Xbox Live Currency Conversion Results In Hefty Price Hike

[Andy Chalk]

Xbox Live Currency Conversion Results In Hefty Price Hike

The changeover from Microsoft points to real money on Xbox Live in the U.K. has resulted in a fairly significant increase in the price of games.

The change from Microsoft points to real money on Xbox Live is generally seen as a welcome move, but it looks like there will be a downside: prices are going to increase. According to a Reddit user in the U.K., where the new system is being tested, games that previously went for 1200 Microsoft points, which cost £9.99, are now listing for £11.99. Another user joined in to say that all prices are going up, from 400 point games which now cost £4.49 compared to a £3.33 price for 400 MS points, to 1600 point games, which cost £14.99 rather than the £13.33 price for 1600 MS points.

There are conflicting reports about the actual value of Microsoft points when converted to real money under the beta, however. The original Reddit post claims that a 1200 Microsoft point card purchased for £9.99 converts to £9.99, but Videogamer.com [http://www.videogamer.com/news/xbox_live_game_prices_to_increase_with_new_dashboard_update_reports_claim.html] reports that a 4200 Microsoft point card purchased for £33 converts to £35.70 in the beta. Some users have also said that these increases merely bring Xbox Live pricing in line with the PlayStation Network, but others dispute that.

It's not clear how this might affect Xbox Live users in other regions, and it's also worth remembering that this is a beta test, so nothing is carved in stone. We'll update if and when we hear more.

Source: Reddit [http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1hybfi/change_from_microsoft_points_to_real_currency/]


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[TiberiusEsuriens]

games that previously went for 1200 Microsoft points, which cost £9.99, are now listing for £11.99.
reports that a 4200 Microsoft point card purchased for £33 converts to £35.70 in the beta.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if this hike was planned, but it kind of just sounds like a really crappy conversion bug. One that will very publicly further damage the brand.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

For fucks sake, $1 =/= £1

How come come businesses are so ignorant in regards to currency conversion?

 

[Teoes]

This is what happens when you find a stranger in the alps!

On the one hand, if they decide to jack their prices up then that's up to them; on the other hand, doing it inconsistently is another way to piss off your users. How many people saw this coming when the original announcement was made?

 

[ArcossG]

Good morning everyone and today on Microsoft f*ck up...

 

[Roxas1359]

For fucks sake, $1 =/= £1

How come come businesses are so ignorant in regards to currency conversion?

Well remember, this is Microsoft doing the conversions, and as we've seen then seem to have a hard time grasping the notion that there are other countries besides the U.S...

OT: To be quite honest I'm not surprised about this in the slightest because MS has shown in the past and fairly recently that they don't seem to know how to properly put prices on things in other regions and countries besides the US.

This is what happens when you find a stranger in the alps!

On the one hand, if they decide to jack their prices up then that's up to them; on the other hand, doing it inconsistently is another way to piss off your users. How many people saw this coming when the original announcement was made?

*raises hand*
I did. Do I get a prize?

 

[josemlopes]

In the UK it got higher but I bet that in some other places it got cheaper, they will probably take some time to fix it all

 

[Alek The Great]

It's actually a tad cheaper now in Canada

 

[CriticalMiss]

I'm not suprised this is happening, although I wouldn't call a £2 increase 'hefty'.

It will be interesting to see what happens to prices elsewhere. Maybe we will get further insight as to just how little Microsoft understand exchange rates and how they don't give a damn outside of the continental US.

 

[UnnDunn]

It's likely this isn't really a price hike but more of a price correction. In other words, it's likely the price conversion is based on the MSRP of the point cards, but people are used to the points cards being sold below MSRP.

For example, in the US, the MSRP of a 1600-point card is $19.99, but it isn't too hard to find them for $17.99 or even $16.99 on sale. But with the new system, items that were formerly 1600 points are being priced at $19.99, creating what appears to be a price hike.

That may be what is happening in the UK. Just my speculation. Can anyone in the UK who isn't in the beta chime in on how much it costs to buy MSP through the dashboard?

 

[Irridium]

And these were the people who were going to make an always-online, digital-focused console where they had more control than ever before.

 

[walrusaurus]

For fucks sake, $1 =/= £1

How come come businesses are so ignorant in regards to currency conversion?

Try reading the article before you get outraged. This has nothing to do with dollars to pounds; in fact dollars aren't mentioned even once.


On topic: I am utterly unsurprised if this is intentional. Seems like something they would do, round up all the prices so they can wring some more cash out of old hats.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Dont care, no one is forced to buy anything on xbox live and buying used is way cheaper anyway. We all have our own opinions on what something is worth. If certain people think certain DLC is worth the extra cost then they will buy it, others wont. Its like with the new consoles, £55 for a game is stupid, most games released now are not worth £35.

So, again, its up to our own opinion and what we think is worth the price it costs. Shit, sorry, think i am being to reasonable for the internet.......fuck MS. lol

 

[Mikeyfell]

I think it's a cultural thing.

Most Americans thing England is a land of top hats and monocles where everyone tells time on solid gold pocket watches.
The kind of place where everyone lives in castles and travels through space and time in their flying blue police boxes.
And of course American corporations think those people can afford to pay through the nose for video games.

When in reality only like 71 percent of British people live like that and the other 29 percent need reasonably priced video games!

 

[The Grim Ace]

I really hope this is just a bug since this is otherwise just another terrible auger of Microsoft's planning.

This is what happens when you find a stranger in the alps!

Even censored, The Big Lebowski is always hilarious and relevant .

 

[Alek The Great]

It's likely this isn't really a price hike but more of a price correction. In other words, it's likely the price conversion is based on the MSRP of the point cards, but people are used to the points cards being sold below MSRP.

For example, in the US, the MSRP of a 1600-point card is $19.99, but it isn't too hard to find them for $17.99 or even $16.99 on sale. But with the new system, items that were formerly 1600 points are being priced at $19.99, creating what appears to be a price hike.

That may be what is happening in the UK. Just my speculation. Can anyone in the UK who isn't in the beta chime in on how much it costs to buy MSP through the dashboard?

I can't speak for people in the UK, but that is not the case in Canada. If I understood correctly, in the US it used to be that 80 points was equal to a dollar. Over here in Canada for some reason a dollar bought you 70 points which resulted in higher prices. Now without the points the Canadian prices are the same as the American ones so everything's a few dollars cheaper! Don't know why no ones reporting on that...

 

[mechalynx]

I don't doubt for a second it's on purpose. The GPB and EUR had always had higher value than the US dollar. They're making a fortune on currency conversion and I'm not entirely sure that they have to pay tax for that. It does work out nicely for me though and here's why:

When I finally got around to getting a 360, I decided to dust off my Live (once Hotmail) account. The problem was that the account was created back in the stone age of internet when Microsoft didn't bother with regional locks, thus automatically locking it to US of A (I didn't bother specifying my country when I created the account), once they did. It turned out to be impossible for the XBOX live customer support to change my country, thus I was saddened to see that I could not charge the said Live account with my plebby European money and was forced to resort to having my husband use his appropriately Swedish account on a machine he never used so that I could get some decent DLC for my games.

That sadness turned to joy when I discovered that I could make purchases via Paypal with USD! By that time the US currency was worth half the European so pretty much everything was a bargain.

 

[Albino Boo]

Small but rather important point, The Euro and Pound both have fallen by 20% against the dollar in the 3 last months and likely to fall even further and remain low for the next 3 years. The Fed has indicated that it intends to end QE early and maybe increase interest at some point within the next 3 years, whereas the BoE and the ECB have both indicated that interest rates will remain at the current 0.5% for the next 3 years. The price has gone up because the pound is worth less.