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Many of you may have read Sega’s article last week regarding the speculation of doing away with Microsoft’s online currency and rejoiced. Anyone familiar with the system knows why it is frowned upon. We are forced to buy set amounts when the item we may want is only a fraction of that, without the option for a smaller purchase. On top of that, as Sega commented, there always seems to be a left over amount of points too small to make any purchase worthwhile.
Now, for most gamers these things are a major inconvenience, but take a look at things from a consumers stand point.
First, you may have noticed is that Microsoft Points(MSP) are always on sale somewhere. It’s no secret, you can find almost any amount of points below the cost displayed on your console. Now ask yourself this; have you ever saw an iTunes, or better yet a PlayStation Network $25 card on sale? The reason we are able to get these deals on MSP are because they are a virtual currency. Retailers are able to lower the prices and include them in bundles at their disposal. These same retailers are not able to take a loss by selling a physical dollar amount card for less money. Expect to be paying full price all of the time now.
The next thing some of you have already realized is the fact the reward points will become a thing of the past. Many of you have found the benefits of using programs like Bing rewards, be it legitimate or exploited. Do you think Microsoft will be paying you actual money to use their services?
The smallest things always seemed to get overlooked and in this case we are talking about sales tax. We will now have to pay sales tax on dollar amount cards, just like everyone else. Some may not be concerned with this one, but let’s face it, we all would rather not pay if it we had the option.
Is it really worth losing our current benefits just so we don’t have some left over point balance? Even if Microsoft intends to switch to a style like competitor Sony, that problem may still persist. Call it MSP, call it a dollar, call it a pound; it doesn’t matter. We are still forced to buy a set amount, unless we have an option to directly pay for the item we want.
The only real benefit will be knowing exactly how much something costs and how much we have left in our accounts in our actual currency. Is it really that hard to convert anyways? Are you, as a consumer and gamer, content with paying full price and still having the same complaint as you did before?
Source
Many of you may have read Sega’s article last week regarding the speculation of doing away with Microsoft’s online currency and rejoiced. Anyone familiar with the system knows why it is frowned upon. We are forced to buy set amounts when the item we may want is only a fraction of that, without the option for a smaller purchase. On top of that, as Sega commented, there always seems to be a left over amount of points too small to make any purchase worthwhile.
Now, for most gamers these things are a major inconvenience, but take a look at things from a consumers stand point.
First, you may have noticed is that Microsoft Points(MSP) are always on sale somewhere. It’s no secret, you can find almost any amount of points below the cost displayed on your console. Now ask yourself this; have you ever saw an iTunes, or better yet a PlayStation Network $25 card on sale? The reason we are able to get these deals on MSP are because they are a virtual currency. Retailers are able to lower the prices and include them in bundles at their disposal. These same retailers are not able to take a loss by selling a physical dollar amount card for less money. Expect to be paying full price all of the time now.
The next thing some of you have already realized is the fact the reward points will become a thing of the past. Many of you have found the benefits of using programs like Bing rewards, be it legitimate or exploited. Do you think Microsoft will be paying you actual money to use their services?
The smallest things always seemed to get overlooked and in this case we are talking about sales tax. We will now have to pay sales tax on dollar amount cards, just like everyone else. Some may not be concerned with this one, but let’s face it, we all would rather not pay if it we had the option.
Is it really worth losing our current benefits just so we don’t have some left over point balance? Even if Microsoft intends to switch to a style like competitor Sony, that problem may still persist. Call it MSP, call it a dollar, call it a pound; it doesn’t matter. We are still forced to buy a set amount, unless we have an option to directly pay for the item we want.
The only real benefit will be knowing exactly how much something costs and how much we have left in our accounts in our actual currency. Is it really that hard to convert anyways? Are you, as a consumer and gamer, content with paying full price and still having the same complaint as you did before?
Source
