Microsoft plans advanced Xbox Live Marketplace transactions

[wraggster]

Microsoft has announced plans to further integrate its Xbox Live Marketplace service into games, producing "consumable" items that users must pay for, such as in-game currency.

The controversial strategy could mean that once consumers had purchased a full price title, they would need to fork out more moneyto buy exclusive in-game items.

Differing from content such as expansion modules, extra levels and new characters which have proven to be a hit with players of games like Oblivion, the consumable items would have a limited lifespan. A suit of armour, for example, would eventually disintegrate in-game and the player would have to pay more money to replace it.

Xbox Live Marketplace business manager Rohan Oommen also told the Gamefest audience that the company plans to more comprehensively integrate Marketplace transactions into retail releases.

For example, players may be able to interact with in-game vendors to select required items, before switching to Marketplace to add real cash to complete the transaction - or spend real money on Marketplace to secure the equivalent in in-game currency.

The company has a number of ideas on how best to integrate the service into full price games. However, it's not clear how well consumers will take to the idea of spending more money on perishable game items, having already paid for a full-price game.

Oommen stated that the Marketplace updates were likely to be implemented into the next dashboard update for the Xbox 360, along with a number of changes and enhancements to the user interface.

[Video_freak]

Damn Micro$oft trying to gt out money any way they can. It would great if these things were free (like the new maps you download online for Wipeout Pure)

[Emulation_Chief]

Hello:

Certainly, Microsoft become public an idea many want to exploit but never gets sucess: purchasing virtual items for real money.

Let's be serious. MS loses money per Xbox and Xbox360 sold and also on games, despite the high price tag on next-gen systems. If they want to make some real cash for the Live Marketplace, they better enhance the experience that already work.

Making a game that will cost $60-$70 to later buy extra items during playtime will increase significantly the final cost of the product. People will think that one cent means nothing. If Microsoft really publish a game that require items to purchase for real money, like one cent, consider this:

Game - $65 (to balance the range)
item cost - $0.01
total of items on game to purchase - 300
total cost of all items (assuming you purchase just one of each) - $3

Now the total of the game becomes $68. What if you purchase each item 10 times? $65 + 30 = $85. An so on.

On the company's side, if 3 million Xbox 360 owners buy the game and purchase each item at $0.01, Their Revenue will be $9 million for the transactions plus the total games sold. Now that's big money.

But it is not big business. Most 360 owners bought the $400 bundle, paying Gold membership, $60 - $70 per game and other peripherals to expand the gaming experience. Paying for in-game items while playing the game will create a financial loss to Microsoft in both hardware and software.

Let's keep Live Marketplace the way it is. Maybe it will become better, but not like the way the big M wants.