Later this year, Microsoft’s awful points system will be retired. Yes. In its place, you’ll be buying content using the same stuff you do for everything else: your local currency. But how, exactly, is the transition going to work?
I mean, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Currency values fluctuate, the price of Microsoft Points has always been up-and-down, many people will have points in their wallet that might be worth more/less now than when they paid for them…it’s complicated!
Thankfully, Microsoft seems to have taken the general decision to err on the side of the consumer’s wallet.
“We have considered many factors to ensure that the amount deposited in your Microsoft account will be of equal or greater marketplace value than your Microsoft Points”, a statement on Microsoft’s website reads.
Sweet. Those points I put in my wallet to test avatar clothes five years ago just appreciated in value!
Microsoft account transition to local currency [Microsoft]
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11 responses to “How Your Microsoft Points Will Become Dollars/Pounds/Euros/Whatever”
“Currency values fluctuate, the price of Microsoft Points has always been up-and-down”
They’ve been the same price since launch. 500 points sets you back $8.25, it’s never changed.
Also, I wonder if this will stop EB from charging extra for currency. The amount they charge is always more than what it would be to buy them direct from the dashboard.
I think it was $30 (at stores) for 1,500 points initially and then it dropped to $25 from memory.
Yeah, retailers have sold the same amount of points for various prices over the years but the base value has never changed, nor has it had anything to do with the fluctuation of currency values
so will items/games still be the same price no matter what country your in? i.e $8.25NZ for 500MS points currently is the same as $8.25AUD for 500MS, so new game is say $20.00AUD will NZ pay $20.00NZD or $23.79NZD or whatever the currency conversion is.
I’d say the costs will be dependent on the country in which you live. 80 MS points in America is $1 but in Australia it’s about $1.29. So I gather that we’ll continue to consistently pay around 29% more. I’d guess MS will set a flat rate for each country. Hopefully it changes according to the value of our dollar though, a few years ago Apple lowered the price of content in reaction to the strong Aussie dollar.
Some interesting things on that site that should have been mentioned in this article:
So any funds you’ve gotten from points being converted (either from when the transition happens or if you redeem a points card afterwards) will expire after a year, but normal funds from the new gift cards will not expire.
If you have any points cards lying around, you need to redeem them before the end of 2014.
That would be good if they do add it in. No more having a few left over points/funds that can’t be used for anything.
Again, good if they added that in.
That’s gonna be a pain. I have 290 points sitting in my account and when it transitions to money I assume I’ve have an odd amount left. The chances of me buying a game for that odd amount alone are slim so that cash will probably expire. Ah well, I’ll just go blow it on useless avatar props.
This is great news! I always felt that points system along with their pricing regime was designed to leave a few points left over so that they either don’t get used or you are compelled to buy another lot, ending up with more left over again. I can’t think of a single situation in which I’ve been able to buy the exact amount of points to pay for the product I wanted.
Not in Australia because points over here can be purchased in multiples of 500 but games cost multiples of 400. The annoying thing is that in America they sell points in multiples of 400 so it’s easy to buy exactly what you need and spend exactly what you need.
I can’t wait for this terrible system to go away. These days everything I buy online is bought for the exact price it costs. If something is $23,59 that’s how much I pay. RIP MS points, you won’t be missed.
The other reason is that it disconnects the price from any real-world touchpoints. If a game costs 20 bucks, you might think “well, I could go down to JB and get a season of a TV show for that much”, and you start to think about the actual value. If it costs 800 points… well, I don’t know how much a loaf of bread costs in Microsoft points, so I can’t really figure out what it’s “worth” in dollars without doing some mental maths that most people won’t bother with.
I want to know if I have say $5 in my account and the thingy I want to buy is $7.50 will I be able to click purchase and than add the $2.50 in via Paypal or however I choose to pay MS. Or will I have to add the $2.50 and than purchase the $7.50 game.
Or worse will I have to charge a set amount before I can purchase the game. Say for example $5 is the smallest denomination so I’ll now have $2.50 left over.
This doesn’t really answer my questions but it’s not looking good for what I want.