Dork that I am, I got giddy when I heard Microsoft would start selling full downloads of retail Xbox 360 games to hard drives under the new Games on Demand banner. I bought $60 worth of Microsoft points in order to download Call of Duty 2 and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

But when I tried to buy the games, my 360 stopped me cold. It gave me the option to either buy the games with a credit card or input a 20-digit code, but wouldn’t let me spend my Microsoft funny money.

Discouraged, I called customer service. The CSR told me Games on Demand required “real money” rather than Microsoft Points. When I told him I bought those points with “real money,” he explained that Microsoft was responding to consumer demand by letting customers purchase games directly with credit cards rather than making them jump through the Microsoft Points hoops. I asked if he could refund my points or maybe transfer them back into “real money” so I could spend them on the games I wanted, but he turned me down. His supervisor, “George,” gave me the same spiel and refused to let me speak to his manager, who “doesn’t take calls.” At least the supe gave me a reference number and advice about how to complain about his service on xbox.com. A crafty one, George reminded me of the Indian version of myself, so I couldn’t find it in my heart to complain.

UPDATE: You can indeed use Microsoft points to buy Games on Demand, contrary to what the CSRs told me. A Microsoft rep said he’d be following up with the misinformed CSRs I spoke with.

(Photo: darabidduckie)

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