'Microsoft Points to be phased out,' claims report

StonecoldMC on 24 Jan '12 said:

Damn it!

Im a fan of the points system as you can usually get a good deal on the cards and usually get a bit better value for money.

Scarlet_Pimp on 24 Jan '12 said:

No, i quite like the fact that I can normally get point cards for cheap seems like your getting better value especially if you buy a game in the sale too. I once got a 2100 point card for 4 quid. I see why they are doing it though but I will sort of miss the cheap point cards.

solamon77 on 24 Jan '12 said:

Probably a good idea. I'm tired of the points system. It really irritates me how if I want to buy something that costs $12, I have to make 2 separate purchases for 800 points and then 400 points. It makes me feel like I'm being taken advantage of.

ricflair on 24 Jan '12 said:

Seconded stonecold! This could push the price up and make it comparable to PSN prices now (Outland 800 points vs £7.99 etc). I always wait and pick up 2100 cards for about £14/£15 when they appear at Zavvi etc. If (and that's if!) the XBLA prices rise, that'd be another dent in the 360's appeal for me.

I'm surprised they've waited this long though, the points system probably doesn't exactly help with impulse buys.

c3dpo on 24 Jan '12 said:

I prefer the points MS, better deals as stated by the solid mod "Stonedcold"

Not only do you get better deals, but MS, if people are like me, when drunk, these points dont have no £££ / $$$ value, I just buy them buy the thousands, I also like having a few left over from buying blocks, as then I can buy a little game or rent a movie.

Bad call IMO, stay different, also, how do you guys think this wil affect the loyalty program, i.e. getting points for surveys etc?

zombiesinmyhead on 24 Jan '12 said:

I actually like the points system. Its not perfect, but its a lot better than adding fraudable details to your account. Becoming a bit of an issue, that.

racxie on 24 Jan '12 said:

Like Stonecold and many others, I like the point system as it can be cheaper, though as Solomon and rickflair pointed out, they are more hassle and discourage impulse buys.

I'm really not sure about the validity of this report though, considering that Windows Phone never used MS points in the first place, and I'm pretty sure the Zune client on the PC doesn't either. Only services and content on 360 and GFWL do.

metallicorphan on 24 Jan '12 said:

really glad to see people's positive comments on the points system

I think all they need is 100 points for sale in there,so that people who are just missing the target of 800 points(example)can just pay 100 to make the difference,instead of having to buy 400 points which is the lowest

and you know 1200 point games will now be at £9.99,when we can usually get 2100 points for 17 quid or cheaper

Black Mantis on 24 Jan '12 said:

Like Stonecold and many others, I like the point system as it can be cheaper, though as Solomon and rickflair pointed out, they are more hassle and discourage impulse buys.

I'm really not sure about the validity of this report though, considering that Windows Phone never used MS points in the first place, and I'm pretty sure the Zune client on the PC doesn't either. Only services and content on 360 and GFWL do.

They do use the MS points system. I have the Lumia 800 and Zune PC client both tied to my gamertag and as long as I'm signed in, the prices are displayed in points.

KMakawa on 24 Jan '12 said:

I like the points system for how easy it is to get on-demand pointage aswell as how cheap some sites make it.

Silly idea MS, but we did hear this a year or so ago.. claiming that it would be real-life currency instead.

nee50n on 24 Jan '12 said:

I'm sure the points system is used to reduce transaction processing fees - which could represent up to 3 percent of revenues. They obviously feel that the cost benefit is not there (especially if as you lot say, people are buying cards considerably cheaper).

gmcb007 on 24 Jan '12 said:

Transactions will instead be based on the region of the purchasing account,

In others words in typical MS fashion, us Europeans will face higher prices than their beloved US users. Screw it, i'm going to buy a load of points just before the switch, just like I did when they raised the ciggarette age limit!

panantukan on 24 Jan '12 said:

IMO they can't get rid of them soon enough! It used to always p**s me off how you were always conveniently left with a few points but never quite enough to buy anything else...

Agent75 on 24 Jan '12 said:

I don't see what the big deal is. But cutting out retailers (to buy points from), means more money for Micro$oft, plus it cuts out productions costs etc. Can't see how this is headline news.

Toasted_PSP on 24 Jan '12 said:

Nothing I saw in the article suggests that pre paid cards are going to disappear so you will still have the same option you do now to pick up cheap pre paid cards. Reading the comments here I am guessing most people are Xbox users and either dont have a PS3 or dont buy from the PSN because if you did you would know that PSN has used real currency since it started and you can buy PSN card below face value. I picked up a £20 card 6months ago for £8.

IMHO this is a great idea, finally prices between the PSN and LIVE will be easily comparable and we will see who is charging more for content.

TheLastDodo on 24 Jan '12 said:

For those worried about losing out on 'deals' I wouldn't worry. I've bought PSN cards from a few major online retailers (Amazon, Shopto, Game) where they've offered for ex. £25 PSN cards for £20 or £50 cards for £40, so MS changing points to a real currencies should have no effect on the 'deals'.

ricflair on 24 Jan '12 said:

My worry is that they'll just go to the same price point as PSN - even as it stands 1000MSP are £8.50 from MS. And as a bargain hunter, I can tell you you get much better and more frequent deals on MS cards than Sony, not massively cheaper, but still enough to make quite a difference when you factor in the current price differences.

We're only talking a couple of quid here and there, but as a percentage it's pretty high. And I wouldn't put it past MS to sneak in a 15% price hike as well as help cut out the middle man.

damoxuk on 24 Jan '12 said:

Well just like PSN cards if you shop around you can get some decent deals.

Only recently I got a £35 PSN card for £25 from Gamestation so yes.

Points systems are a bit pointless imo.

bamozzy on 24 Jan '12 said:

Personally I am a fan of points - I like the fact that I can earn them via xboxliverewards too. They are generally easier and can get good deals in buying them too. I don't like using a 'card' for payment on my xbox or PS3 - there have been too many security breaches and problems associated with it. Also stops Microsoft taking more money than I want them to as well - maybe thats why they want to phase them out!!

Typheous on 24 Jan '12 said:

Noooooooo Just NO!

I recently had my Xbox Live account hacked (last week) and whoever got into my account spent 1700 of my saved up points on s**te for Fifa. Now, since I only ever use the pre-paid cards MS thankfully sorted my account out and gave me back the points that had been stolen. Now if I did have any card details saved to my account they could have spent hundreds of pounds on crap, which would have pretty much left me in the s**t.

This is one main reason I hope they leave well alone. It will help a lot of people like myself from any future hacks and account attacks if most people don't have to put card details into a console.

Toasted_PSP on 24 Jan '12 said:

Noooooooo Just NO!

I recently had my Xbox Live account hacked (last week) and whoever got into my account spent 1700 of my saved up points on s**te for Fifa. Now, since I only ever use the pre-paid cards MS thankfully sorted my account out and gave me back the points that had been stolen. Now if I did have any card details saved to my account they could have spent hundreds of pounds on crap, which would have pretty much left me in the s**t.

This is one main reason I hope they leave well alone. It will help a lot of people like myself from any future hacks and account attacks if most people don't have to put card details into a console.

It would be insane for MS to completely get rid of pre paid cards, I can almost guarantee they will still be around in one form or another. Having a credit card on the system wont be the only way to purchase content from LIVE, Sony gave in in the end and released pre paid cards so I don't see MS scrapping them.

As for you been hacked, this change in currency from points to real money wouldn't have made any difference to your situation. Hopefully MS close the loop holes in place on LIVE at the same time as changing from points to pounds.

The other big advantage of this for MS is LIVE often has stuff cheaper than PSN so this will highlight that fact quite well and it could see bigger advantages for gamers if this triggers some sort of price war on the stores.

alan666 on 24 Jan '12 said:

i don't see whats wrong with the current system, i prefer it.

racxie on 24 Jan '12 said:

Like Stonecold and many others, I like the point system as it can be cheaper, though as Solomon and rickflair pointed out, they are more hassle and discourage impulse buys.

I'm really not sure about the validity of this report though, considering that Windows Phone never used MS points in the first place, and I'm pretty sure the Zune client on the PC doesn't either. Only services and content on 360 and GFWL do.

They do use the MS points system. I have the Lumia 800 and Zune PC client both tied to my gamertag and as long as I'm signed in, the prices are displayed in points.

Funny that considering I've had a Samsung Omnia 7 for over a year and I've never seen an option to allow me to pay in MS Points. Whether through the phone, the website (as you can see here for yourself) or the Zune client. As for Zune you can see that the prices on the website (see here) is displayed in currency too, until, as you said, you sign in in which case it will give you an option to use either MS points or currency to pay for music and movies. NOT WP7 apps (and applies to the client as well).

I was wrong about Zune, but I never really use it so have never bothered to sign in (so always seen currency up until now), but as for WP7 apps, games & music, or in other words, absolutely anything, you can only use currency no matter what you like to believe, as it's even been discussed here. The only exception that I am aware of right now is DLC for a very few games which you have to pay for using MS points, which is just really strange...

rhyfel on 25 Jan '12 said:

if microsoft phase the points system out i hope thay don't go to a credit card only model. people who use there credit cards to buy games off XBLA are asking for trouble. microsoft still insist thay have not been hacked so why is microsoft still refunding people who have lost microsoft points from there accounts, we all know that microsoft would rather shoot its own grandma than admit liability but there is definitely a problem somewhere and the micreosoft points scheme was one way of insulating oneself from possible credit card fraud and without the points scheme thay have lost a customer.

mowglippml on 25 Jan '12 said:

Having only recently come back to Xbox Live after a couple of years out I was very pleasantly surprised to see that I could buy MS Points via Paypal. I am wary of putting my credit card into my console so this seemed like a great alternative.

racxie on 25 Jan '12 said:

Edit: Ignore this. Browser at work is just messing up.

Masterspy on 25 Jan '12 said:

Good! I hate having to convert it / shop around for the best price

ladycroft142 on 25 Jan '12 said:

While purchases did end up being slightly cheaper with the points system, it'll be a nice change to know how much you’re spending with having to resort to constantly calculating.

wayside on 27 Jan '12 said:

if the rumors are true then how well you pay with money? like through a credit card or somthing?