Xbox – Page 14 – MMO Fallout

If my childhood is anything to go off of, Sony’s consistent public contradiction of Microsoft is going to net them a belt buckle to the head, you know once the two are out of the public view. Take Two and Rockstar Games have been going insane with shutting down any outlet for pre-release Grand Theft Auto V goodies, going as far as apparently threatening legal action against some publications. Look around and you’ll find a pile of now banned accounts on Livestream, Youtube, and more.

Microsoft has continued their policy of working in tandem with the publisher and handing out console bans to anyone caught leaking pre-release gameplay, IE: Anyone caught streaming or posting screenshots/captures of their gameplay online. It is important to the conversation to point out that the bans are related to the leaking of game footage before the official street date, and not the mere act of playing the game.

Enter Sony, a company whose past few months of public relations can be whittled down to “the opposite of what Microsoft just said.” Sony is not banning anyone with a legitimate copy of GTA V who post footage of their game online before Tuesday’s launch, a move that will likely net them brownie points with the gaming community if at the expense of Rockstar’s goodwill.

If you do manage to get ahold of a copy, you’re pretty safe as long as you don’t start streaming or leaking footage.

Good news, friends on Xbox. If you own an Xbox360, you probably already knew about this update, but Microsoft has officially retired the Microsoft Point. Instead, players will be happy to see that their local currency will be displayed and used when adding to your account coffers and when determining prices of items on the Xbox Live store.

When you initiate a purchase or redeem a Points card or code with your Microsoft account after the next Xbox 360 system update, we’ll add to your account an amount of currency equal to or greater than the Marketplace value of your Microsoft Points, and your Microsoft Points will be retired. The currency we add to your account at the time of the transition will expire on June 1, 2015. However, the currency you purchase and add to your account after the transition will not expire.

One important piece to note is that apparently Microsoft Point cards (not the new cards) will expire one year after redemption, and the website only guarantees that Microsoft points will be redeemable “until further notice.”