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The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live subscribers to download purchased or promotional content. The service offers movie and game trailers, game demos, Xbox Live Arcade games, gamer tag images, and Xbox 360 Dashboard themes.
Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points are used as scrip in the Xbox Live Marketplace, which includes the Xbox Live Arcade. These points may be purchased in bulk with a credit card drawing on legal tender and may then be exchanged for various downloadable items and services. Such an implementation allows Microsoft to collect interest on unused credit and as a side effect also reduces the amount of interchange fees paid to the credit card acquirer since it reduces the overall number of credit transactions.
Points cost per region
Each region is billed for Microsoft points in their own local currency.However, the pricing does not necessarily reflect current exchange rates. This means that some regions pay more than others. The chart contains the pricing information for six different countries in their respective currencies. This chart was made using the current market currency exchange rate on April 3, 2006. Day-to-day converted prices will fluctuate depending on the exchange rate, but the chart can be used as a rough estimate of how much each region pays for content. Note that the tables also do not reflect on the purchasing power of a given dollar amount in that country.
| 500 Points | 1000 Points | 2000 Points | 5000 Points | Price per point | 500 Points (in USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | $8.25 | $16.50 | $33.00 | $82.50 | 1.65¢ | $5.91 |
| Canada | $7.75 | $15.50 | $31.00 | $77.50 | 1.55¢ | $6.64 |
| Europe | €6.00 | €12.00 | €24.00 | €60.00 | 1.2c | $7.28 |
| Japan | ¥740 | ¥1480 | ¥2960 | ¥7400 | ¥1.48 | $6.30 |
| United Kingdom | £4.25 | £8.50 | £17.00 | £42.50 | 0.85p | $7.39 |
| USA | $6.25 | $12.50 | $25.00 | $62.50 | 1.25¢ | $6.25 |
Taxes
Microsoft Points can be tax free or not. Due to the laws of some regions, you may be taxed on your purchase of points online. The following list includes (but is not limited to) regions which must pay value added tax or luxury tax with accordance to their local government- Canada
- New York, USA
- Germany
See also
"Xbox Live Marketplace"