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Zune Marketplace closing with Microsoft Points conversion
The Zune Marketplace will close its virtual doors whenever Microsoft decides to flip the switch and convert from MS Points to local currency, which could be as soon as Thursday, August 22 according to the Zune Marketplace FAQ. The Zune Marketplace's movie and television rental/purchasing functionalities will be taken over by the Xbox Video platform, whereas its musical feature set will become the domain of Xbox Music, provided you've got a subscription to the service that allows streaming to an Xbox 360. Microsoft recommends that you "spend your points balance prior to this change," but last we heard MS Points will be converted into an amount of local currency of equal or greater value.
Real currency Xbox Gift Cards to replace MS Point cards
The next Xbox 360 firmware update will push through Microsoft's switch from MS Points to local currency, the company announced earlier today. As a result, Microsoft will also be phasing out its current stable of MS Point gift cards in favor of "Xbox Gift Cards" that, as you might image, fulfill a similar role. The switch from Point cards to Gift Cards is set to take place sometime late this year, although whether that is indicative of when the currency conversion firmware update is slated to hit remains to be seen. Existing MS Point cards and codes will continue to be honored "until further notice" – any redeemed after the switch will be converted to "an amount of local currency equal to or greater than the Marketplace value of those points."
Windows 8 defaults direct cash payments for music and movies, puts Microsoft Points on backburner
Microsoft's real money to "Points" conversion has always been a point of contention among consumers, but that may all be about to change -- if the Windows 8 Zune Marketplace is any indicator, that is. Movies and music purchased via Windows 8 no longer default to the bizarre indirect system Microsoft set in place years ago with its Xbox Live platform, instead allowing actual currency for payment as well as MS Points (Windows 8 exclusively used the MS Point system for media purchases throughout beta). In fact, the system even automatically selects hard currency as the standard, reports The Verge. The MS Point system converts 80 MS Points to $1, and points much be purchased in a minimum of 400 point blocks -- a practice criticized as both deceptive and consumer hostile. Points were first implemented on Microsoft's Xbox 360 for purchase of games and associated content on Xbox Live Marketplace; the practice has since expanded to Microsoft's Zune music and movie platform, as well as Xbox.com. Direct payment is available as well, but only for select content, such as Games on Demand. As of this morning, the change hadn't affected the Xbox 360 Marketplace, though rumors earlier this year indicated that MS Points may be wholesale phased out by the end of 2012. Update: Microsoft offered us the following statement: "With Xbox expanding into new markets through Windows 8, we want to provide greater flexibility for you to purchase and access Xbox content by using your credit card. Local currency will be the primary method for making purchases in Windows 8. Current Xbox LIVE customers may also make a purchase using points. Microsoft Points continue to be the currency for purchasing content for the Xbox 360 console. We have nothing to announce regarding future plans."
MS Point scam cost Microsoft over $1 million
That seemingly unintelligible string of numbers and letters attached to MS Point cards and Xbox Live Gold trials has an underlying code, a kind of system in place, a group of hackers found out yesterday. Using old claimed codes, this group was able to come up with an algorithm to generate new, valid code strings -- those who input the code got 160 MS Points and could refresh the site for more. Later, through a separate channel, hackers were able to exploit the algorithm to generate codes for a Halo: Reach Banshee Avatar prop. This forum seems to be the origin point of the algorithm in question, where some users have claimed to have gathered hundreds of dollars in MS Points; current estimates put the total damage to Microsoft at over $1 million. Microsoft has since had the codes pulled, though we have to wonder if there's any other countermeasure the company could use to catch these individuals. Honestly, we're a bit too busy staring at these awesome lightsabers we just got for our Avatar to worry about such things. Lightsabers that were, uh, totally acquired through legal, completely ethical means -- yeah, that's it.
Deal: Snag 4000 MS Points for $40
Anyone looking to bulk up on MS Points, listen up: Buy.com (via its eBay outlet) is selling 4000 MS Point cards for $40 with free economy shipping. That's $10 off the usual price or, depending on how you look at it, 1000 MS Points for free. Act quickly, they're bound to sell out fast.
Kmart offering 4000 MS Point card for $40 [update]
Update: Kmart.com stopped the promotion, citing an error in the company's computer system that has since been fixed. Sorry folks! In our never-ending quest to acquire all Microsoft Avatar clothing and props, we relish the moments when Microsoft Point cards are discounted in real-life money. This is one of those moments, with Kmart.com giving 20 percent off of "select game accessories" -- including 4000 MS Point cards. To be extra clear, that's $50 in points for $40. As SlickDeals.net points out, though, the discount doesn't apply until you've added the card to your virtual basket, and you must enter "KMGIFTS" for free shipping -- "YOGIMMETHISFORFREE" does not work.
MS Points now sold in $5 increments
Do you smell that? Can you taste it? That, dear readers, is the sweet taste of freedom. In more exact terms, it's the taste of never being forced to buy extra Microsoft Points again. The problem with Microsoft Points has always been summed up pretty accurately by the age-old hot dogs vs. hot dog buns debate. If you wanted to buy a 400 ($5) Xbox Live Arcade game, you were forced to buy 500 from Xbox Live Marketplace, leaving you with 100 nearly useless points. And let's not even start on the inexplicable fact that 80 is equivalent to $1, making the whole process that much more confusing. Thankfully, at least part of that has been rectified, as tipster Chuck points out that Microsoft is now selling MS Points in increments of $5 through the Xbox Live Marketplace on Xbox.com and through the console itself. Previously, the only way to get exact dollar amounts was to purchase physical point cards at a retailer, but not anymore. As evidenced above, users can now buy points in 400, 800, 1600 or 4000 point bundles, coming in at clean $5, $10, $20 and $50 price points. That's right, never again will you have to purchase some stupid gamer picture just to spend those spare points on something. Today, ladies and gentlemen, is a good day.
800 MS point cards now available at retail [update]
Update: Upon further inspection, the pricing for 800 MS point cards looks to be $9.99 making it only $.01 cheaper than 1600 point cards.At retail in the U.S., Microsoft point purchasers only have one buying option and that's a 1600 Microsoft point card for around $19.99. But let's say a customer (a retail buying customer) wants, say, half that. Something more like 800 points. Well, that customer would normally be out of luck. That is until now, because we just learned that Microsoft is now selling 800 MS point cards at the retail level. These point of sale activation cards (as seen above) are even value priced at $9.39 USD priced at $9.99, which is in line with the 1600 point cards. How's that for convenience? [Thanks, Adam L.]
Fanswag: Win 1600 MS Point codes and Aces of the Galaxy
Let's face it, stuff on Xbox Live Marketplace can be expensive. Don't worry if your wallet is a little thin these days though, because we've got you covered. We have 19 1600 MS Point download codes, and we're giving them all away to you, our beloved readers. Will be giving away four of those codes today and the rest of them Thursday and Friday. Just for grins, we'll also throw in a free download for Aces of the Galaxy to our first place winner (we'll throw other prizes into the mix on Thursday and Friday). For your chance to win today's codes, follow the directions below. Leave a comment on this post telling us what you would buy with 1600 Microsoft Points. We don't care if it's actually on the Marketplace or not. Only one comment per person will be accepted. Posters of multiple comments will be disqualified. We'll accept entries until 6:00PM Eastern time today, June 18, 2008. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. This giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec). Later today, we'll pick 4 winners via a random drawing One grand prize winner will receive a redemption code for 1600 Microsoft Points and a redemtion code for Aces of the Galaxy, worth a total of $30. Three additional winners will each receive a redemption code for 1600 Microsoft Points, worth $20 each Complete giveaway rules can be found here
This week, Target has 1600 MS points for $15
This week's Target sales paper has a special gift for those who want relatively cheaper Xbox Live content: a 1600 Microsoft Points for $14.99 (plus applicable sales tax), a great price given the currency conversion of $20. So unless your state has a 34% sales tax (which would thus negate the sale), we'd suggest stocking up while you can. Go now and enjoy, the deal ends May 31.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Japan can now buy MSpoints via cell phone
We haven't heard news such as this since the last time Microsoft was showing off the so far poorly executed Live Anywhere. Beginning Monday, the Japanese phone service provider NTT DoCoMo will allow its users to pay for MSpoints or a Gold Subscription right from their phone. Any purchases made via the "DoCoMo Mobile Payment Service" are charged to the phone bill, thus bypassing any form of credit card information going to MS. While a move such as this isn't exactly out of character for a company, we have to wonder about the practicality of it for the masses. The most useful situation would be if you were the type of player who uses point cards and doesn't have any CC info associated with their Gamertag. Buying points via phone could save a trip to the store AND keep the evil empire away from your bank info. However, if this comes to the US we foresee many, many XBL brats using their phones to avoid bugging mom and dad for their credit cards ....
Xbox Live size limit upped to 350MB, price limit to 1600 MS points
Good news for everyone wondering how the heck Soul Calibur was going to fit within Xbox Live Arcade's puny 150MB limit: although we knew it was planned to up the size limit to 350MB, Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten has made it official."We are officially increasing our XBLA game size limits dramatically from 150MB to 350MB," said Whitten in an interview with Next-Gen. He also said the price limit of Xbox Live Arcade games has been raised to 1600 MS points (US $20), which was first seen this week for Penny Arcade Adventures.
Alert! Microsoft Points scam sweeps Xbox Live
While every major company in the world attempts to bang into your head that they will never ask for your account information sometimes people don't listen.Unfortunately a scam, which appears to have been around for some time, promises free Microsoft points when you log into your .net Passport account. This site, and any site that promises the same, is 100% fake and will only lead to a headache like the reader who sent this in who had 5000 MS points purchased with his credit card.We know this isn't the first, nor will it be the last, site to attempt to scam you but we hope to echo what you all should already know.We won't link the site itself, for fear of spreading the scam, but we would like to remind you of a few key things. Microsoft will only give points away during official contests that ALWAYS link directly back to a Microsoft site and those contests are always widely reported on X3F, Joystiq and other gaming sites Never, no matter what you're promised, log into your account unless on officially sanctioned Xbox sites (Xbox.com, Bungie.net, ForzaMotorsport.net, etc.) Never give away your user name and password to anyone and remember Microsoft will never ask for this information Never give away your account details, including credit card information and mailing address Do not get caught in a scam, who knows how deep the rabbit hole goes if you do.Check out our visual guide to spotting fake Microsoft sites used in similar scams. This guide isn't foolproof however, so just steer clear from anything that promises anything!
ForgeHub.com Halo 3 Forge contest
Civil War reenactments are a fascinating thing. People crowd around to watch an epic battle and they already know the outcome. That's like watching Titanic and really hoping they drift past that infamous iceberg. Apparently the folks at Forge Hub are so enthralled with historic battles that they're willing to throw one lucky winner 1600 MS Points in their Shell Shocked Contest. The contest is open to anyone who can create the most accurate portrayal of a historic battle using the Forge mode in Halo 3, but keep in mind D-Day submissions aren't allowed. Why? We think it's because in a world of Civil War reenactments everyone is pretty bored of playing through World War II. [Thanks, Killer678]
Why exact change is an MS Point no-no
It's happened to all of us. There's a game on Xbox Live Arcade that you want for the ever attractive price of 400 MS Points. You don't have any points, so you decide to buy some. But what's this? You can only purchase them in multiples of 500, leaving you with useless leftover points. This begs the question, why can't you buy the exact amount you need? 1UP's Patrick Klepek asked just this question of Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg. While we've always assumed that spare change is produced in order to entice users to spend more money so they can spend more Microsoft Points, Greenberg has a different answer. "The reason why we do that, the core reason, is around credit card transaction fees," says Greenberg, adding, "If we do this in bulk, we don't have to burden the consumer with the transaction fees, or ourselves or publishers." He conceded that it's annoying to end up with odd leftover points, but added that Microsoft isn't planning on changing the system anytime soon.So there you have it folks, you're spending extra money so you can save money. Simple, right?[Via Joystiq]
Win free MS points from TheMan661
TheMan661, otherwise known as simply Frank, is offering up 1600 Microsoft Points to a lucky commenter with his Show Me The Money Points Contest. All you have to do is post a comment with either email address in the appropriate (mandatory) field, or if you'd rather have him message you over Xbox Live, your gamertag as well. So, what are you waiting for? Go comment now! While you're there, check out his Xcast, it's worth a listen.
Sony to offer pre-paid PSN vouchers in Japan
Those dying to download Marl Oukoku no Ningyou Hime (and who isn't?) from the Japanese PlayStation Network will now find another payment option nestled in the aisles of the nearest convenience store. IGN reports that PlayStation Network Tickets will soon be procurable from convenience stores and post office ATMs across Japan, allowing those without a means of direct electronic payment to enjoy and more importantly, pay for the wares of the PS3's virtual marketplace. The tickets will function in a similar fashion to Nintendo Wii Point cards and Xbox Live MS Point vouchers, with the exception that they'll be grouped in a non-bogus currency. Available in units of ¥1,000, ¥3,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000, the cards will contain a 12-digit code recognized by the PSN as a command to fill up your virtual wallet with the corresponding amount. As for the possibility of PSN Tickets becoming available elsewhere, Sony offers, "We have no announcement regarding any changes to the electronic payment options on the PlayStation Store in North America at this time."
Microsoft unleashes 4000-point Marketplace cards
With the upgrade of the Xbox 360 hard drive comes an upgrade to the retail marketplace card as well. Not content having a 1600-point-per-card cap, Microsoft has created a card worth 4000 points now available online at Circuit City.The card will retail for $49.99 -- since 4000 MS points converts to US $50, that's like savings of a whole penny! (And additional fees of sales tax and / or shipping, where applicable.) We're still of the opinion that the most convenient and cost-effective conversion of dollars-to-MS points is a funds purchase via Xbox Live Marketplace itself, we understand the need for these cards as gifts or for youngsters given a (in this case, rather steep) allowance to satiate their online needs.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Poll: how much do you spend on MS Points?
Update: This poll is now closed. Check out the latest Fancast for our discussion of the results. You can view the final results after the break.So, putting together a little tax info this morning, I decided to check out how much money I'd spent on Xbox 360 related things. $299 for a Core System (I know, but it's all they had), $99 for a hard drive, all that stuff. Delving a little deeper, I decided to check on all the the online purchases I'd made, which led me to MS Points purchased for content on Marketplace. From June (when I started here at X3F) to December 2006, I have purchased a staggering 7500 MS Points, equivalent to $93.75. That's almost two entire retail games.X3F wants to know how much you've spent on MS Points in the last 12 months. To check your own account, follow this link, enter your .NET info, and click "Points" on the left side of the screen. You can access your transactions from up to 12 months ago. Add up your running total and submit your answer in the poll. Of course, if you don't want to go through all that trouble, you could always guess. Place your vote after the break.
Aquazone publisher fishing for MS Points, 5000 MS Points!
EA could learn a thing or two from Frontier Works. The publisher of Aquazone released its Japanese aquarium sim with only 480 unlockable Achievement Points. To get the rest, players need to hit Xbox Live Marketplace and start paying.Recently, an additional 400 points were made available through the purchase of 18 new fish. Anyone willing to take the bait would end up forking over an alleged 5,000 Microsoft Points ($62.50).Suspiciously, each fish weighs a mere 108KB, suggesting that purchasers aren't actually downloading new content, but simply buying code that unlocks the relevant data on the game disc. This would explain how Frontier dodged Microsoft's requirement, which demands that all Xbox 360 titles include 1,000 Achievement Points (Xbox Live Arcade games must contain 200 points). Aquazone does offer 1,000 points to add to your Gamerscore; but it costs more than your playing time to unlock them. Scandalous.[Via GameLife]
