XBLA has resorted to deceptive advertising.

[Lord Helmet]

You expected something besides deception from a system that uses points which are designed to make games look 20% cheaper than they are?

 

Huh? How does using points make games look cheaper than they are??

 

400 points = 5 bucks

800 points = 10 bucks

etc...nothing confusing at all...unless you think that 1 ms point = 1 dollar or something silly like that.

[Mirage]

You expected something besides deception from a system that uses points which are designed to make games look 20% cheaper than they are?

 

Huh? How does using points make games look cheaper than they are??

 

400 points = 5 bucks

800 points = 10 bucks

etc...nothing confusing at all...unless you think that 1 ms point = 1 dollar or something silly like that.

 

Yes, that's what he meant, it's a psychological advertising trick that the points aren't exactly matched to the dollars (i.e. 500 points = $5). Actually, just using the points system at all is a psychological marketing maneuver designed to make people spend money more willingly.

[A Sprite]

Has anyone noticed that the service might charge for the second half? It's hypothetical at this point.

[Artlover]

Has anyone noticed that the service might charge for the second half? It's hypothetical at this point.

No, it's not hypothetical.

 

The article only says "may" on account that they apparently didn't confirm it themselves. If you read the two forum links you will notice that many actual players HAVE confirmed it.

Edited May 10, 2009 by Artlover

[Lord Helmet]

You expected something besides deception from a system that uses points which are designed to make games look 20% cheaper than they are?

 

Huh? How does using points make games look cheaper than they are??

 

400 points = 5 bucks

800 points = 10 bucks

etc...nothing confusing at all...unless you think that 1 ms point = 1 dollar or something silly like that.

 

Yes, that's what he meant, it's a psychological advertising trick that the points aren't exactly matched to the dollars (i.e. 500 points = $5). Actually, just using the points system at all is a psychological marketing maneuver designed to make people spend money more willingly.

 

Hmm. I see the point, but don't see how its making me spend more money. I know that I can buy a points card for $20 and that's gonna get me 2 800 point games. I guess I just don't think about it that much. If there's a game out there I want, I'm gonna pick it up, regardless of points / dollars

[Kripto]

The point about points is not just that it makes everything appear cheaper, but also, it creates a divide/abstraction between real world money and Microsoft's online currency.

 

If a game was labeled to cost "$9.99" instead of "800 Points" the buyer would be more likely to draw comparisons with real-world objects or services which he could buy for the same amount.

Edited May 11, 2009 by Kripto

[Atarifever]

The point about points is not just that it makes everything appear cheaper, but also, it creates a divide/abstraction between real world money and Microsoft's online currency.

 

If a game was labeled to cost "$9.99" instead of "800 Points" the buyer would be more likely to draw comparisons with real-world objects or services which he could buy for the same amount.

Exactly. The point is to simply hide the money; it doesn't matter how exactly that is done. The points could actually be more than the dollars, and it would still work. Heck, it might work better as people would feel they were getting extra "game money" for dollars. So, for example, $5 could get you 600 points, and even if the games were all raised to that new level, people would likely still see 600 points as easier to part with than the $5 it took to buy it. I mean, 100 of those points were "free" right? At least, that's how people think. But then, people are so mindless they still often call $8.99 "eight dollars."

[HammR25]

The third reason is to force you to invest in "points" so they can hold your money before you buy things. That's why you're forced to buying things in multiples of 500 when games prices are in multiples of 4. This means they'll almost always have a balance of your money to invest.

 

At least we can now buy XBLA games at Amazon.com now and avoid this particular issue.

Edited May 11, 2009 by HammR25

[Gabriel]

Well, if points really bother you, buy a PS3 and buy things from the PS store, where everything is priced in real money. The only thing is that there's a $5 minimum charge whenever you check out.

[Kripto]

I don't think anyone is being bothered by points per se, mere discussing how their very nature is soaked in deceit. Ewww.

[moycon]

If a game was labeled to cost "$9.99" instead of "800 Points" the buyer would be more likely to draw comparisons with real-world objects or services which he could buy for the same amount.

 

Just buy games from Amazon. They are sold for real-world objects. I can't says I've ever had a problem with the points, I could see how some people might be confused, at first, but I wouldn't think that would take long to figure out the break down.

[Atarifever]

I could see how some people might be confused, at first, but I wouldn't think that would take long to figure out the break down.

Neither should adding ".99" to the price of anything disguise the fact that it is a dollar more than the digit before the decimal, but stores still do it for a reason. Neither should credit cards make people believe they have "credit" and not "debt" but that works too. How many people would sign up for a "debt card" from Visa I wonder? People is silly. They fall for all kinds of things.

 

I don't think anyone has a problem with this though. As said above, we're mainly just discussing why the business model works. For my part, leaving money on an account for future games is like leaving "inhales" on my lungs for future breathes. It's not like I won't use it. It's currency to buy games. That's what I like to use expendable currency to do anyway.

Edited May 11, 2009 by Atarifever

[Video]

??!? Wow, is it that hard to translate points and dollars? EVERYBODY I know automatically translates. Of course, evverybody I know also upconverts so $8.99 automatically becomes $9.00, maybe it's just the crowd I hang with, but I never considered any of them considerably smart or anything

 

Er...that aside. XBLA does have another rather questionable practice. Sign up for Gold with a credit card, and your screwed. It will be set to auto renew, you have NO choice in the matter. You can try to cancel it, month after month for a while, but it's going to take a lot of your time and money to get it removed.

 

Always use a prepaid card from a local retailer, no hastle, and you don't get screwed into paying for it for extra months you may not want.

[moycon]

You can try to cancel it, month after month for a while, but it's going to take a lot of your time and money to get it removed.

 

Hu?

Just go to xbox.com, log in, click on "My Account" and the "Membership Levels" make sure auto renew is set to "no".

It takes 10 seconds and it's free.

[Artlover]

I don't think anyone is being bothered by points per se

I kinda am. I've always hated the entire concept as they implimented it. The two primary reasons have already been discussed.

 

Points vs Dollars. Sure, it's more or less easy enough to calculate, but still, there is no logical reason for making 80 points = $1.00 other then being different and skewing actual value for impluse buyers.

 

Pre buying blocks of points. MS claims it's too costly to handle microtransactions and that's why they did it this way. BS. iTunes doesn't have any problems handling microtransactions, neither do a lot of other simmilar online companies selling cheap content. Wanna buy a single song for .99 on your credit card, no problem. Obviously, it's not too costly otherwise everyone else wouldn't be doing it. MS's way of doing it only benefits them. You have they pay them for the points, regardless if you use them all or not. If you don't use them all, those unused points translates into real money of your's sitting in their bank account making them interest. To that end, what I propose is that since I have to pre-deposit funds that they are making money from, that it cut both ways and that I earn intrest points based on whatever rate their bank is giving them for holding MY funds. It doesn't even have to be the full intrest rate either, if they want to keep some of it like a 1/4 or 1/3, that would be fine. Just give me a little something from the free money they are making from MY money.

[HammR25]

You can try to cancel it, month after month for a while, but it's going to take a lot of your time and money to get it removed.

 

Hu?

Just go to xbox.com, log in, click on "My Account" and the "Membership Levels" make sure auto renew is set to "no".

It takes 10 seconds and it's free.

You can also remove all credit card info there as well. I did that a couple of days ago after I put 500 more points on my account to buy a community game. At the very least you can change the credit card expiration date to an incorrect one so they can't charge on it.