Earning Achievements now unlocks discounts on Xbox LIVE Marketplace

[Chark]

smroadkill15 said:

Chark said:

kitler53 said:
i can't believe people are complaining about this. it's free money you didn't have yesterday. yeah okay, it's not huge amount but it's still free. why are you guys complaining?!?

for perspective i get 1 to 3% rewards on my credit card and love it. why are we complaining here?!?

Its not free money, it is a rebate tied to XBL. It would be better if it was a discount, at least the savings would be immediate. As a rebate though, to get a full retail game you would have to buy $3000 worth on XBL. As for a credit card, rewards are generally more diverse even to the extent of actual cash. The PlayStation credit card offers 10% on PSN purchases towards SonyRewards points where you can buy games, computers, tvs, movies, cameras, and other electronics and accessories. Quite the store front actually. You can't get actual cash but you can buy a PSN card, so I actually have a 10% rebate on PSN, granted from applying for a credit card and not through getting trophies. So despite that hurdle I have 5x the reward level of XBL, access to PSN money, Sony's electronic storefront, along with 3% for Sony products, 2% for fast food, and 1% on everything. Utilizng this card for what financing I can I have aquired over $270 worth that I plan on using for a camcorder, tv, or laptop and I haven't had this card for a year yet. That would be $13,500 spent on XBL for equivalency.

I know it is rather unfair to compare XBL rewards to a credit card, but as it stands that is Sony's reward program. If there is an Xbox credit card or something, than I guess it has to compare with that.

I agree it is better than yesterday, but it is very insignificant and the tier system is not rewarding.

It is free though. You don't even have to be a Gold member to sign up. There are other things you get besides just MS points like I got a Halo avatar prop and some other avatar clothing that would have normally cost me $9 all together, plus $12.50 in MS points which adds up over $21.50 in savings which isn't bad at all. 

Now if I wanted to include every discount I've took advantage over on XBL I would have well over $100 in savings. 

Lets not also forget the Bing rewards program that gives you MS points aswell, so ya.

There are surveys or something that earn points too right? From how my brother explained it to me when I expressed interest is that it isn't worth the time of day. The rewards are very meager, how long did it take to earn $12.50? The savings in XBL have to compare to PSN and PS Plus, where on alll acounts PS Plus supercedes XBL benefits multifold, so much so that people can't keep up with the offerings.I've had games still unplayed from Plus before the instant game collection hit...now it's just stupid and I still have games I haven't had a chance to download yet. PlayStation undoubtedly have the greater savings/rewards offering but XBL charges $1 more a month than Plus and they still can't offer a better rewards program?

I know Microsoft isn't Sony, and maybe Sony is going way too far with its benefits but you have to wonder why there is such a large discrepancy between the two. Microsoft could easily provide more and not doing so is creating a larger divide between the companies. PlayStation is providing too much to ignore and Microsoft isn't competing? Yet they come out with an acheivement awards program which has been anticipated heavily for years but it is tiered and insignificant? Where is the perspective? They could have rallied consumer loyalty, provided incentive for people to play more games, encouraged new adopters with a reward structure that meant something. It is a good thing to have the rebate, but it is not good to what they should have done. This is an issue of dissapointment, are gamers realy taking this lying down?