Report: Microsoft Killing Off Microsoft Points by Year's End

Yes! I hate these stupid point systems.

they should have done that since the begining

I am happy to see this go. The points was a ploy to disconnect the feeling you get spending money It was way to get you to spend more money for a download than you would for a physical disc. Many times after doing the conversion, I discovered that it would be cheaper to purchase the physical media than buy the downloadable version.

Good. I hope however Microsoft will sell prepaid cards for those who don't want to attach a credit card to their accounts.

Always felt like buying carnival tickets to me. Pure scamjob.

I miss the days when i purchased a whole game with all the conent... ntw we buy 75% of the game for 60 bucks and then m$ and PSN try to sell us the rest of it... I had given up on consoles for this reason letting my 360 be used for kinect only... but now that pc gaming seems to be going the same direction guess I'm glad I can jsu tpay cash instead of buying seperate points... still wish I just paid for the game and got the whole thing

But how will I buy dlc without a credit card / paypal?

Thank god they're getting rid of those points. I never understood why they couldn't just use regular currency.

Yeah basically you buy a $25 Xbox live "gift card" at a retail store, and add the unique card code to your profile.

Virtual currency systems tend to make lots of things complicated anyway. People trade points for accounts, points for live time, points for "powerleveling" and things like that. Not to mention possible scams.
This allows the possibility of more flexible pricing on items from now on as well. Not necessarily cheaper, but it allows the developing company to affix a realistic value on their content and the health of their business.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a switch to an account-based system, like Steam, where you have to add funds to a wallet - which also has a $5 minimum requirement. That way, they enjoy additional simplicity because it's a straight currency-based system, but keep you on the hook for a minimum amount of money each time you add funds to your account.

For example, 4000 point cards have been for sale (from legit vendors) at $40. That's a significant discount that becomes unavailable.

I'm assuming this will extend to all Live! purchases? I think I still have 100 points from when I bought the PC Fallout 3 expansions.

Thank god their getting rid of those stupid Xbox points.. however knowing microsoft they will probably just do this to raise the price of DLC even more.

And if they expect me to keep a minimum 5 dollars in some account (that probably actually belongs to them, as they own probably everything including your soul in the EULA), count me out. Its not a bank account.

I still hate DLC.. feels like the video game market is getting super greedy. Can't blame em though when everyone is buying it left and right.. ill probably sell chumps DLC too, if i ever develop a game.

Not looking forward to this myself, I have never paid full price for a point card and those deals may go away with this.

Dang! When I saw the headline I thought Microsoft had some sort of reward points like the credit card companies have.

Never even heared of "Microsoft Points".
Seems like I am as far removed from reality as some of our politicians.
Hey, I am qualified to run for office then :-)

I won't miss the point system. I always thought it was goofy. Anytime I wanted to use points for something, I always had to buy more points than needed because of the pre-set "chunks". I'm glad this article ran because it reminded me to shut off my automatic renewal of my gold membership. I can't even remember the last time I turned my Xbox on. I still love the concept of video games, but the console market is REALLY stale right now. Last holiday season we got a handful of predictable sequels to games that really didn't change much. Oh well, it forces me to do other things.

If I remember correctly the whole point of using points instead of just plain currency was because Microsoft always planned on being able to get points for contest and possibly even allow you to wager points. The problem was if they called it regular currency there was a problem with xbox live getting into the territory of online gambling.

The system would have been somewhat useful had they sold points in amounts that were actually relevant to things you bought. You almost always have to buy 200 more points than needed. Sometimes you could even it out, depending on what you bought, but ultimately garbage.

Good riddance.

Most stored value systems are inherently designed to screw the consumer. Microsoft points are no different. Those wondering why they always make you buy more points that you need should see that's how they get you. You always have to pay them more money than what you owe for the item. Then you have a left over balance so they have you locked in because you don't want to waste it. You'll be looking for something to spend it on. Even if you never spend it they already got the money. Tokens at an arcade or tickets at a carnival are the same deal. Its not supposed to be easy or reasonable for you. It's a money maker for them.

Points worked before, but now with DLCs featuring flexible prices the point just don't work anymore.

At times can buy discounted points through Amazon, 1600 for $15 or 4000 for $40. You can also get free points from Bing and Microsoft Xbox live rewards. Renewing your yearly online subscription. This means your buying arcade games of DLC for 10-25% off. Over the past 4-6 months I have received 550 points from Bing and over 800 from Xbox Rewards. I doubt they will switch over rewards and bing to give you real currency. For me, I will be very disappointed to see it go. And once it's gone I think most people will too.

Why do you people think that the point system is so bad? Now that you have pre-paid cards and actual currencies then we might have to pay tax and that will really screw us over...

Buying cards at retail means there's no trail for hackers.
If you buy points online, then your Xbox live account has your name and credit card info attached to it.
If your account is hacked, or if your Xbox is stolen from you home (and you've saved your password for auto logon), then you're screwed.
Right now, Microsoft only knows my nickname and a throw-away email address - I'd like to keep it that way.