Silly Microsoft Points System Takes a Back Seat to Cash Money in Windows 8

When it comes to game currency, the points system sucks, can we all agree on that? Converting dollars into points that are only available in certain increments inherently causes you to overspend, and it does it in a number of ways. For one, you may buy a bigger block than you would otherwise need if you could just pay with real money. It's also easier to spend points from a mental perspective than it is to fork over real currency, which is one of the reasons why casinos like to use poker chips. Xbox 360 gamers know what we're talking about, but thankfully, it appears as though Microsoft is phasing out points in favor of real currency in Windows 8. Can we get a hallelujah?

Before we get ahead of ourselves, understand there hasn't been an official announcement by Microsoft. In lieu of that, The Verge reports that Microsoft is now defaulting to credit card transactions when purchasing music and movies from the Zune Marketplace in the final build of Windows 8. You can still use Microsoft Points, you're just no longer forced to use them.


This is great news for anyone that's fed up with converting points to currency. Microsoft sells its points at a conversion rate of 80 points per dollar, so to purchase a block of 1,600 points, you'd fork over $20. Barring the occasional deal, there really isn't much upside for gamers.

Assuming Windows 8 goes this route, it will be interesting to see if the Xbox 360 makes the same transition. Let's keep our fingers crossed.