Rumor: Microsoft doing away with Microsoft Points system

Microsoft Points rumor

Here's a rumor that many gamers probably hope volition come true: Microsoft may be doing away with the Microsoft Points virtual currency system. According to Inside Mobile Apps, who cites an inside source, the change will accept identify by the stop of the yr.

Microsoft Points have been around since the Xbox 360 launched in 2005. MS Points were originally used to buy Xbox Live Arcade games and downloadable content for Xbox 360 games, though their utilize has expanded to include purchases for Games for Windows Alive (PC), Zune media, and DLC for a handful of Windows Phone games (Beards & Beaks, Gravity Guy, and Bug Hamlet). 400 Microsoft Points equals five US dollars, though the exchange rate varies in other regions.

A sizable number of people dislike Microsoft Points for a few reasons. Firstly, they introduce a needless conversion mechanic to online purchases. While I've never found the dollar-to-points ratio the slightest bit confusing, plainly it does cause the gears of some people's minds to spark in an unpleasant mode. Other major online content providers – namely iTunes and Sony'south Playstation Network – simply use actual currency, so Microsoft's reliance on its own format appears as a weakness by comparison.

Secondly, it has historically been a challenge to buy the exact amount of Microsoft Points one actually needs. Originally, Points could only exist purchased in increments of 1600 ($20) or 4000 ($l), with no discount practical for picking the larger book. Eventually Microsoft started assuasive users to purchase quantities of equally low as 400 Points direct through their website or the Xbox 360 panel, alleviating the issue to some extent. But fifty-fifty now, many pieces of content price odd amounts like 480 Points ($6), and you tin't buy that verbal number of Points.

On the other hand, I've long been a proponent of bringing MS Betoken purchases to Windows Phone. For gamers like me who support both the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone, sharing a rest across platforms would exist very useful. Afterward all, Xbox Live accounts, GamerScore, and Avatars already transfer seamlessly.

MS Points have a couple of other advantages too. I tin purchase an MS Points card without paying tax and whatsoever purchases I make with it won't be taxed. Merely whenever I buy a Windows Phone game with real money, information technology's e'er taxed, so purchases of equivalent toll actually price people like me more on WP7. On top of that, Amazon and other retailers frequently offering discounts on Points cards, so savvy shoppers need never pay retail price on their Xbox Live purchases.

Getting back to the rumor, it promises that all Microsoft platforms currently using MS Points will switch to the standard currency of each user's country. People's MS Point balances would merely convert to dollar amounts equally well, so there's no danger of losing coin already spent. Taxes could start applying to all purchases (depending on your location) though, which would sting. Fears of Points cards disappearing from retail, forcing gamers to make purchases with credit cards or PayPal, are unfounded. Microsoft would almost certainly retain cards at retail – they'd just be for dollar amounts instead of points.

The currency switch is just a rumor for at present, and nobody'south going to excerpt the truth of the matter from Microsoft. We've reached out to a few developers though (equally they've supposedly been informed of the impending change), and will written report back if anything turns upwards.

Source: Inside Mobile Apps via Kotaku

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