Source: 1UP

An interesting story was posted to 1UP on Friday where Patrick Klepak talked about an interview where Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg was telling us that the reason we can’t purchase specific amounts (ie. just as much as you need) of Microsoft points is to avoid unnecessary credit card charges (that they’d have to pass along to consumers). Wow. Hey guys, did you know they also removed the word “gullible” from the dictionary? It’s TRUE!

I’ll tell you the real reason they force you to buy larger amounts of points (and yeah, I’m sure the credit card charges might count for one billionth of a percent of their total Xbox-related income so technically he’s not “making that up”). The real reason is more than likely simply the “hotdogs and buns” marketing technique.

They sell hot dog buns in quantities of 8 and hotdogs in quantities of 10. The idea behind that is to get you to buy more buns when you’ve got leftover hotdogs. Then you’ll end up with leftover buns, prompting you to (hopefully) buy more hotdogs… it’s a never end mystery-meat eating cycle that generates profits for the hotdog maker and the bun maker. Except swap Microsoft points for buns and Xbox Live Marketplace content for hotdogs (and no, there’s not an inside joke referencing the amount of filler used… wait, that’s pretty good… yeah, that was intentional!)

Microsoft wants you to spend Microsoft Points. They love them. They love them SO much, they named them after themselves! By selling points largely in quantities that don’t perfectly align with the prices of the content they sell, you’ll inevitably have points left over. And Microsoft’s Psychology Department has carefully calculated, analyzed, and determined that the average gamer is smart enough to realize they’re “wasting points” by leaving them unspent in their account. They’ve also determined the average gamer is “too dumb” to realize it’s simply a ploy to manipulate them into realizing they’re now only 200 points away from some OTHER item in the marketplace that they may or may not have bought otherwise… so the gamer adds points to make that purchase. Then it sinks in… uh oh, since adding points to buy this, they now have MORE extra points than they started with… mayday!!!

It’s a game guys… you hear hardcore gamers talking about the “meta-game” (who can get the highest gamerscore, the most achievements, etc… the game on top of the games), well THIS is Microsoft’s meta-game. You see Microsoft loves playing games too, but it’s more like a cold, calculated realtime strategy game against consumers and their wallets. Frankly, they’re playing like the Koreans play Starcraft in the World Cyber Games. They’re kicking American’s asses!

As someone that works in the industry where credit card charges are a “real” consideration, I don’t buy for a minute that the reason behind this is credit card processing fees. Sure Aaron, if you let us charge 25 Microsoft points at a time, yeah, I’d call that a significant source of concern because people like me would do it. All the time. I’d spend my time to buy 1600 points 25 points at a time; knowing that Visa or Mastercard is making a decent share of the money you’ve tempted me out of. It would be _my_ little meta-game.

I’m just that kind of person that does things to be an ass sometimes. Just ask my father-in-law who will never play Chinese Checkers with me again… because the way I play, even if it’s clear I’m not going to win the game, that only means Plan B kicks in. What’s Plan B you might ask? Plan B is where I get keep having fun, but at the expense of keeping my opponent from winning. Almost out of spite. Not quite, but almost.

You’d never guess it, but I’m actually craving a hotdog right now… Nathan’s or Hebrew National… tough call… *sigh*

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