Xbox Live question...

[tendoboy1984]

A 12 month Xbox Live Card costs $50.
A 1 month Xbox Live Card costs $7.

A 1 month card should be $4.16, not $7. [$50 card ÷ 12 months = $4.16 per month]

[cortjezter]

A 12 month Xbox Live Card costs $50.
A 1 month Xbox Live Card costs $7.

A 1 month card should be $4.16, not $7. [$50 card ÷ 12 months = $4.16 per month]

welcome to the world of business and marketing.

of course 1 month will be more... it makes the 12 month plan more attractive and an incentive for people to buy it, locking them into the service for a whole year.

[TYFIGHTER]

A 12 month Xbox Live Card costs $50.
A 1 month Xbox Live Card costs $7.

A 1 month card should be $4.16, not $7. [$50 card ÷ 12 months = $4.16 per month]

welcome to the world of business and marketing.

of course 1 month will be more... it makes the 12 month plan more attractive and an incentive for people to buy it, locking them into the service for a whole year.

Exactly. Its pretty much a ploy to lock you into a contract with them for a year.

If you're confused about that though, wait until you see their Microsoft Points system... UGH!

[Zidane]

How sweet it is, it is actually cheaper to buy the full year. Just something most people recognize.

[vivi]

How sweet it is, it is actually cheaper to buy the full year. Just something most people recognize.

well, cheaper in the sense of per month of course

[gtt]

if you have 3 or more friends who all play on live, you should look into going in together on a family plan. 100$ for 4 gold accounts.

[tendoboy1984]

I know about the Microsoft Points, you get less than you pay for.

At least Nintendo is more practical:
$20 = 2000 points [¢.01 = 1 point]
[$20 ÷ ¢.01 = 2000 points]
or
[2000 points × ¢.01 = $20]

Sony is the most practical of them all, they actually use REAL MONEY on their cards!

[Kid_Pyre]

There's no question in the OP...

And you don't get less than you pay for with MS Points, its a conversion. It'd be like claiming JPN banks are losing money when they convert $1 US to 90 yen.

I use the monthly cards because 1) I don't like the auto-renewal system and 2) If I'm lucky, I only use my 360 online for about 2 months a year.

[tendoboy1984]

There's no question in the OP...

And you don't get less than you pay for with MS Points, its a conversion. It'd be like claiming JPN banks are losing money when they convert $1 US to 90 yen.

I use the monthly cards because 1) I don't like the auto-renewal system and 2) If I'm lucky, I only use my 360 online for about 2 months a year.

Uh, yes you do get less than you pay for.

$20 = 1600 MS Points card

$20 = 2000 Nintendo Points card

With Nintendo Points, ¢.01 = 1 Point. Why does Microsoft give you less?

[Golbez]

12 month cards are only $50 if you're a sucker who buys 'em for full price

Just bought one from buy.com the other day for like $32 and free shipping. I actually wasn't going to renew my Gold membership until I realized that I couldn't stream Netflix without a Gold account, which is BS.

Edit: regarding the whole points thing, that's one thing I really appreciate about the PSN. No stupid points system. You see exactly what something costs in real currency, so you know exactly how much you're spending.

[cortjezter]

Uh, yes you do get less than you pay for.

$20 = 1600 MS Points card

$20 = 2000 Nintendo Points card

With Nintendo Points, ¢.01 = 1 Point. Why does Microsoft give you less?

uhh... that is stupid math.

the points are irrelevant. what you need to look at is the value of 1 point. XBL points are worth more than 1 cent... 1.25 cents to be exact. Nintendo's are nice and equivalent; XBL are just equated differently. so a 15$ game on VC is 1500 points. on XBL a 15$ game is 1200 points. does that mean it's cheaper? no... just a different point system. yes, XBL is absolutely idiotic for doing that to confuse customers, but that's sort of the point...making money more abstract so people don't think about how much they're spending. that kind of leads back to my first post's point.... welcome to business and marketing.

[Autosaver]

"PS3 system uses US money"

Can't wait till you live somewhere obscure and you have to convert money.

[Golbez]

"PS3 system uses US money"

Can't wait till you live somewhere obscure and you have to convert money.

I would assume prices in the PSN store are localized, so if you're in Sweden for instance, you see prices in kronor or euros, not dollars. I suppose you were trying to argue in favor of points, but that's not a good argument.