Since the dawn of time, Xbox 360 owners have wondered what the purpose of achievement points were. All they appear to do is add to a player’s Gamerscore, which provides dedicated individuals with something to hold over the Xbox Live community’s head. Despite the obsessive compulsive desire to collect every single achievement, gamers have longed for the day that they’d finally be able to do something with their growing fictitious pile of gaming pride, and now they’ll have the ability to do just that.
Microsoft has announced that there will be various reward tiers, called MyAchievements, for Xbox 360 gamers who’ve accumulated a certain amount of overall achievement points, but the prizes aren’t as glamorous as many were hoping.
There are three different levels of prizes, and the higher a gamer’s Gamerscore the better the prize. This can range from a present on your birthday to a 2% rebate on anything purchased on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It’s better to get something rather than nothing, but despite paying $60 annually for the Xbox Live Gold service (and sinking countless hours into earning achievements) the PlayStation Plus membership still outguns this lacklustre reward program by a wide margin.
Contender (3,000-9,000 Gamerscore):
- A Special Gift during your birthday month.
Champion (10,000-24,999 Gamerscore):
- A Special Gift during your birthday month.
- 1% rebate on your Xbox Live Marketplace purchases every month.
Legend (25,000+ Gamerscore):
- A Special Gift on your birthday month.
- 2% rebate on your Xbox Live Marketplace purchases every month.
Xbox Live users are probably wondering what this “Special Gift” is that gamers will receive in honor of their birthday. Microsoft has yet to confirm what the contents of the (presumably digital) parcel are, but fine print on the official Xbox website claims that it’s valued at 25 cents – so don’t get too excited.
Even though the rewards aren’t nearly as glamorous as many had hoped, it’s still nice to be rewarded for the countless hours of grinding fans have put into earning achievements. Now all Microsoft has to do is make a tier for those who’ve racked up 50,000+ Gamerscore.
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Source: Microsoft
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Yeah, these rewards are pitiful but give Microsoft a break, I mean it’s not like a console maker could afford to reward its premium level subscribers with things like free games every week and 20% discounts on download titles…oh, wait…
We really need a ‘like’ button for comments.
Agreed!
I lol’d.
You mean if i spend 1200 microsoft points on a title i will get 12 whole microsoft points back?
YOU’RE OFF THE CHAINS MICROSOFT!!!!
Don’t complain about XBL. It’s not like we’re paying and getting tons of ads on the dashboard or anything like that…
Sarcastiball is FUN!
Yeah i lold this is pathetic.
It only took them 4 years to take the hint from blizzard and add rewards to the achievement system. Considering Microsoft’s learning curve for what people want, this was pretty fast.
XD really… there isnt even any point in doing this
WHOO!!!
i’d rather they left it as it was, this seems like a slap in the face…
they certainly value us gamers! lol… next purchase a PS3
Did anybody else notice the fine print on the birthday gift* at the bottom of the page in tiny font? XD
* Birthday Gift (approximate retail value (“ARV”): $0.25 USD)
This is a total slap in the face to all Xbox 360 players. People say Sony sucks but look at what Microsoft is doing. They could easily afford to give players a 10% rebate on every purchase and a free game on each player’s birthday.
I agree….the least they could do for a free game is something like an arcade game or a downloadable game with a value of at least $20….they make a ton of money as is with our gold subscription…..but in the end xbox still rocks, they could use a new idea or improve this one…..its not all what they do….its how they go about doing it and its fairness for our years of support……
You guys are complaining about this, and I agree, the amount they’re giving is paltry, but it’s free money. It may not be a lot, but I know that on more than one occasion, I’ve been just a few points from having enough for DLC or an Arcade game I wanted, and this will help. My only complaint is that they should add higher tiers for more gamerscore rewards.
I could find more free money on the street
Who cares? My point was it’s free money, regardless of the amount. People didn’t complain when Microsoft didn’t give anything, now that they’re giving a little, people should be grateful they’re getting anything rather than going to the Internet and whining about it like some entitled ten-year-old.
But weighing in at a maximum 2% rebate every month and a $0.25 birthday gift, it’s a slap in the face. Like D said, “I could find more money on the street.” If Sony offered me a 2% rebate on my PS Store purchases every month, I’d say, “Go shove that 2% rebate up your *ss.” Most months I don’t even purchase anything from the PS Store, and when I do, I buy a game or DLC for like $10. That means I’d get $0.20 back. That $0.20 wouldn’t do sh*t for me or most people. There’s nothing you can buy for $0.20, and it’s unlikely that that $0.20 will give you enough to buy something that you want.
Matt your logic is bang on…but of course if you just increase your monthly spending 10-fold to $100 you can get a whole $2.00 back…LOL
It’s not supposed to be “hey now you get free stuff,” it’s just a little extra. I agree, they should give more, but I see what they’re trying to do. They don’t want people to look at this and think “Oh, they’re giving stuff away for free now.” They want people to go on how they were, buying things how they normally do. Many Xbox gamers spend loads on DLC, arcade games, memberships, games on demand, avatar items, etc., and that 2% adds up. Sure, you spend $100, you get only $2 back, but that’s enough for a couple avatar items or Minecraft skins. You may say that’s not a lot, but it’s more than you would have otherwise. I’m not saying I agree with Microsoft in offering these low values, but I understand where they’re coming from.
But it isn’t free money. you have to spend money to get it. not to mention PAY for an XBL account. also its a slap in the face. if i was 20 cents short of a purchase i’d add 20 cents more. This is almost as bad as getting a tip in pennies, as a waiter. @unbuild lemme put this simply for you. do you know what 2% of a 1000$ is? 20$… so you’d have to spend around 2500$+ in order to actually have enough to buy a game.
lemme reiterate… i won’t be opening my whole 25cent birthday gift this year. not even worth the time it would take to virtually unwrap it
Then become a hobo.
I agree, I mean so what if it isn’t a lot. They’re not required to give us anything. It’s just most people these days are basically brats who are saying “gimme gimme” all day, they always feel like they’re entitled to something more for no real reason.. I’m happy I’m getting this, because now I get free things on top of the enjoyment of actually playing all the games to get the gamerscore. It doesn’t matter how minute it is because it’s still a bonus.
Thank you, this was my point exactly. We’re not entitled to anything at all, so everyone should be lucky they’re getting anything.
I think most people didn’t feel like they were entitled to good rewards untill Microsoft came out with this stupid reward program. If you’re going to give us rewards, give us something we’ll notice! We’re not going to notice a $0.20 rebate at the end of the month. We’re not going to give a f**k about a $0.25 birthday “gift.” It outrages us that Microsoft is acting like they’re making good PR by “giving back to gamers,” when they’re giving us the sh*ttiest rewards ever. I’d rather continue along my day then get a slap in the face from Microsoft.
What the shouldve done is let your gamerscore go hand in with your MS points if an achievement is worth 30 points towards your gamerscore you earn 30 MS points as well. Just saying.
What they should’ve done is let your gamerscore go hand in hand with your MS points if an achievement is worth 30 points towards your gamerscore you earn 30 MS points as well. Just saying.
Nah if they did that everything would have to change on the market place and they wouldn’t be able to earn any revenue i mean people can share games they still got physical copies. IF they were to put it into the new 720 were its all digital they might consider something like that but be real now this is MICROSOFT the bastards who made merchandise out the ass and made everything they get a icon if it = $$$$ for them on ad revenue. Truth is for most gamers they should just face facts and drop Microsoft now and pick up pc gaming cause this s*** is not getting any better if you people start now we might be able to switch it all to pc gaming and that is better for everyone no mater what. Only thing that is bad is no physical copies and system maintenance but i mean its only gonna get worse for console gaming with dlc and better system graphics cards = more money .
Free money? Sure, for Microsoft. Sounds like they’re rewarding themselves, to me. “Hey, you get a 2% rebate as a reward! Sure, that requires that you give us more of your money to get ANYTHING, but hey you were going to keep throwing money at us anyway, weren’t you?”. Thanks, Microsoft.
^ This.
Unbuildthegame sounds like the only logical or smart person on here. Honestly, who gives a crap? We never got “free” things to begin with, so why are we complaining when we get a little more. I don’t even care about this crap. It doesn’t affect us in a bad way at all, but you all are acting like it does. I see so many idiots saying that “I pay more money then I get back”. Well, derp, or Microsoft wouldn’t get any money at all, and that would be bull crap. The fact that they are actually rewarding you for playing games, though at a low reward, is pretty sick. You people need to stop feeling entitled to everything.
Methinks you have a problem with the difference between Incentive and Reward, see this is an incentive program by Microsoft, not a Reward program.
See a reward program would give you something without the need to buy anything further. Such as, for every 25000 gamerscore you have you get $25 Microsoft Bucks or whatever they call it.
Now if you have to make additional purchases on top of 25000 gamerscore then there isn’t actually a reward. Merely an incentive, and a tiny one at that, to buy more games.
Now if you factor in the fact that you must be an $80 per year Gold Member and you’ll see that incentive get even more inconsequential which is what most of the commenters here are on about. Glad I could be here to explain the logic of us dumb commenters.
For a man of such great “logic,” let’s at least get some facts straight. First off, I pay $50 a year for XBL Gold, which is less than the cost of a new game; well worth it, in my opinion. Secondly, it is a reward program. Rewards can be incentives. Microsoft is rewarding players for not only earning gamerscore, but for being a loyal customer by buying things on the marketplace.
A 2% rebate that you only receive once you purchase something on the marketplace.
Doesn’t sound very rewarding, but semantics, bottom line this is pitiful, especially considering the millions of dollars spent and multiple 360s each person has purchased.
Now if you want to see how to truly incentivise purchases check out PSN’s offering this month, buy $100 get $20 PSN Card, oh and you don’t have to be a Plus member nor have any type of gamerscore.
Yeah, let’s compare Microsoft, a highly profitable business, to Sony, a business that has recorded net losses every year since the PS3 released. True, it’s nice to receive a reward from now on, but Microsoft is a business, and a business can’t make money if they’re giving things out for free. People would just rely on the free things rather than going out and buying things.
Agree with Zazar…
Disagree with Zazar…
I love the Xbox fanboys trying to defend their 2 cents and 25 cent birthday gift. I won’t deny I own an Xbox, I own all of the current gen consoles, but it costed me at least 300$ in games to get up to 25,500 gamerscore, and I hunt for all the achievements/trophies I can because I enjoy it, but honestly 2 cents and a probably tiny picture that says “happy birthday” would be nowhere worth my 300$+ of games. So let’s see, I would get only 6$ for it. Not worth any of the time or effort I spent doing it, it feels more rewarding to hear the Achievement sound then this “reward”.
You’re looking at it at too small a scale. Microsoft didn’t give anything before, but now that they are, people are whining and complaining that they need more. It’s like if I were to give $5 to a homeless person on the side of the street, and instead of saying “Thank you,” he starts yelling in my face “WHY DIDN’T YOU GIVE ME MORE? I’VE BEEN HOMELESS FOR 7 YEARS, I THINK I DESERVE MORE THAN FIVE BUCKS!” The fact is that it’s more than you had before, so you can be happy with it and be thankful that you have it, or you can just ignore it and go about your day, but being selfish and greedy shows just how immature the Xbox community is.
Also, my GamerScore is 65,947, and I’ve spent way more than $300 in games, so if anyone should be complaining about the lack of return, it’s me. Last time I checked, we played video games because they’re fun. There’s a sort of unwritten contract between gamers and Microsoft where Microsoft promises to make a console and publish games for us to play, and gamers promise to purchase and have fun with them, and with this, both sides win. Gamers shouldn’t be paid to play video games, like everyone here seems to be suggesting, so just have fun playing the way you were, and don’t be so upset that you have a little extra change in your pocket.
One last thing: it’s not as if Microsoft doesn’t reward Xbox Live users. Gold users get a lot of advantages over non-Live users. Incredible discounts, early demos and betas, and early access to DLC is reward enough. The discounts I’ve seen that are for Gold users only are insane. For 24 hours a couple months ago, Minecraft was 800 MSP, which is $10 cheaper than usual, and it was only for people that invested money in their company at a yearly/monthly basis. Almost every week, they have some sort of sale that is almost always worth it, but people never recognize it as anything significant, they just see it as something they’re entitled to. Gold users also get demos of highly anticipated games weeks before they come out. Lastly, big franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Call of Duty release their DLC exclusively early for Gold users. All these things, Microsoft does for its users out of good will, not because they have to, but because they wish to reward gamers that are subscribed to their service. Now, they’re literally handing you money, and you wish to throw it back in their face and tell them it isn’t good enough. Microsoft has spoiled you, and now no matter what they do or give you, you’ll always want more. As I said before, the selfishness and greed of everyone who shares your opinion truly shows just how immature the Xbox community is.
I said at least 300$, I’ve spent thousands over the years on all of my games. Whoopdeedoo 2 cents for every dollar, like that makes anyone feel any better about their purchase.
….this comment strand makes me lose faith in humanity.
Jeez you people are some greedy brats.
I have 50,000+ gamerscore and have sunk probably closer to $600 into my console. I’m not a fanboy, I’ve played all three major consoles and pc, I know what their pros and cons are, and between them I prefer Xbox.
If a company doesn’t make a profit, it doesn’t grow. Personally, as someone who uses the console, I want them to grow more, and profit more. Why? So that the product they supply me with will continue to grow as well. Supply and demand people. Didn’t you ever take economics?
This is more than what you had yesterday. Period. No questions asked.
The fact that is that Microsoft has several hundred million users on the Xbox alone.
So lets apply this. $0.20 X 200,000,000
That means that Microsoft is giving 200,000,000 players 200,000 dollars. Can the company afford it? Yes. But it does cut into their profits.
Those numbers aren’t accurate, they mearly illustrate my point.
Point: Stop whining and think outside of yourself.
This is exactly right, and it’s exactly what I’ve been trying to say. Microsoft is a business, and businesses can’t expand if they’ve giving away free stuff all the time. 2% is more than we had a week ago, but people are such whiny brats that they feel that they deserve more. They try to back themselves up by using PSN as an example, stating that PSN is free and PSN gives PS+ users free games every month, but Sony hasn’t turned a profit in almost 10 years. I would bet every penny I own that if they charged for all the same things that Microsoft did and didn’t give away free games, they would be recording a net income instead of a net loss.
its clear you have a boner for microsoft.. youre missing the principle of the matter. if your rich friend gave you a 25cent gift card on your birthday youd be pissed. well unbuild wouldnt hed welcome that 25cents. the only whiny brat here is you. we would rather have no reward than a bad one which is the whole point. so just stfu. we get it, you wanna bone microsoft
You said “if my rich friend gave me a 25 cent gift card…” but the thing is, Microsoft isn’t my friend. I don’t know anyone who works for Microsoft. No company just hands you money, which is why it’s a big deal that Microsoft is. Also, you earn maturity points for using the word “bone” as a verb.
I see you are concerned with how Sony is doing. Please don’t fret, I’m sure they’re doing fine, as far as net losses, those were not from their video games sector.
As far as comparing XBox Live Gold to a PS+ Membership there is no competition, PS+ is by far a better value.
I do believe that gamers are your better than average savvy consumers (we research a game purchase more than most research a house) and this move by Microsoft would cause any savvy consumer to compare.
I personally would rather Microsoft keep it competitive, it benefits all of us as gamers. Regardless of platform we gamers are MEGA-CONSUMERS and the console makers SHOULD reward such a rabid following.
If this thread upsets you, please, go elsewhere. Your math is atrocious, you figure they’re just giving everyone 20 cents each month?
How so? Do you know what a rebate is? See you have to buy 1st, so let’s say those 200,000,000 (your figure is also laughable btw) each buy the necessary 10 dollars to get a whole 20 cents back, Microsoft has now made 2 billion dollars and that supposed loss of $200K – now that’s truly laughable.
You’re right sir, my math was rather poor there. I postef that at 3 am and should have edited first. For that I apologize.
Allow me to correct it.
That means that the company is giving away 40,000,000 dollars. Which actually does take out a percentage of their profits.
Able to compare networks side by side I can easily say that PSN is free but charges players for their services, that would otherwise come free with Gold. Furthermore, because Xbox does actually have a net profit they have these little things called firewalls that help keep our system up and running, and our money safely in our banks. Away from hackers.
Lastly, I implore you, answer me this one thing.
If you have more than you had yesterday, why is this bad? Every scholar in history that I can think of says it is not. But maybe I’m just making an error and I’m sure you would love to make a rebuttal that completely addresses my points and shows just how ignorant I am.
You lost me at 40 mil, how’d you come up with that figure? LOL
And then this little gem “Able to compare networks side by side I can easily say that PSN is free but charges players for their services, that would otherwise come free with Gold.”
You mean free with that service you have to pay for? LOL