Microsoft Points, Microsoft’s controversial virtual currency system for the Xbox, seems like it’s on the way out. The Verge is reporting that Microsoft plans to switch over to a gift card system like Apple’s iTunes gift cards that uses real currency as opposed to Microsoft’s magical fairy money.
Microsoft Points have been criticized for trying to trick people into spending more money than they think they are. Instead of spending $1 on the Xbox Marketplace, Microsoft has its users spend 80 Microsoft Points. This makes it harder to realize how much money you’re actually spending, and makes it harder to tell how much things in the store actually cost. If the average user sees a game in the store that costs 2400 Microsoft Points, they’re going to have no idea how much that actually is in real dollars.
Microsoft is reportedly planning to get rid of this system, however, as they plan to adopt a gift card method that uses real currency. Customers would go to the store and buy a $20 Microsoft Card, that would not only allow them to buy things on the Xbox Marketplace, but also the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store.
The switch in currency would likely be set to happen in time for the release of Microsoft’s next Xbox console, which is expected to be released sometime this fall.
