RSSAmazon launches the first third-party Xbox Live store
By Tim Conneally | Published April 8, 2009, 10:36 AM
While downloadable content has become the norm in home video gaming, a gamer who wants to purchase new games or add-in content via download has very limited options. Generally, it has been limited to the console's built-in app store, or direct from the console manufacturer. With the PlayStation 3, it's the PSN Shop, Wii it's the Wii Shop Channel, and with the 360, was the Xbox Live Marketplace or on Xbox.com.
Today, Amazon announced that it has opened the beta of the Amazon Xbox Live Store, where users can download Xbox Live Arcade games, or buy subscription cards and Microsoft Points. Transactions, however, are cash only and Microsoft Points do not yet look to be accepted.
Amazon Digital Services does not actually facilitate downloading. Instead, the user purchases Online Game Codes from Amazon. When transactions are completed, the Online Game Code is then redeemed either on the Xbox 360 console or on Xbox.com. This adds granularity to Xbox Live gift giving, as customers can now buy specific games and content without needing to set up an account with Microsoft.
This is great news for parents, friends etc who've found a great live arcade game and want to share it.
I know I'll be buying at least three live arcade games from amazon in the next few months now. I'll be giving the redemption codes as a 'gift card' for birthday presents.
Always wondered why Microsoft never did the redemption codes direct from the xbox.
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|Not sure of the value here, other than if I had an Amazon gift card I wanted to use on an XBLA game. Besides that scenario, this seems like nothing but an inconvenience of having to enter some code rather than clicking on Buy Now from Xbox Live directly.
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|advantages I see are that you don't have to buy more points than you need in order to pay for only one item. Example: Something you want to buy off of the console might be 800 points but you can only buy in increments of 500, 1000, 2000, or 5000 points so you would have left over points that you might have difficulty using up completely. With Amazon's service it looks like you might be able to pay the exact price necessary and no more.
Also, as stated in the end of the article, it provides an easy way to buy DLC as a gift without setting up an account or doing it off of the recipient's account.
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