Xbox Live users will notice that the storefront now looks and behaves differently than it did before.
The Xbox One, Microsoft’s upcoming flagship for the next generation of gaming consoles, will hit the market this fall at a $499 base price, but before it does, the company is working to re-define its Xbox Live Market brand in order to appeal to a wider smattering of people. According to a report from End Gadget, the Xbox Live Marketplace will now be known merely as the Xbox Games Store, and other shifts in branding or interface will be noticeable to longtime Xbox users as well.
Microsoft plans to launch the Xbox One in November, and the most recent branding shifts seem to be preparations for making that launch as big as it can possibly be. One of the major changes has already taken place and is being set in stone by current Xbox 360 users. Just a few days ago, Microsoft ditched its old points system, which allowed users to purchase content by racking up points within the virtual world. Instead of points, the Xbox One marketplace will utilize regular currency to make purchasing Xbox Live content a simpler, easier, and more accessible process. Microsoft Point balances, meanwhile, will still be honored and converted into varying cash values. Purchases made using the converted cash also get the benefit of not being taxed.
In addition to the long-awaited currency shift, Xbox Live users will notice that the storefront now looks and behaves differently than it did before. Depending on geographic location, the store may be called either “Xbox Games” or “Xbox Games Store.” Regardless of the name, users will be able to use the marketplace to purchase full games or fun additions to existing titles, including multiplayer maps or unlockable characters.
Controversy has followed Microsoft and the Xbox One since information about the console was released. Many were up in arms about some of the new features and piracy safeguards, including the policy for sharing digital games. That policy has been switched around what seems like a dozen times now, leading to an announcement earlier this month stating that digital games will not be sequestered to the account that bought them, as had been the initial plan. Now, if a game has been downloaded to a console, all gamers who use that system will be able to login and play the game from different accounts. The buyer account, meanwhile, will be able to access a full library of digital games from any Xbox console.
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