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Originally Posted by USArcher
I'm not sure what is at stake (transaction fees?) for them but I would think it is relatively painless compromise. And certainly they don't want to give folks an easy excuse to use Amazon.
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I think from Microsoft's point of view, there were two advantages to points:
1) Enhanced profits due to one-time credit card transactions verses constant credit card transactions. Apple makes very little profit on the iTunes store when it comes to music, right? I think Microsoft was trying to make Marketplace a more profitable enterprise.
2) There are items in marketplace that are so cheap in points - 25 points, 50 points - that if they were sold for a cash value, the credit card transactions would cost more than the items. This was always a big talking point for Microsoft - they envisions in-game micro-purchases (buy a magic staff for 25 cents worth of points!)
I'd be happy if they switched to dollar amounts for everything except the game-type items. You buy 500 points, it would last you quite a while. I'd be OK with that.