Dont You Hate it When This Happens On the Xbox Live Marketplace?

One of the biggest complaints I have with Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace is their point system. Not only has it been a royal pain to deal with, but how many of you are in the same situation as me. You notice some new DLC or arcade game that you want. When you go to purchase it for download, you are short by 100 or 200 points.

[Nate-Dog]

The only problem I have with the system is the actual points value. As your picture there shows 560 for a DLC pack is just so awkward, and so is everything else that's 320 or 240, or 60 or 80, it's just stupid and as you say can result in you needing to buy loads more points than you actually want or need.

It should just be a monetary system where I have to pay €1 or €5 or €10 or whatever for what I need. I get that MS wanted to create a universal point system so they don't have to deal with different values for different currencies but it's just a rip-off really the way it's done.

[PirateThom]

If PSN and Steam can use "cash", there's no reason for Nintendo and Microsoft to not use "cash". While it may allow them to work around region pricing differences and eveb users to pick up cheaper point cards, I also find I have a lot of points left over that I can't really use (managed to use some to pick some cheap stuff off GFWL) and thus end up spending more than I need to..

[macezhno]

MS points are just so fucking off
at least nintendo's point system is understandable 20$ = 2000, 10$ = 1000....
MS 1600 = 20$? or 1200= 15$? 560= ?

[killershadow117]

If you could do math you would know that it is $7. I too wish though that they would just switch to money, but then again at Christmas and birthdays the points are great gifts.

[InTheKnow]

.
I do understand that they are being investigated as we speak but as usual there is always some loop hole they will find.

It's a criminal act in my opinion. They know exactly what they are doing and it's fleecing it's fanbase. I have all systems but game predominately on 360. The whole thing is a scam and now they are even eliminating the lower point levels. Steve Ballmer is easily the biggest crook in gaming. Thankfully, he never gets a moments rest thinking about how he can increase his 14-15 billion dollar net worth.

Listening to fanboys defend this behavior is just sad. the only reason they have points is to scam it's fanbase. It has nothing to do with math or 80 points is worth a dollar. It's having to buy 800 or 1200 points when you need less than that. Why not make it you pay what it costs and nothing more?

[RockmanII7]

560 = $7

[nveenio]

They price everything this way on purpose. People can't really think that it's just dumb luck that they manage to cut it so close, can they?

[matt1991]

560 is $7

[Kushan]

@macezhno

I am by no means defending the points system, I also hate it, but part of the reason the points are "off" is because the points system is an international currency. It might seem like they're random numbers, but an 800 point item in the USA is 800 points in Europe and Japan. If they'd made it (for example) 1000 points = $10, then it would be like £6.42 or €7.12 and such.

[PS3Freak]

lol@ everyone doing the math for him. I think you missed his point.

[Rashonality]

simply 80 points = 1$.
80 x 7 = 560 which equals 7$.

[gamingdroid]

There is nothing criminal or even unethical about this. You enter into the agreement of doing business with MS and everything is up front right there. You don't even need to read the legalese as it is completely up front.

Just like every broke-ass underwater homeowner in this country (US), nobody is making you buy this and there are alternatives to boot!

Personally, I have benefited tremendously from the system primarily because most of my points have been purchased at 25% off and in some cases as much as 50%. It is rare, but when it does I stock up.

I have never received such a sale on Steam currency, rarely if ever on Sony currency and none what so ever on Wii points so I ain't complaining.

If you want to complain fair enough, vote with your dollar!

[gamesmaster]

how can you say you've never had savings on steam, thier weekly deals are amazing, i can pick up full game for well under normal retail price if i keep my eye out, remember that ubisoft pack that had like 3 games for practically nothing.

I dont doubt you save money on points when sales are on cards, but what if you want something then and there and you have not enough points, you have to top up an amount over what you need and you end up with a useless amount of points left over, its just not a flexible enough system. Nobody can deny that a monetary system would be much fairer and far better for the consumer.

[d3nworth1]

That one thing I love about psn and I assume steam is the same way is that you can add the exact amount of money you need without worrying about wasted points.

[YourCall]

Yeah I know.

I hate it when I go to the store and stupid stuff cost like 6.79 instead of an even 7 dollars. Or 5.95 instead of 6.00, stupid math, I might have to pull out my cell phone to see how much change I am going to get back.

This article is dumb! Basically it's saying don't you just hate it when you go to buy something and you don't have enough money.

If you are ten points short, go to xbox.com and buy some more points. It's not like you have to go to the bank to get the money. If you don't have a credit card, then who's choice or fault is that.

Once again, just something else for the spoiled ass masses to cry about.

I hate it when I go to get cereal in the morning and I'm just an ounce short on milk, but damn I don't blog about it.

Geez.

[Megaton]

Points systems are designed around the idea that you can get people to pay more for what they actually want.

Want that $7 DLC? Well you can't pay $7, but you can pay $10 for 800 points. It's ok if you have a little leftover, you'll just save it for next time, right?

Then you either leave that $3 there to collect dust for eternity, or you realize you can't get anything but avatar clothes and add more points. It perpetuates itself.

[KDubyah]

Those 'leftover' points aren't exactly, uhm .. what you call 'useless.'
Maybe, for the moment , but you'll be happy next time you want something.
I have 400 some points on my account, and nothin I want with em .. yet.
They will come in handy later, fer sure, so not 'useless.'

[AAACE5]

Has happened to me several times and the solution I came up with is to just not buy it!

Some jack@ss sat and thought of this trick in an effort to keep us buying points that we don't need, so instead of falling for it, I just avoid it.

The way it works is, you are short on points, you go buy more, then are stuck with left over points. Those left over points will eat at you and you will make an impulse buy!

Then something comes out that you want and you repeat the cycle again!

[Redlogic]

@YOURCALL

I think you missed the point..

"If you are ten points short, go to xbox.com and buy some more points. It's not like you have to go to the bank to get the money. If you don't have a credit card, then who's choice or fault is that."

You can just buy 10 points though...you have to buy 200 or whatever it is. So now you are left with 190 points which you didn't even want in the first place and the cycle continues. You will want something for 300 points so buy another 200 and you will be left with 90 but then you want something for 120 so you buy another 200 etc...i think you get the idea, right?

[YourCall]

@Redlogic, I get what you are saying I really do. I just don't see it as being as big of a deal as most people are making it out to be.

I mean seriously, I guess gift cards should be avoided right? You buy a 50 dollar gift card for Applebees then you go and spend 43 dollars, and have 7 dollars left that you can only spend at applebees.

People act as if you are not going to buy anything else on XBL EVER again. Perhaps I don't see 200 extra point on my XBL account something the is burning a hole in my pocket.

People with rollover cellphone minutes, will they really ever used them? A lot of times these minutes expire and you get nothing, but I am yet to read anything about how BS rollover minutes are.

Seriously I just can't wrap my head around why people (Especially, people that don't even have an XBL account) are making such a big deal about it. I've had 22 dollars and some change left on my PSN account for months now. But I see it as credit, nothing else.

[Pixel_Pusher]

*Hugs* Sony PSN

Another reason to love PSN...as if we needed another one. >: )

[MaxXAttaxX]

$7 = $7

We shouldn't be working around the numbers to figure the actual monetary amount.

PSN and Steam use real money values.
And at least Nintendo's make more sense.

[pixelsword]

Everyone should read AAACE5's post because almost he hit the nail square on the head in what they are doing. Even on the PSN and Nintendo if you are short and don't have access to a credit card, you are short and there's no .45 cent card, so you get the $10 card and buy what you need. What Microsoft is actually doing is subliminally translating the amount so even though you put in $7, you see not only a lower initial number (as if you didn't put in a higher amount) but it also shows a number in the hundreds, which makes it seem like you are getting a deal on points.

If you call points rubles, for example, if you got 560 rubles for 7 dollars you would think that you could get a lot of things in Russia for cheap American money. Subliminally, this is being transferred to both adults (explicitly) and youths (basically, "seven in my hand" [smaller number means] "five hundred in XBL" [a bigger number in XBL])... SO, when people buy anything on XBLM, most people tend to think in points and not dollars and this method of thinking separates the price of the item versus the actual dollar amount.

They did the exact same thing with the 360's name: This current xbox is only their second one, but this current PlayStation is their third, so if they called it the XboX 2, it sounds like they are "behind" or "inexperienced": so they added 360 so you get the "3" sound in xbox, and no one really dwells on the fact that this is only their second xbox.

Microsoft has some high-level psychology going on.

[nnotdead]

don't have an Xbox so i don't have to deal with this problem except when buying Mass Effect DLC. i hate the point system through and through. i think anyone defending it is an idiot, and don't care how many bubbles or disagrees i get for saying it.

it's a dumb practice, and everyone defending it is a fucking moron.

yep i'm talking to you dumb-ass. you suck as much as the point system.

ok i'm usually not so blunt and belligerent, but i hate the point system more than anything else in gaming. i refused to get any ME2 DLC for the longest time because of it. i only bought "Shadow Broker" because i heard it was absolutely necessary for ME3.

grrargghh

[RedDevils]

@killershadow117 Are you stupid or what? Points are great gift for Christmas, isn't real money suppose to be better, more realistic

[CrazyOrange]

I dont get how some people cant understand the point thing.......

its simple

pretend its 10$ not 800 ms point

they basically the fucking same.

no, you are not forced to buy more point. because what is going to be left is going to equal to whats going to be left if real currency was used.

you guys lack simple math skills.

[thewhoopimen]

I think it needs to be stated to some of you kids on this forum that 10 leftover points X 50 million xbox users = 500 million points or a cool $62.5 million that Microsoft gains in terms of free pocket change.

Now considering the average Xbox360 user has 30, 50, or even 70 points leftover and we all know that Steve Ballmer is rolling in your fanboy loving FAIL.

[zeal0us]

I heard M$ was getting taken to court over the M$ point system after one of their official issue a statement of apology about saying the M$ point system was mistake...Haven't heard anything about since then So I'm guessing it got thrown out the window. NG(Next Gen)-Xbox better have a better system or no system at all, I would rather import cash or use paypal or some other way where M$ isn't getting my credit/debit card info

[starchild]

Microsoft's point system just sucks to be honest. It should be done away with in favor of normal monetary prices. Having to buy points in order to buy something and then have a stupid small amount of points left over is just needlessly complicated and pointless.

I agree that PSN and Steam are far better in that regard.

[Karum]

Sure they make great gifts, but so do a £10, £20, £50 gift cards that most high street retailers and online outlets support.

Sure MS points can be worked out, they shouldn't need to be though

[Silver360]

It's been that way for almost 6 years. MS has made over a billion dollars a year with it this way. They are not changing it. It is easier to spend points than dollars. And if you have trouble doing the math so much the better. By the way 80 points = $1

[crxss]

the point system needs to die.

[Sean Ryno]

Go to any major concert in America and they use the point system there too with tickets. 20 dollars = 8 tickets. "How much for an onion blossom?" "Wow only 4 tickets?!, I'll take 2." :\ This system is not new, Microsoft did not start it, and it will never die. Sheeple who forget so quickly where their money went will always be pursued for their $.

[bumnut]

He right, not sure about the concerts in america because i live in the uk.

You get the same sort of thing at a circus or theme park over here, its got to be one of the oldest money making scams in the book. You always have tickets left.

I cancelled my xlb account a year ago so enojoy, and don't forget to pay our internet tax too.

[Raven_Nomad]

Just sign up on Bing and they give you like 250 free MS Points, I prefer the point system. I just have my credit card info saved and then I buy points whenever something comes up.They always have deals that can spend up remainder points.

This rant is like saying if you don't run out of gas before each fill up then your getting ripped off because your never using all of the gas in the tank.

[Nolando]

Those asre BING POINTS not MS points, you need to keep using the bing search engine to save up 400 BING points to buy 400 MS points, i just saved up enough to do it and im getting the defiant map pack for less than half the price! :D (i had 500 in there already)

[Raven_Nomad]

when your s new member they offer you like 250 MS points for signing up, then you get more points as you use the search engine more.

[Nolando]

again, if your talking about the bing reward program, they give you 250 BING points, when you get 500 you can use them in bing rewards to buy a 400 point xbox points card that they send to your house.

i signed up and all they have given me is 250 BING points which i cannot use in XBL marketplace.

[Raven_Nomad]

Well you trade them in for MS points, I did it recently. I did it recently with a couple of accounts from different P.C's and I've got like 500 MS points so far FOR FREEEEEE!

[KDubyah]

It's actually 500 bing points now for a 400 MS points card.. =(
But, it's cool, it's free points, I ain't complaining. I get mine! =)

[PirateThom]

The whole argument is that you can't spend the remaining points, you'll always have something left over, money you can't spend. The way Microsoft use the point system is that the content isn't priced in a way you can ever use the points, it's intetionally priced so you'll always be short and have to "top up" again with a lot more than you need.

Here's a hypothetical example. I currently have 120 points, I want to get X-Men (800 points), the lowest amount of points Microsoft do (500) won't be enough, the next one up is 1000 (£8.50 here), so I have to go for that one... I buy X-Men, I now, effectively, have 250 points that I still can't use and the problem is just as bad if you buy points cards.

Not everyone wants to pay companies more than necessary for products, what if you never buy another product from the service, you think they'll refund you?

[guigsy]

You top up with more than you need, which in turn makes you want to buy something else, effectively an add-on sale. It's a very effective sales technique despite being inconvenient for the customer.

[HappyGaming]

This happens to me on PSN too what is the difference?

I can only top up 5 pounds on PSN at a time so if something costs 13 I need to take out 15 pounds from my account and save the 2 for later.

This system is a clever little scam.
Next time I will be tempted to buy something because I want to use those 2 pounds that I have left instead of letting them go to waste.

[DigitalAnalog]

With one key difference: Credit card support.

Let's say I have $10 balance left in my account and the product is $12.50 The shopping notification would ask if they would credit the extra $2.50 from my credit card. This way, you can still get your balance to $0.00

You can't do that with both MS and Nintendo points. It really is a smart tactic to get people to see "value" in unredeemable points, luckily for me the moment I got my MS points, I actually managed to 0 balance out by purchasing EXACTLY what I needed. No way am I going to fall for that crap again.

-End statement

[shadow2797]

If something costs more the $5 on PSN, you can pay the exact amount (or maybe if you have to add more than $5 into your account to purchase it, I don't remember). Still inconvenient if you want to buy something small like a LBP costume or something. But at least you can get your balance to $0.00 like DigitalAnalog said.

I wish you could pay exact for everything, but still, I prefer PSN's symstem to XBL.

[AntiHeroComplex]

if you dont subscribe to XBLA you get 60$ extra every year for your DLC. No bing required.

[KDubyah]

And, if you don't buy any consoles you can have $21230690!
To get a life and do something other than troll a gaming site..

[AntiHeroComplex]

no one is trolling stop being bitter. Its a simple fact that if you dont pay 60$ for your internet connection which you are already paying for, you can spend it on DLC. If you cant comprehend that then considering going to elementary school to learn some math.

[Kaveman]

Obviously you don't understand what he is saying.. Think about it.
There is a lot of shit you pay for that you really shouldn't 'need' to.
Hell, you buy a tv, unless its for DVDs, you gotta pay for programming.
Hell, you gotta pay extra for such things as HBO, Cinimax, and Showtime ..
Hell, you buy a cell phone, but you gotta pay for coverage and service ..
Hell, sometimes you gotta pay extra for texting, data, and internet usage.
Hell, you pay for a house to live in, but it's no fun without the amenities.

Point being, there is a lot you pay for that you shouldn't really 'need' to.
People complain about 'oh, I bought a game but I hafta pay to play online.'
Oh yeah? So you complain about the stuff I mentioned above, too, huh?
If so, okay. Microsoft is no different, they offer a service, you pay to use it.
Or, you don't. It's no different than buying and paying to use a cell phone ..

"If you cant comprehend that then considering going to elementary school"
But, in your case.. you should go and try to learn some common sense.

[Reckless718]

i think you missed the point.i dont want to spend 5 dollars just to use 50cent

[GodofSackboy]

Games...have changed. It's no longer about stories, gameplay and idiologies. It's an endless series of proxy FPS games and MMOs, played by 11 and 12 year olds. Games, and their consumption of money, have become routine. Games have changed. ID tagged gamers carry ID tagged consoles, use ID tagged gear. Rapid-fire controllers and energy drinks inside their body enhance and regulate their abilities. Motion control. Information control. DLC control. Everything is monitored, and kept under control. Games have changed. The age of multiplayer has become the age of control. All in the name of averting effort from developers like Treyarch and Infinity Ward. And he who controls the casuals, controls history. When the player is under total control, multiplayer and DLC...becomes routine

[AKissFromDaddy]

That is awesome.

[wenaldy]

Speak like trully old snake..!

[colombiankilla01]

Just reading that comment makes me wanna play MG4!

[gypsygib]

The was really well done!

+Bubbles

[DrHouse]

translation: COD pray n spray tactics = king

Much better games like Halo aim n shoot = not king

[gamesmaster]

i think you're slightly misinterpreting his comment tbh

[HappyGaming]

omfg you are so of...

Go play MGS4

[nightmarex121]

Pretty much like the hotdogs and hot dog buns concept. (8 buns, 10 hot dogs)

[outwar6010]

bulletproof monk philosophy lol

[Raptura]

The worst experience for me on XBL was when the Games on Demand for Xbox 360 was released. I was browsing, on the Xbox 360, through the games, looking at each game and its price. I got to Viva Pinata and the Xbox froze up. Without thinking, I started tapping the A button repeatedly. It unfroze a few seconds later and on the screen it said I had purchased the game. $19.99 for a piece of shit I could have gotten for 2 dollars used.

[Legion]

Obviously not thinking on your part... seeing that the B button is the back button. Why would you start pressing the A button in any situation that a system freezes up? Fail.

Stay away from the shopping network and/or Amazon.

[PooEgg]

I bought an arcade game by accident, but it was totally my own fault. I wanted to download the trial game, but I spaced out and bought the game instead. Total mind-fart and the game sucked, but I only blame myself for not paying attention, I won't try to lay this on MS.

It would be nice if we had the option to get our money back in these rare cases. MS should be able to tell if you have played the game or not, but I suppose that would be expecting too much. It was a lesson for me and I am more careful while downloading trial games.

But I do think that in cases where a DLC pack is buggy to the point of breaking your game, for example the Exiled Prince, you should be able to ask for a refund. The whole 'no refunds' thing is a little uncool, but I suppose it is needed since the world is full of dishonest people who would be making up stories to get refunds otherwise. Same reason we can't return a open game if it is buggy. Honest people suffer the dishonest and all of that.

[outwar6010]

how arrogant can you be to make up a currency. Whats wrong with using the one of the country you're in?????

[Redgehammer]

I believe it is because MS wants the same currency across all its regions. So if a Game is 800 pts here in the USA, it is 800 pts in the UK as well.

[shadow2797]

Which sounds nice in theory, except you can't buy the exact number of points you want, you have to adhere to the point increments that MS decides.

I wouldn't mind points if I could buy exactly 560 points for $7.

[the_union_of_PS360]

lol i was going to buy something for 80 point''s and i only had 70 Microsoft point's i was so mad

[theonlylolking]

I was off by 10 M$ points when I was about to buy the zombie island DLC for borderlands.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

I used to go to the zune website and buy ms points for lower values than what were on Xbox live marketplace. It was a great work around until ms caught on and made the point ms the same on both services. I hate ms points. I have 357 points right now and something I want is going to be 800 or 400 ms points.

[danielle007]

It's the very same situation on PSN. I have to add money to my wallet in $5 or $10 increments, I can't just buy it. Sure, it's all annoying, but it's not just a M$ problem.

[Pillage05]

you sure about that? I haven't bought anything off psn in a while but it used to be that you just have a minimum of $5 to add but anything over that you can just buy outright. Like buying a rock band song for $2 youd have $3 left over....then say you wanted to buy a DLC that cost $10 later on...you'd only have to add $7.

Did they really change how it works or do you not know what you're talking about.

[Nitrowolf2]

They changed this, i am sure about this. I remeber having to buy a game that was 14.99 and i had no funds. I had my credit card info in, they took away exact amount from the card. Same thing happened with LBP1 DLC and $7.99 games. It use to be where you had to add the funds even with a credit card (like what your saying). This has changed though

[HappyGaming]

oh i never noticed and i always buy stuff from psn :P

i have been thinking that i could only add in multiples of 5 to my wallet.

[PirateThom]

As long as the amount is above "5", you can just pay the full amount off. Rather than adding funds, add the stuff to basket, pay and it only takes the amount you need

[Elwenil]

Exactly. The minimum amount is $5 (in the US) which I believe is related to transaction fees more than anything. People seem to not realize that every time you use your credit card, check card, bank transfer, etc, there is a transaction fee and normally the retailer is the one who pays for it. Anything over $5 is exact right down to the penny. I can buy games that are (theoretically) priced at $5.01 all day long and never have more than $5.01 taken out of my account for each purchase.

[RockmanII7]

I got 1670 points right now, trying to think of a way to get 10 points so I can get an Indie game.

[ANoobsJourney]

You should download the Bing bar. I have gotten over 2500 Microsoft points since November just for searching with it. Also join the Xbox Rewards program. They give you twenty points a month for taking their monthly survey. Hope this helps.

[RockmanII7]

I tried that and and I was supposed to get like 240 points then Firefox said that it had a security issue and wouldn't let me use it anymore. Waste of time and effort.

[Kaveman]

Hmm .. I didn't know you coulda even use Bing in Firefox.
You sure as hell can't now, though. It's only for Internet Explorer.

It pissed me off though, cause I had been gone and couldn't get on Bing..
But, cause of that, they had shut down my Bing account, lost my points.

[PooEgg]

I am not a fan of the point system, and I do agree that it seems overly complicated to Microsoft's benefit. On the other hand, I have passed on games due to not having enough points on hand and not wanting to refill my points, so it also works against them sometimes. It is something they should rethink, but I won't hold my breath.

[CamelCarcass]

You should be in the UK, the minimum value they sell MS points in is 2100.
It costs £17.50.

How fucking awkward is that?!!!

[guigsy]

That's not true, you can buy 500, 1000 points etc directly off Xbox Live, or you can get 800 and 1200 points cards if you look online.

[T3MPL3TON]

At first I liked the idea of MS Points.. then I actually had to spend them and realized that it was the most awkward transaction I've ever made.
So I buy 800 ($9.99) points... Ok..
Now I have to make ANOTHER transaction to buy the game for 800MSP.
Why can't I just buy the damn game for $9.99?

[Eiffel]

Usually when I see content on Xbox Live Marketplace hit around the 80, 120, 240, 560. It usually crosses my mind the reason they purposely set these prices is to ensure that I'd have some gripe in an equal transaction, thus making me purchase in excess to what I really need on my next purchase.

[wwm0nkey]

I do hate when this happens BUT you guys have to think

there is a reason only MS points and Nintendo Points get discounts, its because they dont use the $ value.

[skyblue14213]

They have discounts on psn also(even for non-psn+ members) just to let you know.

[BenEViolent]

It's an addition of 3 menu clicks when I want to buy points. Its not even that weird to have "credits" in a system. I don't get the complaint, it's pretty minor.

[ColinZeal]

"Dont You Hate it When This Happens On the Xbox Live Marketplace?"

Please don´t make N4G the new reddit.

[CrzyFooL]

this.

[Flinty]

The image is taken from Reddit.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gam...

[ColinZeal]

GAAH! No wonder. Just leave it on Reddit...

[HardCover]

Thankfully Valve and Sony weren't this far-sighted when setting up their stores. I'm a happy gamer :)

[Dorwrath]

I bought something for 800MSP and had 800MSP left over, man I was pissed!

[ASSASSYN 36o]

So you had 1600msp and used 800? What's the problem? At least you can get a majority of the dlc next time you purchase some without having anything left over.

And if that scenario is not the case, then you just told us you got something for free. Yet again. What is your issue.

[REDHULKSMASH]

i don't have this problem anymore. I add what i need to my wallet. no left overs, thank you psn.

[josh14399]

i hate it when i want to buy a 800 ms point game but they force me to pay 1000 ms points and have 200 left over which i mite not spend for a few month. its like this in the uk at least. i actually by most things on psn if its a multiplat download game because of this problem.

[xVeZx]

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[ugabugaz]

Hmm, I distinctly remember seeing that same exact image on Reddit! I wonder, why does the author not give credit to the poster at Reddit? Ah, and here it is!

Don't you hate it when websites steal work and pass it on as their own?
http://www.reddit.com/r/gam...

Unless the website person = reddit person but I highly doubt it.

[Flinty]

I know. I couldn't believe the blatant theft of the image. I thought maybe a attribution or something was in order...

[4Sh0w]

Yeah the point system is stupid, for me its easily the worst thing about xbox live, but theres nothing criminal about it, hopefully its something that will change in the future, errr but then again microsoft loves $$$ and this strategy brings in quite a few extra pennys.

[Masterchef2007]

When i had my 360 i didnt like it at all when i was a few points off from buying a product. Sort of felt like they were stealing the unused points from me. At least with PSN everything is shown to you in your currency so you know how much your spending and you wont have any money left over (unless you buy cash or cards)

[SKUD]

COPY PASTA!

[Knightofelemia]

The problem is not only limited to Microsoft it happenes with the Wii and the PS3.

[femshep]

happens the same way on ps3 too only in dollers

its cost lets say 4.99
and you have 4.38

oh my god same situation on the ps3

......get out fan-boy, your usefulness on the internet is wasting space

[IHateYouFanboys]

eh, i have no problem with the MS point system.

its so there is a universal pricing system. i mean, i know id get pretty pissed if i saw that a game on the PSN was $10 for me, then i went on the US store and it was only $5. you dont see that with the MS point system, even if the $ value is the same. its all about perception.

when youre spending 'microsoft points', its almost like youre not spending real money, and some people get caught up in it and go for broke - remember that kid a few months back who spent thousands on her mums credit card cause he didnt know it was real money? thats what microsoft want people to do (although not kids, they want adults to just spend away because even though they know its their money, theyre not worrying because its not specifically saying theyre paying $25 for a few COD maps.

and anyway, on the PSN - in australia at least - you have to add a minimum of $10 to your wallet. i went to buy a cheap thing on the PSN store the other day for like $2, but had to add $10 if i wanted to buy it. seeing as though i havent even spent $10 in 4 years on the PSN, i wasnt about to add another $10 that will definitely sit there unused for years. also, sony are screwing people over by pricing things at $2.99 (for example). it leaves people with things like $0.01 left, which they can NEVER get back. this is like the guy who made millions by skimming $0.00001 off every transaction at a bank. noone noticed they lost money, but he made millions for doing nothing.

on the 360 i generally find ways to use any remaining points. there are hundreds of RB songs i want, some for only 80 points on the RBN, so i just pick up one of them if for some reason its killing me to have 80 points leftover in my account. or, like most sane people do, i just leave them there for when they come in handy.

[soren]

why should ppl have to do math that makes no sence to what they actually pulled out there wallet?

[gamer7804]

The points system is a much better system for both the company and the consumer. The company gets to hold on to points bought before they are really spent. The consumer gets to take advantage of sales on points whereas you can't put a sale on the dollar bill. I get my 1600 points (20$) anywhere from 15$ to 19$ by buying on sale.

[EXID]

i don't really mind the odd point values i guess, but i bought the 4gb slim model and i couldn't even play halo's co-op online OR dl jade empire. two of the major reasons why i wanted a 360 in the first place! i love it how ms nickel and dimes you for every little thing. at least give your lowest model a 20gb hdd. no? how about 10gb? surely they could do THAT -sigh-

[gcolley]

just over all these negative articles that are passed off as news, just to get hits, nothing more. post something new and interesting instead of using your blog as a place to rant and maybe i will click on the link. unfortunately fanboys will click on the opposite to what i do and they outnumber me so this will continue.

how do the tired old topics just keep coming back from sad excuses for journalists. can't get hits the proper way, lets just flamebait. get a real job, instead of being a bottom feeder

nobody likes a crybaby

[GrumpyVeteran]

How about Microsoft just fuck off with the point system, and allow people to pay with actual cash for the exact value?

Herpy derpy, Microsoft.

Herpy derpy.

[blackbirdi]

DLC is just milking gamers , for me it's not worth to buy it

[MaverickStar7]

The same thing happens on PSN when you have to put a minimum of 5.00 in your wallet to make transactions from. And its also why many stores have a minimum purchase amount to use a credit card. Companies have to pay a processing fee everytime they run a credit card transaction for a customer purchase. If they had to pay that fee everytime someone bought some cheap avatar item on XBL or PSN it would eat whatever profit they are making on that item. Buy requiring you to spend a certain amount it and put the extra in to a wallet or points fund it reduces the fees they pay and keeps them from having to pass that fee along to the customer.

Believe it or not company decisions are made on reducing cost, increasing profits, and keeping customers and shareholders happy. Not buy some guy laughing and thinking of ways to screw you all over day after day.

[Orionsangel]

I've been saying this for years. The Point system is setup that way to get more money from you. MS is a greedy money hungry bastard of a company!

[skyblue14213]

@gamingdriod.

I cant say much about nintendo's online store point system because it is pretty fair, as it is almost as good as sony's.

Psn has 50% off sales frequently even if you are not a psn+ subscriber. And like others have said that microsoft deliberately uses a point system like the way it is to get you to spend more money, in other words they are scamming you by forcing you to buy more than you need in hopes of you spending more than what you need due to the odd values of their point system.

Some people will try to defend it by ridiculous reason by saying things like everything cost the same all around the planet, but what these people don't tell you is that the currency value is different for every country and thus a set amount of points will cost different in every country so their argument is irrelevant.

The fact of the matter is microsoft has thought of a way to make it so that the point system amount and the set prices for products on the xbox live market place is set in a way to try to force your hand in spending more than you want because you will always have points left over that you more than likely don't want to go to waste. Sometimes on very rare occasions you might break even and spend all of your points, but they have it figured out where usually for the most part that you will always have points left over. Imo it is just another notch in the belt of microsoft's underhanded business tactics which is nothing new to say the least, and it is one of the main reasons why I don't support the xbox 360.

If you are using a credit card to buy things off of psn sony makes you purchase at least $5 psn credit, but that is a very minor problem especially considering if you go a little over $5 they don't make you buy more of a set amount and instead just charge you the exact amount. And besides 99% of the time the average consumer is going to spend over $5 for the most part. I hope sony keeps their cash system on psn in the future as it is a very simple and good system.

[gcolley]

you sound like a fanboy. you accuse like a fanboy and you defend like a fanboy.

guess what buddy, nobody cares what a fanboy thinks

[skyblue14213]

Lol, I know for a fact that I am not a fanboy as I own multiple consoles from sony, nintendo, sega, and I own a pc in which I use windows 7 which is way better than windows vista. Because If I was a fanboy I would only own products from one company. So your accusation about me being a fanboy is irrelevant and unfounded, but nice try so I commend you for your effort in trying to prove something that clearly is not true because it gave me a laugh for a bit.

If you read my whole post and took everything into consideration before you posted you would see that I had a problem not only with microsoft but also with nintendo, and sony. You obviously either did not read my whole post before you replied, or you choose to only focus on the microsoft section of my post and ignored the rest of my post.

Basically what I was saying was that microsoft in general is the worst out of the 3 simply because they are known to shaft their customer base more than the other 2, and the way that they set their point system up is no exception to that claim. But the other 2 aren't perfect either and again you would know that if you read my whole post.

All 3 are in it to make money and I am not refuting or against that. But when you screw your customers by giving them: faulty hardware, you nickle and dime them, you bash your competition by spouting out half truths and claim your product is better than the other 2 when if you do your homework you find that it is the complete opposite, and you deceive your customers who wouldn't have a problem with microsoft? I could go on but I rather not.

The main reason why I call microsoft out or the other 2(at times) is to educate the consumer before they make a decision. I was going to originally buy an xbox 360 this gen because on the surface microsoft's console initially seemed like the better deal. But I first did some research and found out that not only did sony offer more bang for your buck but microsoft's console was in fact the worst deal out of the big 3. And in the end I choose the ps3, but I am eventually going to get a wii in the future also.

The reason why I think sony's psn purchase system is the best(not perfect though) out of the 3 is because they use the simple and well established purchase no-bull system that basically 99% of all other commerce on this planet uses, and that is the cash system.

I don't feel like wasting more time than I already have at this time and I think that I have said enough atm because I think that I have gotten my point across. But if you you have any more input please feel free to reply.

[Bgibbs]

At least give credit to the Redditor you stole this image from

Proof : http://www.reddit.com/r/gam...

[earbus]

Never really botherd me but may as well have a bitch about it on whinging 4 gamers.

[djrandy123]

wow really you guys ar bitching about the ms points system i think it is a great system to have so you may have a little extra when you buy you DLC but not enough for maps and thing hers a hint(STOP CRYING ABOUT IT AND JUST BUY THE DAM MSPOINTS) microsoft MS Point system is not going anywhere so GET OVER IT.I myself will never use a credit card to buy DLC when i can get MSpoint cards to buy my DLC
so for you people who like to wine about this GET OVER IT.

[skyblue14213]

You know you could also buy psn cards to spend on the psn online store, and I think wii online store cards to spend on the wii online store. So you don't ever have to use a credit card to buy anything off of any of the 3 online stores.

[CrimsonEngage]

There is only one thing i hate more than what the guy wrote in this article and that's buying something off the marketplace and then haveing only 10 or 20 Microsoft points left. Seriously? What can you buy for 10 or 20 MSP!?

[PirateThom]

It doesn't surprise me so many people are out in defence of points, it's classic "Itchy and Scratch Money" mentality. "It's more fun" or "it's more universal" or some other nonsense justfication, but the fact is, it's converting money to money that can only be used on Microsoft's terms. It's not even the fact it uses points as much as the fact you can only purchase set amounts of points, not exactly the amount you need.

5$ or £5 minimum on PSN isn't really as big a deal because most games cost more than that and, even if you need to use the minimum of £5, the next transaction won't be "set amounts" so you can easily clear the balance and use your money, I've rarely had a 0 balance on Marketplace, but am usually on £0.00 on PSN.

Even if "10 or 20" points sitting in your balance can't be spent, it's money Microsoft have from you for no content and no interest earned on it. It will stay 10 or 20 points until you buy more points and spend those and probably end up with more left over. Trust me, this system is not in place to be "consumer friendly" to any degree.

[skyblue14213]

Well said, that is exactly what I have been trying to tell people also but some just don't get it. I don't care about the agree/disagree thing on n4g for the most part but I am surprised that you got a disagree for saying the truth. It must be that disagree fairy again, lol.

[kasasensei]

It's a tarp.

[Masterchef2007]

WoW seems a lot of 360 owners are sensitive to the subject. Its really their fault that this happens in the first place because they accept it with open arms. If around 30% of XBOX owners were to cancel their subcscripcion of XBOXlive microsoft might change their point system. But until that happens they will keep the point system.

This is the same thing with XBOXlive gold. Microsoft charges people for multiplayer because they know that they can. If people didnt subscribe to XBOXlive gold Microsoft would probably lower the price but since it is so popular (over 20 million subscribers BTW) instead of lowering it they raised it to make more cash.

As the saying goes " You get what you pay for "

And also " Opinions are not facts just personal statements"

[Kaveman]

This reminds me sorta of buying a burger from like Burger King..
You go and buy a burger that's priced at $4.93 and pay with a $5 bill.
These 'leftover points' is like those $.07 you got back from Burger King.
However, the difference, is that most people will never use that $.07, they got back..
A lot of people would either tell them to keep the change or lay it down and lose it.
However, MS Points, is like keeping that $.07 to use for next time at Burger King..
The 'leftover' points may not get you much, but it does help with a future purchase.

At least, that's my take on this article, hah.

[00000000000000000001]

No it doesn't bother me, if I want to buy something and don't have enough points I just purchase $20 worth. I really could give a shit if I have any left over.
IMO only a little kid would worry about a few points.

[Hanuman]

I hate spending leftover points on arcadegames that I never play. Still I do it everytime?!

[noodi1349]

I was about to purchase Super Street Fighter 4 costume pack (the whole bundle pack) and when I looked at my funds (PS3) i was off by 0.14 pence, was like Whaa?!! I hate it when this happens.

[RealtorMDandDC]

Very well said.....u prob log into this website by accident...you tend not to see intelligent comments on N4G..