TirithRR wrote:
I've read up on the thing a bit. And I've come to the conclusion that this system is in place the way it is because Microsoft is full of a bunch of lazy @#%^s.
Promotional MS Points (Those earned for through special purchases, Rewards program, etc) expire after 1 year. Also turns out that balance corrections done directly by MS (for things like unauthorized use) expire after one year. Basically any points that are added directly by Microsoft rather than through the store or retail card purchases are set to expire after one year.
Best I can think of is since Microsoft is doing the balance corrections, all the points/value is flagged as this 'promotional' deal and set to expire in one year. So points that previously were not eligible for expiration are going to be after this transition. And how much they care about their customers is apparently too little for them to spend enough time to handle this in a way that doesn't basically steal money from their customers.
From a corporate, non-gamer standpoint, it makes perfect sense. Give them access to the old stuff, but make sure it expires early enough it helps pressure them into become early adopters.
Which I feel is pretty much the issue with Microsoft in general. At the end of the day, they just aren't a gaming company. Not yet, at least. Their executives aren't used to dealing with gamers and that demographic. Which is a serious issue this far along in the game, and they're certainly seeing the backlash.
Sony's been in the console business, as a major player, for a long time now. And while they have PLENTY of other divisions, most generally deal with entertainment. The end result is that their executives are used to considering the PS line, and the gaming culture that its target demographic is. It took so little effort for them to capitalize on Microsoft's failures because the people capable of doing so knew how to interact with the gaming community.
I feel like Microsoft has seriously failed to educate the people making the final decisions about what the gaming community is going to expect. They need executives who aren't going to approach the Xbox the same way they approach the Surface, or Windows 8, or IE.
Hell, just including the "It has IE!" line in their product announcement was something you would obviously not point out to that audience...
[EDIT]
I have to say, though. If KH3/FFXV aren't going to be exclusives, would it kill them to port them to the PC?
Hell, MAKE me use a controller. I don't care.
Edited, Jun 12th 2013 2:42pm by idiggory