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View Full Version : Microsoft sued over Xbox Live points system



darth los
27-Jan-2010, 06:27 PM
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6247722.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;4


There's Definitely sound legal reasoning here. How can a company offer a service and then not offer a way to pay for it or atleast give you your change back?

I mean you don"t go to McDonald's, order a #3, slip the cashier a twenty and get no change back and then when you ask for it they tell you that you will not be recieving any change, however you can use what's left towards a future purchase, but for all intents and purposes that twenty is now the property of MS.

So not only are they securing a current sale but ensuring a future one as well because if you don't use it with them it can't be used at all. There's something wrong with that.

MS are greedy bastards anyway, engaging in practices like charging for dlc that should be free and incidents like this one. Not good business people.


Here's a comment left by someone which does a good job of explaining it.


This lawsuit definitely has merit. If all I want to buy is a map pack, I should be able to do so without investing a single penny beyond what it costs (in actual dollars). With the points system, I have to spend approximately 7-8 dollars (600 points) on something that costs 5 dollars (400 points), and then I lose the additional value if I don't buy anything else; it doesn't matter if there's stuff available for 200 points or less, I don't want it, and Microsoft effectively makes you buy other products to utilize the points you've bought. And yes, I realize I can save those points for other map packs, but more often than not, I have to spend more money to buy more points, and I always have an overrage after that transaction, and so the cycle continues. Imagine if your local Best Buy charged you 22.75 for a DVD and you gave them $25.00 cash, and instead of giving you change, they said they would hold onto it for your next purchase. They can't do that, and neither can Microsoft.


:cool:

bassman
27-Jan-2010, 06:37 PM
MS are greedy bastards anyway, engaging in practices like charging for dlc that should be free and incidents like this one. Not good business people.


Aint that the truth.

I hope this guy gets every penny. I like my 360, but fuck MS in their greedy little asses.

darth los
27-Jan-2010, 06:44 PM
Aint that the truth.

I hope this guy gets every penny. I like my 360, but fuck MS in their greedy little asses.

Hell yeah they're greedy and I never said otherwise. I just love that damn machine though.

It's like they got a hold on me man ! :hyper:

:cool:

AcesandEights
27-Jan-2010, 06:53 PM
Yeah, it's a pretty shady set up. I'm not even a big MS hater, it's just an obviously deceitful business practice. Still, it seems pretty straightforward that you're only able to buy the points in a block format, who can't tell it's a rip-off ahead of time? Maybe people buying gift cards for others.

SymphonicX
28-Jan-2010, 12:59 PM
I'm sure I replied to this thread already.
I agree that it's a ridiculous system not just for those reasons though: because it's nigh on impossible to work out easily, just how much money you're really spending on DLC...you can top up 1000 points but everything costs 800...expecting me to do that sort of maths deserves it's own lawsuit.

slickwilly13
28-Jan-2010, 03:45 PM
This lawsuit will probably be tossed. Honestly, the change return would be nice, but it does not bother me either way. If I buy 1000 pts and 200 is left over after buying DLC for 800, then I do that 3 more times. I would have 800 pts in change left over to buy something else. And there are DLC that is worth 200 pts or less. I know that I will purchase something else in the future, so roll-over is fine for me.

If they get enough negative press, then MS may improve their pt system.

What annoys me is the fact there is no diffrence in price for which ever package you purchase. If I buy 1000 pts twice it would cost the same as purchasing 2000. $12.50 X 2 = $25 plus tax. You would assume it would at least cost $20 for 2000 or $50 for 6000.

MS does offer cheaper rates for XBL Gold accounts. Why not pts? If MS changes their policy, then Nintendo will be forced to do the same thing. PSN, on the other hand, sells their games and DLC for actual dollar amounts. If something cost 14.99 plus tax, then you pay that amount. Maybe the other 2 should have done the same thing.

darth los
28-Jan-2010, 03:56 PM
We're all throwing out neat little numbers as if it's that simple.

Of course 200, 800 and 1,000 points is no sweat but it never works out that way.

I know it's a miniscule amount but I've been sitting with 25 points in my account for like ever. It always seems to work out that you stay with messed up amounts like that that you really can't doanything with BUT spend more money in order to use it on something else.

:cool:

MikePizzoff
28-Jan-2010, 10:19 PM
I hope this guy gets every penny.

It's class-action. All of us Live users will get some sort of cash if the case is won. :thumbsup:

Skippy911sc
29-Jan-2010, 02:46 PM
In the other post regarding a new way MS points would be dealt with (as I recall) I mentioned how absurd it was that a game costs 800 ms points but I had to buy 1000. If I want to buy a game I should be able to buy that number of ms points and be done with it, not have 300 ms points that just sit there for years.

darth los
29-Jan-2010, 03:12 PM
In the other post regarding a new way MS points would be dealt with (as I recall) I mentioned how absurd it was that a game costs 800 ms points but I had to buy 1000. If I want to buy a game I should be able to buy that number of ms points and be done with it, not have 300 ms points that just sit there for years.


Exactly. And that's what the crux of this argument is about. You should be able to buy what you want at the price it costs. You shouldn't have to buy excess points that you might never intend on using.

The way psn does it seems like a much more fair and equitable system.

:cool:

MikePizzoff
29-Jan-2010, 06:05 PM
I forgot to mention that I currently have 360 points that have been sitting in my account for about 8 months. Before that I had 60 that were there for a while, and before that I believe it was 460. Not sure how I managed to get to 60, but it happened...

The point is, I'm among you guys with having these points just sitting around. It's not fair. With 360 I'm so close to being able to purchase another game, yet I can't buy the measely 40 points I need; they're going to make me purchase another 400.