ms-points posts (Subscribe to this feed)
800 MS point cards now available at retail [update]
by Dustin Burg 
{ Dec 18th 2008 at 3:00PM }
Update: Upon further inspection, the pricing for 800 MS point cards looks to be $9.99 making it only $.01 cheaper than 1600 point cards.
At retail in the U.S., Microsoft point purchasers only have one buying option and that's a 1600 Microsoft point card for around $19.99. But let's say a customer (a retail buying customer) wants, say, half that. Something more like 800 points. Well, that customer would normally be out of luck. That is until now, because we just learned that Microsoft is now selling 800 MS point cards at the retail level. These point of sale activation cards (as seen above) areeven value priced at $9.39 USD priced at $9.99, which is in line with the 1600 point cards. How's that for convenience?
At retail in the U.S., Microsoft point purchasers only have one buying option and that's a 1600 Microsoft point card for around $19.99. But let's say a customer (a retail buying customer) wants, say, half that. Something more like 800 points. Well, that customer would normally be out of luck. That is until now, because we just learned that Microsoft is now selling 800 MS point cards at the retail level. These point of sale activation cards (as seen above) are
[Thanks, Adam L.]
Fanswag: Win 1600 MS Point codes and Aces of the Galaxy
by Richard Mitchell { Jun 18th 2008 at 12:00PM }
- Leave a comment on this post telling us what you would buy with 1600 Microsoft Points. We don't care if it's actually on the Marketplace or not.
- Only one comment per person will be accepted. Posters of multiple comments will be disqualified. We'll accept entries until 6:00PM Eastern time today, June 18, 2008. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. This giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec).
- Later today, we'll pick 4 winners via a random drawing
- One grand prize winner will receive a redemption code for 1600 Microsoft Points and a redemtion code for Aces of the Galaxy, worth a total of $30. Three additional winners will each receive a redemption code for 1600 Microsoft Points, worth $20 each
- Complete giveaway rules can be found here
This week, Target has 1600 MS points for $15
by Ross Miller { May 28th 2008 at 1:00AM }
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Japan can now buy MSpoints via cell phone
by Terrence Stasse { May 25th 2008 at 9:00AM }
We haven't heard news such as this since the last time Microsoft was showing off the so far poorly executed Live Anywhere. Beginning Monday, the Japanese phone service provider NTT DoCoMo will allow its users to pay for MSpoints or a Gold Subscription right from their phone. Any purchases made via the "DoCoMo Mobile Payment Service" are charged to the phone bill, thus bypassing any form of credit card information going to MS. While a move such as this isn't exactly out of character for a company, we have to wonder about the practicality of it for the masses. The most useful situation would be if you were the type of player who uses point cards and doesn't have any CC info associated with their Gamertag. Buying points via phone could save a trip to the store AND keep the evil empire away from your bank info. However, if this comes to the US we foresee many, many XBL brats using their phones to avoid bugging mom and dad for their credit cards ....
Xbox Live size limit upped to 350MB, price limit to 1600 MS points
by Ross Miller { May 22nd 2008 at 5:26PM }
"We are officially increasing our XBLA game size limits dramatically from 150MB to 350MB," said Whitten in an interview with Next-Gen. He also said the price limit of Xbox Live Arcade games has been raised to 1600 MS points (US $20), which was first seen this week for Penny Arcade Adventures.
Alert! Microsoft Points scam sweeps Xbox Live
by Xav de Matos { May 17th 2008 at 11:30AM }
While every major company in the world attempts to bang into your head that they will never ask for your account information sometimes people don't listen.Unfortunately a scam, which appears to have been around for some time, promises free Microsoft points when you log into your .net Passport account. This site, and any site that promises the same, is 100% fake and will only lead to a headache like the reader who sent this in who had 5000 MS points purchased with his credit card.
We know this isn't the first, nor will it be the last, site to attempt to scam you but we hope to echo what you all should already know.
We won't link the site itself, for fear of spreading the scam, but we would like to remind you of a few key things.
- Microsoft will only give points away during official contests that ALWAYS link directly back to a Microsoft site and those contests are always widely reported on X3F, Joystiq and other gaming sites
- Never, no matter what you're promised, log into your account unless on officially sanctioned Xbox sites (Xbox.com, Bungie.net, ForzaMotorsport.net, etc.)
- Never give away your user name and password to anyone and remember Microsoft will never ask for this information
- Never give away your account details, including credit card information and mailing address
Check out our visual guide to spotting fake Microsoft sites used in similar scams. This guide isn't foolproof however, so just steer clear from anything that promises anything!
ForgeHub.com Halo 3 Forge contest
by Xav de Matos { Feb 7th 2008 at 1:45PM }
Civil War reenactments are a fascinating thing. People crowd around to watch an epic battle and they already know the outcome. That's like watching Titanic and really hoping they drift past that infamous iceberg. Apparently the folks at Forge Hub are so enthralled with historic battles that they're willing to throw one lucky winner 1600 MS Points in their Shell Shocked Contest. The contest is open to anyone who can create the most accurate portrayal of a historic battle using the Forge mode in Halo 3, but keep in mind D-Day submissions aren't allowed. Why? We think it's because in a world of Civil War reenactments everyone is pretty bored of playing through World War II.
[Thanks, Killer678]
Why exact change is an MS Point no-no
by Richard Mitchell { Dec 11th 2007 at 5:30PM }
It's happened to all of us. There's a game on Xbox Live Arcade that you want for the ever attractive price of 400 MS Points. You don't have any points, so you decide to buy some. But what's this? You can only purchase them in multiples of 500, leaving you with useless leftover points. This begs the question, why can't you buy the exact amount you need? 1UP's Patrick Klepek asked just this question of Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg. While we've always assumed that spare change is produced in order to entice users to spend more money so they can spend more Microsoft Points, Greenberg has a different answer. "The reason why we do that, the core reason, is around credit card transaction fees," says Greenberg, adding, "If we do this in bulk, we don't have to burden the consumer with the transaction fees, or ourselves or publishers." He conceded that it's annoying to end up with odd leftover points, but added that Microsoft isn't planning on changing the system anytime soon.So there you have it folks, you're spending extra money so you can save money. Simple, right?
[Via Joystiq]
