From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live subscribers to download purchased or promotional content. The service offers movie and game trailers, game demos, Xbox Live Arcade games, gamer tag images, and Xbox 360 Dashboard themes.

Contents 1 Microsoft Points 1.1 Points cost per region 1.2 Taxes 2 External Links

Microsoft Points

Microsoft Points are used as scrip in the Xbox Live Marketplace, which includes the Xbox Live Arcade. These points may be purchased in bulk with a credit card drawing on legal tender and may then be exchanged for various downloadable items and services. Such an implementation allows Microsoft to collect interest on unused credit and as a side effect also reduces the amount of interchange fees paid to the credit card acquirer since it reduces the overall number of credit transactions.

Points cost per region

Each region is billed for Microsoft points in their own local currency.

However, the pricing does not necessarily reflect current exchange rates. This means that some regions pay more than others. The chart contains the pricing information for six different countries in their respective currencies. This chart was made using the current market currency exchange rate on April 3, 2006. Day-to-day converted prices will fluctuate depending on the exchange rate, but the chart can be used as a rough estimate of how much each region pays for content. Note that the tables also do not reflect on the purchasing power of a given dollar amount in that country.

	500 Points	1000 Points	2000 Points	5000 Points	Price per 100 points	500 Points (in USD)	500 Points (In GBP)
Australia	$8.25	$16.50	$33.00	$82.50	$1.65	$5.91	£3.43
Canada	$7.75	$15.50	$31.00	$77.50	$1.55	$6.64	£3.80
Europe	€6.00	€12.00	€24.00	€60.00	€1.20	$7.28	£4.14
Japan	¥740	¥1480	¥2960	¥7400	¥148	$6.30	£3.52
United Kingdom	£4.25	£8.50	£17.00	£42.50	£0.85	$7.39	£4.25
USA	$6.25	$12.50	$25.00	$62.50	$1.25	$6.25	£3.48

In the UK most videogame retailers also sell pre-paid cards with a value of 2,100 Microsoft Points. These have an RRP of £17.50, though actual price varies depending on individual store. Purchasing one of these at the RRP gives a cost of 0.833p per point which is slightly cheaper than purchasing online.

Taxes

Microsoft Points can be tax free or not. Due to the laws of some regions, you may be taxed on your purchase of points online. The following list includes (but is not limited to) regions which must pay value added tax or luxury tax with accordance to their local government

• Canada
• New York, USA
• Germany

External Links

• Official Xbox Live Marketplace Website
• Xbox Live Marketplace Map (lists all items)
• GangsterPanda's Microsoft Points Converter
• Steve Hunter's Microsoft Points Converter - Featured on Major Nelson's Website