Microsoft explains uneven Xbox Live Marketplace pricing

If you’ve been downloading stuff on the Xbox Live Marketplace, then you may have noticed the rather confusing pricing of some of the downloads. According to Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg, this was not something they intended but rather a side-effect of credit card transaction fees.

Want to know what Aaron Greenberg had to say about this? Check out the full article for the complete explanation.

If you’ve been downloading stuff on the Xbox Live Marketplace, then you may have noticed the rather confusing pricing of some of the downloads. According to Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg, this was not something they intended but rather a side-effect of credit card transaction fees.

Greenberg explained that they handle the credit card fees in bulk to avoid burdening the consumer, the publishers, or themselves with the transaction fees.

He pointed out that “it’s about keeping infrastructure costs down.” He said that he understands how this can be rather frustrating for some users who end up with odd points, but they have no plans of changing this practice.

So it looks like gamers who insist on picking up some of the content on the Xbox Live Marketplace will have to contend with this quirk. It really isn’t so bad if you think about it, the odd points are worth it if it makes downloading stuff simpler.

Via 1UP