Xbox: it's everywhere you want to be

Here in the States, it's becoming more of a rare commodity to find a teenager without a credit card.  That may end up being the case in Germany, a country where even many parents do not have credit cards, if Microsoft has anything to say about it.  In an effort to boost its Xbox Live! service in Germany, Microsoft is marketing prepaid Xbox Live! Visa cards so that children can sign up for Microsoft's online community.  And not content with simply giving kids the option to give them more money, Microsoft is charging 2% on the prepaid balance – which, in all honesties, isn't that bad.

Imagine if this sparked a boom in credit card usage in Germany, and then Microsoft would get to say that they were the ones who managed to single handedly popularize credit debt in the country.

[via GameInsider]