Earlier this week, speculation arose about whether or not Microsoft was planning to drop MS Points from Xbox LIVE. This came off the back of the software giant’s decision to default to credit cards and local currency whenever somebody tries to purchase digital content through upcoming Windows 8. This decision did not rule out MS Points as an additional payment method on Windows 8, but it did get people thinking that the Xbox 360 shopfronts might follow suit.

A Microsoft spokesperson has since taken this speculation out back and put a bullet in its head. Don’t feel bad though, there’s a beautiful place on the Internet where all dead speculation goes to frolic in wide open spaces. There’s lots of fresh air and butterflies.

According to the spokesperson, “Microsoft Points continue to be the currency for purchasing content for the Xbox 360 console.” See? It was a swift termination; speculation probably didn’t even feel a thing. In related news, online retailers (who make a living selling MS Points to gamers) have breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Source: The Verge 

Microsoft’s senior vice president for their Interactive Entertainment Division, Yusuf Mehdi, has revealed that the average household spends more time using Xbox LIVE for online media than for online gaming. How much more? More than 50% more actually.

According to Mehdi: “What we’re seeing is that people are turning on the Xbox to play games and then keeping it on afterwards to get other types of entertainment.” The other types of entertainment refers to the various media apps available over Xbox LIVE, like Netflix, YouTube and Hulu. While many of these online apps are not available in South Africa, it’s nevertheless rather interesting to hear that Xbox LIVE is now more about online media than it is about online gaming.

With this in mind, the recent rumours of a supposed “Xbox Lite” media unit make a hell of a lot of sense. You can read more about that rumour here. With households now spending an average of 84 hours on Xbox LIVE per month, it seems like a good time for Microsoft to release an Apple TV equivalent after all.

Source: Game Informer

In case you’ve been living under a rock for a few months, Xbox Live accounts are being hacked and saved credit card details are being used by sneaky thieves to purchase MS Points. Our own Geoff Burrows experienced exactly this with his Xbox Live account, but was fortunate enough to have his bank fix everything back up regarding his credit card.

A theory has recently cropped up online that might explain how people are losing control of their accounts, and it all has to do with Xbox.com and not actual Xbox Live. Most people on Xbox Live are aware that an Xbox Live account and Windows Live ID are one in the same thing. Microsoft’s Xbox.com website apparently makes it rather easy for hackers to use a script to execute a brute-force hack that bypasses the minimum password attempts before CAPTCHA security kicks in. CAPTCHA is the system that prompts you to enter a randomly generated letter and number phrase, but they’re extra tricky to read and sometimes you have to hit refresh about a billion times before you get one that is actually legible… or is that just me?

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