Xbox 360 real money changeup increases game prices

Microsoft has today changed over all of its Xbox Live prices, from the traditional Microsoft point system, to dollars and pounds – depending which part of the world you reside in. However, this has resulted in some countries – the UK specifically – being hit with price rises for everything.

Some countries, like Canada, are reporting that in their locale the game's and extras have actually dropped in price, but not in good old Blighty. According to Eurogamer's “tipster,” 1600 point games, which were equivalent to £13.60, are now £14.99, 1200 point games went from £10.20 equivalent to £11.99. Similarly, 800 point titles have increased from £6.80 to £8.99 and 400 points titles jumped from what was essentially £3.20 a game, up to £4.49.

Your local currency. Which unless you're in the US/Canada, is where everything is more expensive.

Image source: Neowin

As some have pointed out, this brings Microsoft's games in-line with Sony's PSN offerings, which isn't some deliberate scheme by Microsoft to scam its users – though some would claim as such – more that due to the universal pricing system of points, the cost of them didn't take into account local exchange rates. Now with real money being used, as per usual, the UK is paying more for things.

Some are lamenting the fact that they won't be able to find points cheaply from random sources anymore, or through promotions and give-aways. However, others in this Reddit thread are glad to see the back of the points system, which they said would sneakily make you buy more than you needed, by only offering amounts that were more or less than what you needed to buy most games.

KitGuru Says: They have a fair point too. Riot Games, despite being a pretty good company as far as developer/publishers go, is a real bully when it comes to “Riot Point” buying. If you want to buy a new champion or skin, there's a good chance it'll cost 980 RP. Your choices are to spend £5 and get 940 Riot points, or £9 and get over 1800. So you go for the higher amount, now you can still only afford one skin/champion at that price point, simply because of the pricing structure. 

Become a Patron!