Let’s face it…. I love Microsoft. I was surprised and skeptical when it was announced they were stepping into the video game market, but without regret I quickly jumped on board. I loved every minute of that console and with it’s demise in 2007 I think I left a part of myself behind.
When the xbox 360 was announced I was quick to celebrate that the money giant was staying in the game. I happily purchased my new console and have been enjoying “next generation” gaming ever since. I must say that I have stayed content with the system and for the most part agreed with the direction Microsoft has taken with their services. There are however a few things that I am not a huge fan of.
The Xbox 360 has had it’s fair share of controversy including the “Red Ring” Issue, Damaging Discs, Video Failure, Numerous Firmware updates that have been reported to “Brick” consoles. Detailed descriptions of these issues can be found here. Despite the issues, the Xbox 360 remains one of the most popular systems and sales continue to rise.
The success of Microsoft hasn’t been limited to hardware, but the online community (in my opinion) gained momentum due to the infrastructure put into place by the original Xbox. Sure; there was in fact online gaming before this in consoles. The Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis had the X-Band which would allow gamers to connect through dial-up and play games online. That tradition continued throughout the generations with minor implementation until the debut of the Xbox. This put online gaming with consoles on the map.
The current version of Xbox Live is a well oiled machine. The marketplace, social networking options and ease of connecting to other users for online matches is user-friendly and typically a very solid experience. You can make the argument (which I have heard many times) “Why pay for Xbox Live when PlayStation Network is free?” While PlayStation Network is free, I do tend to prefer the presentation of Xbox Live a little bit more. Now is this worth paying sixty bucks a year for? Well, presentation combined with the amount of content that Microsoft attempts to provide to paying customers in order to justify the price of their service seems to be fair. I honestly don’t have a big issue with paying since I am typically satisfied with the service and the cost isn’t very much when you make some calculations. Now that is also coming from someone who doesn’t own a PS3, so the other option isn’t really there in the first place.
But we aren’t here to talk about that cost are we? The real topic at hand is my issue with Microsoft Points. This system made its debut with the Xbox 360 and while I didn’t have an issue with it at first I have grown to hate it overtime. For those who aren’t familiar, Xbox Live uses “Microsoft Points” as an online currency. This meaning that instead of seeing a digital arcade game or downloadable content cost a smooth $5, we simply see 400 Microsoft Points.
This breaks down to $1 equaling 80 Microsoft Points. Why is this complex system in place you may ask? According to an interview with 1up and Aaron Greenberg, they choose to sell these points in bulkier packages in order to cut down on transaction fees. Honestly this is smart business for multiple reasons….
The online packages of points available for purchase is as follows
400 points – $4.99 800 points – $9.99 1600 points – $19.99 4000 points – $49.99 6000 points – $74.99
Retail packages include
1600 points – $19.99 4000 points $49.99
Totally disregarding my point with this statement, but who buys $74.99 worth of Microsoft Points? It still breaks down to be the exact same amount. With that and the facts aside, I really despise this system. On one hand it is nice to see only one transaction for a set number of points instead of multiple charges if you were to make smaller purchases, but this is purely cosmetic. The statement of transaction fees doesn’t seem to impact Sony’s outlook on Network purchases. With any purchase on their network it is a simple purchase amount, just like I bought something in every other place in America. This isn’t the main issue I have however….
Let’s look into an example. I am a hardcore Rock band player. I don’t play non-stop and you won’t find me in Wal-Mart smacking those drum sticks around, but in the privacy of my own home I enjoy raising a little digital anarchy. With this occasional tradition I enjoy expanding my music library due to Harmonix’s continued dedication with releasing additional songs to download. These songs are priced at a cool 160 points. That is about $2 which I consider a fair price. A typical song off iTunes will run you $.99, so the added gameplay for four instruments is worth another dollar right? Sure, so with Harmonix’s release schedule in the past they would typically release new music in a three song pack. (Albums are released on occasion and current release packages are a lot less structured.) For showing your dedication at buying all three songs you would get a small discount. The price of the three pack was set at 440 points. Great huh? Not so much….
Where do you see a point package in the amount of 440 points? My only choice is to get a package of 800 points. Fine. So I spend the $9.99 and the package. Then I buy the 440 point song package. Remaining balance…..360 points. Then I have the issue of having 360 points left over. Granted there is a lot of pointless content out there for cheap with your Xbox avatar and themes. But most of this seems like a waste of money. With having a tough time finding something to spend the left over points on I just decide to hold on to them.
Fast forward…. With a slow release schedule of digital content the next thing that sparked my interest was once again Rock Band songs. The typical price structure presents itself. Once again a three pack of songs peaks my interest. I check my account balance and of course 360 points with 440 needed. Now with individual songs available, I always have the option of only getting one or two. With the purchase of only two songs at 160 points each that would leave me with a stupid amount of 40 points ($.50)left over. But it’s not about using up the remaining balance at this point, but rather purchasing the three song pack I am interested in. Now once again I am not able to purchase the 80 points needed for the complete 440 point price tag. The minimum I am stuck with is 400 points. Even with purchasing that package and buying the three pack, I end up getting stuck with a new total of 320 points. Do you see the cycle? You never have enough points and you are always stuck with a remaining balance that is used to tease you into purchase more. You can argue that this scenario is situational, but I guarantee if you talk to any long-term Xbox Live user this is extremely frustrating.
This tactic seems intentional to me. In my opinion this is intended for the consumer to always be tempted with a balance that is so close to being enough. The ole’ dangling carrot routine. This combined with always spending more than what you wish to can be very inconvenient. I am aware that Nintendo has a point system as well, but I am unable to comment on it due to lack of experience with the Wii. It just seems that Sony has the right idea on this one. After dealing with the hassle of MS points, after getting a Sony PSP and experiencing a limited amount of PSN transactions I can easily say which system is better for the consumer.
– Jon
