Xbox Achievements Will Now Unlock Discounts on Xbox LIVE

Microsoft has launched the previously rumored Xbox LIVE Rewards scheme that will allow players who have passed certain Gamerscore thresholds to obtain additional discounts at the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Earning anywhere between 3,000 to 9,000 Gamerscore will yield players a Special Gift on their birthday. According to Microsoft, the gift is valued at $0.25. Gamers who have earned scores between 10,000 and 24,999 Gamerscore will receive the Special Gift as well as a 1% rebate on all purchases from the marketplace every month.

Players who have unlocked over 25,000 will see a 2% rebate on all purchases as well as the birthday gift.

Most of the offerings on Xbox LIVE Marketplace will be eligible for the rebate, including Arcade Games, Avatar items, Games on Demand, and Game DLC. Xbox LIVE memberships and Microsoft Points will not be included.

The functionality is open to Gold subscribers and simply entails signing up for the program here.

Analysis: Although not a hugely significant offer, especially the $0.25 birthday present, it’s still quite a nice incentive to see some sort of reward for something that many Xbox gamers will do anyway—namely, earn achievements and purchase items from the Marketplace. But again, it’s not a huge offering considering that, if you have the 2% rebate and purchase something at 400 MSP, you’ll get back 8 MSP, which isn’t even $0.10.

However, it could have been worse. When I first heard about this functionality, I had held firm the belief that the rewards would simply be Avatar items nobody would want, so I’ve come away from this somewhat surprised. I don’t see a reason why all Gold subscribers shouldn’t sign up for this as you’re at least gaining something for essentially doing nothing that you wouldn’t normally do anyway.