XBox 2 comes with microtransactions.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - New car: $1. New helmet: 5 cents. Flashy new warrior's sword: 50 cents. Bigger baseball bat: three for $2. Magic spell to help defeat that tricky warlord on level five: 10 cents per use.

Welcome to the online store of the future -- the one embedded in your favorite video game.

When Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) releases the new version of its Xbox video game console -- presumably this year -- it plans to include a storefront that will offer "microtransactions."

The idea is that everyone wins: players with disposable income can spend a few cents here and there to enhance their gameplay in most any way they like, and publishers get a way to create a continuing revenue stream.

"Not only do you have to sweep away the distinction between virtual and real, you have to stop looking at video games as a toy and start looking at them as an entertainment service," said Edward Castronova, an associate professor at Indiana University who studies video game economics and is the author of the forthcoming book "Synthetic Worlds."

Microtransactions are so named because the purchases are generally a few cents or a dollar or two, often too small to be made by a credit card. That is where intermediaries, like the proposed Xbox service, come in to play.

"Generally if you do anything less than $5 you end up eating up the bulk of that $5 in transaction fees," said Cam Ferroni, general manager of Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service. "At the heart of it'll be a points-like system where you buy points and then use those points to make purchases."

Game publishers will have to cooperate by building access to a common storefront into their software, and some purists may argue that such trade creates an unfair playing field.

"In a multiplayer game there's a problem because if I choose to wreck the fantasy by buying my way around stuff, I don't just wreck my fantasy, I wreck others," Castronova said.

But Microsoft executives suggest those who do not take part will hear from unhappy fans.

"If you don't believe in the self-expression thing, so be it. Let's let it play out in the market," said J Allard, a Microsoft corporate vice president who has a key role in building the services in the next version of Xbox, in an interview at the recent Game Developer's Conference. Continued ...

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This is teahat. You pay $400+ for a console, $60+ for a game and you pay for Xbox Live and these greedy bastards still don't see money enough,
Ah, sandpaper them. :nxs:

Is it just me or does M$ get dumber everytime they have a press release??

WOW, I can't wait to spend more money...MS RULZ

Originally posted by KamisoriX@Mar 19 2005, 10:48 PM
WOW, I can't wait to spend more money...MS RULZ

kami is dedicated to a cause :P

this is unfortunate because I never used to think MS was nearly as big of a money-whore everyone said it was.... I guess I agree now. This is pretty gay

"...and publishers get a way to create a continuing revenue stream..."



Sounds to me like "M$" is not the one making the money. Why complain about an option you might get in certain games that you have the option to buy?

Paying for options or extras in games sucks just like paying for demos

Exactly. Plus I see it coming devs splitstreaming their games and sell you kinda the "basic" edition and tell you if you want any more, you have to purchase it. :nxs:

EverQuest II does it already.

Welcome to the world of Microsoft, where bilions are not enough to saticefy a person.