14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft seems to be considering a rewards program for a segment of the Xbox Live subscribers, probably later to be extended to the whole service. An e-mail has been sent by the creator of the Xbox 360 to a select few gamers inviting them to join what is described as an “exclusive pilot rewards program.” There are some rewards promised but they are not detailed.
The message reads “This offer is for a select few - you can't send it to anyone else (why would you send something this awesome to someone else, are you nuts?). If you make the cut, you can pass or opt-out whenever you want. But then you'll never know how it ended,” adding that “you click the button below and register to let us know you want in and pretty soon we'll let you know if you got in or not - and not everyone will (that's why it's called exclusive).”
The tone is a bit too playful and unofficial for the software giant but it might be a sign that the company is interested in attracting the more active section of the Xbox Live community. There is no official comment on what rewards players who get in might receive in exchange for their participation.
Recently, analyst Michael Pachter suggested that Microsoft might be getting ready to introduce a tiered system of subscription options for Xbox Live, with the highest priced ones costing as much as 100 dollars and offering free access to some downloadable content and other goodies.
But a rewards program should be more complex and actually take into account the amount of time players spend engaging in multiplayer in Xbox Live and maybe even reward them for keeping the multiplayer aspect for some games. Somebody that keeps playing multiplayer EndWar might get more Microsoft Points than one who is only contributing to the already thriving Halo 3 community. Of course, Microsoft could be thinking about something else altogether.