There’s always been a lot to buy on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, and Microsoft is without a doubt hoping you’ll spend as much money as possible buying Games on Demand. Unfortunately though, some have accused the ‘soft of being “deceptive” with the use of their proprietary Microsoft Banana Dollars points system, wherein players must first buy Banana Dollars points that are then used to pay for DLC, Avatar accessories, games, and other such trivialities. In fact, fanboys for Sony’s PSN crow that their store displays prices in real money and not according to some Banana Dollar point conversion rate.
Microsoft group product manager Aaron Greenberg told Gamesindustry.biz that the Banana Dollars points system is not intended to deceive people, and that they’re looking to display real currency alongside points following the success of doing so for Games on Demand.
He’s right. Banana Dollars points aren’t deceptive. It’s not as if you’re not being told how many you’re buying when you do so, and once you buy a couple of things it’s not hard to remember the conversion rate. Instead, Banana Dollars points are much more subtle in their nefariousness. Banana Dollars Points are uneven. Things on the Marketplace almost never cost exactly as much as you have in your virtual Banana Dollar Plantation points reserve, which means you always end up with some weird number that isn’t enough to buy anything, and always leaves you with some extra when you do buy more in line for your next purchase. It’s maddening.
[Image credit to Happoubi Jin]
Microsoft: Points system not intended to mislead people [Gamesindustry.biz]
