Do you smell that? Can you taste it? That, dear readers, is the sweet taste of freedom. In more exact terms, it's the taste of never being forced to buy extra Microsoft Points again. The problem with Microsoft Points has always been summed up pretty accurately by the age-old hot dogs vs. hot dog buns debate. If you wanted to buy a 400 ($5) Xbox Live Arcade game, you were forced to buy 500 from Xbox Live Marketplace, leaving you with 100 nearly useless points. And let's not even start on the inexplicable fact that 80 is equivalent to $1, making the whole process that much more confusing.

Thankfully, at least part of that has been rectified, as tipster Chuck points out that Microsoft is now selling MS Points in increments of $5 through the Xbox Live Marketplace on Xbox.com and through the console itself. Previously, the only way to get exact dollar amounts was to purchase physical point cards at a retailer, but not anymore. As evidenced above, users can now buy points in 400, 800, 1600 or 4000 point bundles, coming in at clean $5, $10, $20 and $50 price points. That's right, never again will you have to purchase some stupid gamer picture just to spend those spare points on something.

Today, ladies and gentlemen, is a good day.

Posted: Apr 12, 2010 8:25 pm