Microsoft Points are what you need to purchase content from Microsoft's online service Xbox Live. Some people get these confused with Gamerscore points, which you earn by getting achievements in games but these you have to pay for!
Points You can get Microsoft points directly from the Xbox 360 console, but if you don't feel happy about giving Microsoft direct access to your credit card you can purchase a Microsoft points card in store. You can get either a 2100 point card or a 4200 point card, once you have purchased your box of points inside you will have a little leaflet with a scratch off surface which will reveal your points code.
Once you have revealed the code, turn on your Xbox 360 console and navigate to the Marketplace blade, from here select the Redeem code option and then type in your Microsoft points code. Make sure you read it very carefully as it is easy to mix up
numbers and letters if you input them too quickly! The Microsoft Points should now be linked to your account and you will be able to spend them on all sorts of content.
Content So now you have some points, you have a variety of options available to you. Firstly you may think about getting Themes and Gamer pictures, a theme will change the entire look of your Xbox 360 dashboard interface customizing it with the pictures from the theme you have purchased, for example a Halo 3 theme would have the Master Chief or Arbiter on various screens of your dashboard. Gamer pictures are the little icon which is displayed in your Gamer card, purchasing a Gamer picture is an easy way of showing people know what your favourite game is. Nearly every game has a Gamer picture to purchase so you will be able to get a picture for any game you want. A Theme or Gamer Picture will normally cost you from 100-300 Microsoft Points.
If Games are more your thing you can purchase an Xbox Live Arcade game, you can choose from a variety of casual games and classics to download. There are some fabulous titles on the Xbox Live Arcade from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game, which has excellent 4 player co-op to Uno, a really addictive card game. There is also some great original content up there like the shooter Assault Heroes which is a modern take on the classic Smash TV formula. An arcade game will cost you from 400-1200 Microsoft Points. If you missed out on the best of the Xbox titles you can download an Xbox Original, these are full downloadable versions of classic Xbox games such as Halo, Fable and Ninja Gaiden Black, an Xbox Original will cost you 1200 Microsoft Points.
If you want to extend the life of your Xbox 360 games you can choose from many things for games such as Halo you can get the new multiplayer maps so you have all new battlegrounds to fight on, a game like Forza Motorsport 2 has all new tracks and car packs to choose from, Oblivion has tons of new dungeons and even two full expansion packs to download vastly enhancing your game and providing you with tons of new things to do. Most games now get downloadable content so if you want to get in on the action you will need some Microsoft points, downloadable content can cost from 800 points for a map pack to 2400 points for an expansion pack.
If you are not much of a gamer and would prefer something else you can get music videos and rent movies, movies are great and most new ones you can choose from either Standard Definition or High Definition, this is great as if you only have an SD TV you don't need to pay extra and wait longer for your download to complete. The selection is quite limited compared to the USA offerings but the selection of music videos and movies are increasing all the time. The movies on offer range from the gory 300 to the recently added Transformers. A music video will cost you 230 Microsoft points, an SD movie will cost you up to 360 points and an HD movie will cost you 540. The costs do vary depending on the movie.
Price & Conclusion Microsoft points cost £17.99 for a 2100 point card and £34.99 for a 4200 point card making 100 Microsoft Points worth about 85-86p, I don't like the way Microsoft points are marketed as you don't really think of what you are spending when you spend points, this ends up with you spending more, I guess that's what Microsoft wants! They really should have just kept the units in pounds and pence! I also feel that Themes and Gamer Pictures should have been free or at least a smaller amount such as 20-50 points. The variety of content on offer is good and always expanding so you always have new reasons to acquire Microsoft Points. 4/5
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The Xbox Live 2,100 points card keeps your gaming experience updated and unique. With ... more
these points you can download content exclusive to Xbox Live Marketplace. You can try out new and retro games or expand your existing games with premium content such ...
Postage & Packaging: Free standard delivery on all orders over £30 Availability: Stock On Order
Advantages: Fast - easy - suitable for any ages - no credit card - safe - cheap Disadvantages: have to go shop to buy them instead of buying off the market place directly
Advantages: Fast - easy - suitable for any ages - no credit card - safe - cheap Disadvantages: have to go shop to buy them instead of buying off the market place directly
very helpful by (100%):
