsoft is being by doing this, but my post was geared more to how we can get a lawsuit out of it.

I hate imaginary money that you "have" to buy in bulk just as much as anyone on this forum. For this reason I have yet to purchase any of this imaginary money. If everyone did this then the problem would be solved.

Except that the only place where everyone is going to boycott microsoft points is fantasy land, a magical place where ben90 rides proudly on his high horse.

Besides, have you ever actually been on xbox live, and heard these people? You expect cooperation?

Here in the real world, a class action lawsuit got the job done.

And it's not a $1 cheeseburger if you have to pay $5 for it. Its not just lame, its deceptive. That should not be tolerated, and they should be held accountable for it. Its not the end of the world, but their pricing scheme is/was absolutely indefensible. That lawsuit was well earned.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Yeah, they were a little slow on the uptake.

I think that's pretty much the epitome of Microsoft this generation. I guess better late than never, but its still pretty sad how slow they've been to respond to basically everything.

I was on Live and saw they wanted 159 points for some video (ok, I guess its more Zune now). WTF? They couldn't just round it to 160 even?

The point system has actually caused me to pass on buying things a lot. Between the pain of having to actually go and buy them in the first place and then with the odd point values and other junk, its just a giant hassle.

 

[gorcorps]

Except that the only place where everyone is going to boycott microsoft points is fantasy land, a magical place where ben90 rides proudly on his high horse.

Besides, have you ever actually been on xbox live, and heard these people? You expect cooperation?

Here in the real world, a class action lawsuit got the job done.

And it's not a $1 cheeseburger if you have to pay $5 for it. Its not just lame, its deceptive. That should not be tolerated, and they should be held accountable for it. Its not the end of the world, but their pricing scheme is/was absolutely indefensible. That lawsuit was well earned.

Got the job done? Nothing got done... I still have to buy 400 points if I want a rock band song that costs 80. It's still a problem.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Too bad everyone already has some weird number of points now thanks to their old system, meaning it's virtually impossible to zero out your account and start over with sane increments. I think I have somewhere between 40 and 80 points left. Maybe a weird number like 50.

 

[purbeast0]

heh now when I think about it, this stupid point schema has made me NOT purchase SSF2THDR twice.

first time was one night my friend and I came home from a bar and my wife went to sleep and we were gaming SF4. my friend isn't good at sf4 though since he's hardly played it and is really good af sf2, so i was going to buy HDR. so sure, 1200 pts, that's $15, i'll grab it.

then I saw I had to purchase almost $20 worth of points to buy a $15 game so i said f that pretty much out of principle. i did not know you could get 400 increments from zune store at this time.

then go back to 2 weeks ago I had 50 points in my account, and HDR was on sale for 560 points. so i would have had to purchase 1000 points (or 800 from zune store) to get the 510 i needed, so again, out of principle i did not do it.