Xbox Live Glitch Dishes Out Free Microsoft Points

[The Wooster]

Xbox Live Glitch Dishes Out Free Microsoft Points

An Xbox Live glitch gave out thousands of free Microsoft points to lucky Xbox Live Rewards users.

While some unscrupulous users immediately went on a shopping spree, others thought it wise to check with the Microsoft mothership before spending their recently acquired windfall. A tweet from the official Xbox Support Twitter account indicated that players could keep the deposited points [https://twitter.com/#!/XboxSupport/status/101800617105821696] while another [http://twitter.com/#!/XboxSupport/status/101823504093163520] thanked customers for their honesty and urged them to enjoy their points.

However, it now appears that whoever was manning that Twitter account late last night was on the happy gas and Microsoft is feeling somewhat less generous in the harsh morning light. Players who had yet to spend, or simply didn't notice, the misplaced points have had them taken back. A more recent tweet from Microsoft stated that, "The Rewards deposit today was credited multiple times for some users. The extra points have been recalled."

Microsoft hasn't made it clear if they're going to reclaim the games or items already purchased with glitched points. Perhaps this makes me a sour bastard, but I really hope they do. While no one is entitled to any of these points, it seems fundamentally wrong for honest customers to go without, while dishonest (or maybe just oblivious) types get to walk away with the swag. See that screenshot in the top right there, Xbox Live Rewards users? You could be enjoying that right now if you weren't such nice people.

Source: Videogamer.com [http://www.videogamer.com/news/xbox_live_rewards_glitch_gives_1000s_of_free_ms_points.html]

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[RADlTZ]

I would have expected Microsoft to bring out the hellfire for people who exploited this, maybe they have some fondness for their more rascally-scallywag users,

 

[laryri]

And because of this some people who click on those "FREE MSPOINTS!!!!" links will never learn their lesson.

 

[Escapefromwhatever]

Remember in school when you would get a question wrong and the teacher would accidentally mark it as correct? And how, because it was his or her mistake, he or she would let you keep the extra point? I feel like the same approach should be taken here.

 

[Alphakirby]

WOW! What assholes,IS BILL GATES MONEY POOL 3 DOLLARS SHORT OR SOMETHING!? You know,that's just not fucking right,they got a lucky break and some points just for Microsoft to say "OH MY GOODNESS,WE JUST LOST 1/9999999 OF OUR USUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE GET,WE MUST TAKE EVERYTHING BACK NOW!!!"
This kind of shit is why I don't use my Xbox anymore.

 

[-Dragmire-]

An Xbox Live glitch gave out thousands of free Microsoft points to lucky Xbox Live Rewards users.[/b]

Was the glitch that points just suddenly appeared in their accounts or did they have to do something or exploit something to make it happen.

In the first case I say, let them keep the purchases. It was Microsoft's mistake(apparently), they should reimburse the dev's too.

In the second case I say, take the purchases away. What they did was not ethical and similar to(but not exactly) pirating.

 

[Scizophrenic Llama]

WOW! What assholes,IS BILL GATES MONEY POOL 3 DOLLARS SHORT OR SOMETHING!? You know,that's just not fucking right,they got a lucky break and some points just for Microsoft to say "OH MY GOODNESS,WE JUST LOST 1/9999999 OF OUR USUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE GET,WE MUST TAKE EVERYTHING BACK NOW!!!"
This kind of shit is why I don't use my Xbox anymore.

You're really on about a business taking back extra money that the person shouldn't have been given in the first place? I'm sure if you were running a business and accidentally gave out more than you were supposed to in a situation you'd want to get the extra back, or else you've got a loss on your hands and a whole bunch of extra paperwork and legal issues to deal with or else you'll have the IRS asking where certain funds have gone.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

WOW! What assholes,IS BILL GATES MONEY POOL 3 DOLLARS SHORT OR SOMETHING!? You know,that's just not fucking right,they got a lucky break and some points just for Microsoft to say "OH MY GOODNESS,WE JUST LOST 1/9999999 OF OUR USUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE GET,WE MUST TAKE EVERYTHING BACK NOW!!!"
This kind of shit is why I don't use my Xbox anymore.

Where did you get these exact numbers, dear reader? Or did you make them up on the fly? I'm guessing the latter.

So please, try to think before you post. Thank you

OT: I don't know how I feel on this.

 

[Alphakirby]

WOW! What assholes,IS BILL GATES MONEY POOL 3 DOLLARS SHORT OR SOMETHING!? You know,that's just not fucking right,they got a lucky break and some points just for Microsoft to say "OH MY GOODNESS,WE JUST LOST 1/9999999 OF OUR USUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE GET,WE MUST TAKE EVERYTHING BACK NOW!!!"
This kind of shit is why I don't use my Xbox anymore.

You're really on about a business taking back extra money that the person shouldn't have been given in the first place? I'm sure if you were running a business and accidentally gave out more than you were supposed to in a situation you'd want to get the extra back, or else you've got a loss on your hands and a whole bunch of extra paperwork and legal issues to deal with or else you'll have the IRS asking where certain funds have gone.

That's not the point,the point is that Microsoft makes tons of money every day with it's Xbox Live Gold service (Because it's required to enjoy online) and genuine points, and some people getting lucky with a glitch was not going to drive them into debt nor was it even going to make a dent in their profits. Why couldn't they just let the people who got that lucky break just enjoy it instead of retracting the points saving them an X amount of dollars. I don't use Xbox because Microsoft are money grubbing bastards and this just further proves this.
You know,because paying 60 dollars a year to get services that should come free out of the box is TOTALLY WORTH IT
Plus,I'm sure Microsoft is in no danger of legal issues because they do have so much money. The only people who want money more than Microsoft is Apple because by the time I finish this sentence,they will have released a 52nd version of the iPod Touch rendering all others obsolete.

 

[Alphakirby]

WOW! What assholes,IS BILL GATES MONEY POOL 3 DOLLARS SHORT OR SOMETHING!? You know,that's just not fucking right,they got a lucky break and some points just for Microsoft to say "OH MY GOODNESS,WE JUST LOST 1/9999999 OF OUR USUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE GET,WE MUST TAKE EVERYTHING BACK NOW!!!"
This kind of shit is why I don't use my Xbox anymore.

Where did you get these exact numbers, dear reader? Or did you make them up on the fly? I'm guessing the latter.

So please, try to think before you post. Thank you

OT: I don't know how I feel on this.

Implying that Microsoft is a fledgling company that doesn't make tons of money every day and tries it's damn hardest to always make more.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

Remember in school when you would get a question wrong and the teacher would accidentally mark it as correct? And how, because it was his or her mistake, he or she would let you keep the extra point? I feel like the same approach should be taken here.

That is not how it should work at all. You get the grade you get. For the school thing.

In this, I'm not sure, while it would be nice for them to let players keep the points, they stand to lose a lot of money from this.

 

[Flipscore]

Implying that Microsoft is a fledgling company that doesn't make tons of money every day and tries it's damn hardest to always make more.

Microsoft is a successful business so it's okay to rip them off.


That is what you are saying. Are you comfortable with that position?

 

[Scizophrenic Llama]

WOW! What assholes,IS BILL GATES MONEY POOL 3 DOLLARS SHORT OR SOMETHING!? You know,that's just not fucking right,they got a lucky break and some points just for Microsoft to say "OH MY GOODNESS,WE JUST LOST 1/9999999 OF OUR USUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE GET,WE MUST TAKE EVERYTHING BACK NOW!!!"
This kind of shit is why I don't use my Xbox anymore.

You're really on about a business taking back extra money that the person shouldn't have been given in the first place? I'm sure if you were running a business and accidentally gave out more than you were supposed to in a situation you'd want to get the extra back, or else you've got a loss on your hands and a whole bunch of extra paperwork and legal issues to deal with or else you'll have the IRS asking where certain funds have gone.

That's not the point,the point is that Microsoft makes tons of money every day with it's Xbox Live Gold service (Because it's required to enjoy online) and genuine points, and some people getting lucky with a glitch was not going to drive them into debt nor was it even going to make a dent in their profits. Why couldn't they just let the people who got that lucky break just enjoy it instead of retracting the points saving them an X amount of dollars. I don't use Xbox because Microsoft are money grubbing bastards and this just further proves this.
You know,because paying 60 dollars a year to get services that should come free out of the box is TOTALLY WORTH IT
Plus,I'm sure Microsoft is in no danger of legal issues because they do have so much money. The only people who want money more than Microsoft is Apple because by the time I finish this sentence,they will have released a 52nd version of the iPod Touch rendering all others obsolete.

Thing is, people didn't pay for these points. These points are free with the service, getting them is a bonus for people who choose to spend those points, so they got a fluke amount of extra points they wouldn't have in the first place if Microsoft didn't introduce the system. They didn't take back all of the points, they only took back the extra ones.

Besides, Xbox Rewards point return service is ridiculously minimal. If you're getting more than $2 out of it, you're spending a ludicrous amount of points already and wouldn't really care if the extra stuff was gone in the first place.

As for whining about having to pay for online. They do it because they can. The PS3 has free online, so people can flock to that console all they want for that. Sony should really be raking in the customers if having to pay for online on the 360 is such a bad service to pay for.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

WOW! What assholes,IS BILL GATES MONEY POOL 3 DOLLARS SHORT OR SOMETHING!? You know,that's just not fucking right,they got a lucky break and some points just for Microsoft to say "OH MY GOODNESS,WE JUST LOST 1/9999999 OF OUR USUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE GET,WE MUST TAKE EVERYTHING BACK NOW!!!"
This kind of shit is why I don't use my Xbox anymore.

Where did you get these exact numbers, dear reader? Or did you make them up on the fly? I'm guessing the latter.

So please, try to think before you post. Thank you

OT: I don't know how I feel on this.

Implying that Microsoft is a fledgling company that doesn't make tons of money every day and tries it's damn hardest to always make more.

OH NO! They are a corperation that tries to make money! SOMEONE STOP THEM!

Oh. Wait. THAT'S WHAT EVERY COMPANY DOES!

You big silly, are you saying that just because they make money, them losing money is justified?

 

[Alphakirby]

Implying that Microsoft is a fledgling company that doesn't make tons of money every day and tries it's damn hardest to always make more.

Microsoft is a successful business so it's okay to rip them off.


That is what you are saying. Are you comfortable with that position?

Yes,yes I am.
Because Microsoft does stupid shit it doesn't need to in order to keep itself happy,like this.
Xbox Live Gold,was it really needed,was it really good for people to have to pay money to do something that should come with the package.
The only company that's worse is Apple because they release a new model of the same damn thing every year to rake in rich idiots.
All that this is doing for Microsoft is nothing,it's virtual credits it isn't real money fresh from the Microsoft office,it's not like they planned some huge heist,they got free virtual points to buy virtual items and games. It's not ruining anyone's lives because Little Bobby Tipinheimer got to buy that game he wanted but couldn't afford initially.

 

[dncarolyn]

I got an extra 1000 points, decided not to spend them and they took 800 of the points back later last night. Honestly, I was kind of relieved, because when I saw the extra points I was worried that my account had been hacked and someone was charging them to my credit card or something. But anyways, I don't begrudge MS for taking them back- they weren't mine to begin with.

 

[Alphakirby]

Thing is, people didn't pay for these points. These points are free with the service, getting them is a bonus for people who choose to spend those points, so they got a fluke amount of extra points they wouldn't have in the first place if Microsoft didn't introduce the system. They didn't take back all of the points, they only took back the extra ones.

Besides, Xbox Rewards point return service is ridiculously minimal. If you're getting more than $2 out of it, you're spending a ludicrous amount of points already and wouldn't really care if the extra stuff was gone in the first place.

As for whining about having to pay for online. They do it because they can. The PS3 has free online, so people can flock to that console all they want for that. Sony should really be raking in the customers if having to pay for online on the 360 is such a bad service to pay for.

Shit,we have to start snipping before these quotes take up the whole page.
I could only guess a few reasons why people pay for Gold,one of which being that their friends play Xbox,another is because they just can't afford a PS3,and finally I can only guess that some people really do think that Xbox Live is worth the price of admission.
I'm just going to end the conversation here because I don't want the quotes to consume entire pages.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Implying that Microsoft is a fledgling company that doesn't make tons of money every day and tries it's damn hardest to always make more.

Microsoft is a successful business so it's okay to rip them off.


That is what you are saying. Are you comfortable with that position?

Yes,yes I am.
Because Microsoft does stupid shit it doesn't need to in order to keep itself happy,like this.
Xbox Live Gold,was it really needed,was it really good for people to have to pay money to do something that should come with the package.
The only company that's worse is Apple because they release a new model of the same damn thing every year to rake in rich idiots.
All that this is doing for Microsoft is nothing,it's virtual credits it isn't real money fresh from the Microsoft office,it's not like they planned some huge heist,they got free virtual points to buy virtual items and games. It's not ruining anyone's lives because Little Bobby Tipinheimer got to buy that game he wanted but couldn't afford initially.

Not to be rude, but do you have any idea how the real world works?

You admit that you think it's OK to rip them off because they're successful? I'm sorry, but WHAT? Try saying that outloud or to an adult. Trust me. It's crazyness.

Secondly, using your logic on the last point, I'd argue no one was hurt if they took the extra points away.

Dear reader, think before you post. It may save your life.

 

[Scizophrenic Llama]

Shit,we have to start snipping before these quotes take up the whole page.
I could only guess a few reasons why people pay for Gold,one of which being that their friends play Xbox,another is because they just can't afford a PS3,and finally I can only guess that some people really do think that Xbox Live is worth the price of admission.
I'm just going to end the conversation here because I don't want the quotes to consume entire pages.

Fair enough. I can't condemn Microsoft for charging for the service though, as they're making a killing and people just go with it. I'd be one of the first people to leave if they hiked up the price on Live anymore unless they really go above and beyond and actually get a service added in that justifies it.

What they need to do is add more subscription types. I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd be willing to shell out $30 or $40 a year for just your basic online/store access and whatnot without all the extra Facebook, ESPN bullshit.

However, I still say they were totally within their rights to take back the extra points. Now if they go and take games and such from accounts, that is a bit much. I highly doubt people got those games solely from those reward points, at most people usually get 100 - 200 MS points from that rewards service.

 

[Alphakirby]

Shit,we have to start snipping before these quotes take up the whole page.
I could only guess a few reasons why people pay for Gold,one of which being that their friends play Xbox,another is because they just can't afford a PS3,and finally I can only guess that some people really do think that Xbox Live is worth the price of admission.
I'm just going to end the conversation here because I don't want the quotes to consume entire pages.

Fair enough. I can't condemn Microsoft for charging for the service though, as they're making a killing and people just go with it. I'd be one of the first people to leave if they hiked up the price on Live anymore unless they really go above and beyond and actually get a service added in that justifies it.

What they need to do is add more subscription types. I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd be willing to shell out $30 or $40 a year for just your basic online/store access and whatnot without all the extra Facebook, ESPN bullshit.

However, I still say they were totally within their rights to take back the extra points. Now if they go and take games and such from accounts, that is a bit much. I highly doubt people got those games solely from those reward points, at most people usually get 100 - 200 MS points from that rewards service.

Ah,well I didn't know that at first,mainly because I never heard of this rewards thing.
Well I guess it makes sense to take back the extra points if it's really that much of a difference in the amount of points. I'm glad that we can at least agree that taking the games back wouldn't really be right.