Earlier this week, a rumor came out on InsideMobileApps.com stating that Microsoft may be getting rid of its Microsoft Points system in favor of a more traditional transaction system like that of the Android App and Apple App stores.

Though Microsoft gave the expected “we do not comment on rumours or speculation” response, InsideMobileApp reports of mobile developers being told to plan upcoming DLC and In-App purchases in accordance with this change. Whether this will affect just the Windows Phone which uses the Microsoft Points system that started with the XBox 360 or carry across all Microsoft platforms at this point is all speculation.

The Microsoft Points system has come under fire since the initial Marketplace pricing structure on the XBox 360 was revealed. At its origin, downloadable titles on the XBox Marketplace were either 400 or 800 Microsoft points which translates to $5 and $10 respectively.

The problem however quickly presented itself that points were sold in 500 point increments. This resulted in leftover points. It would force customers to make further purchases in favor of having unused currency sitting on their account. This problem further compounded itself when DLC evolved and was priced at other irregular point values.

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Grand Theft Auto is without a doubt one of the most infamous names in video games today. Ever since the debut of Grand Theft Auto III where players could pick up a prostitute and then get a “refund” by killing her, it has been at the top of the media by pushing the envelope further and further. With Grand Theft Auto IV as one of the most popular games of 2008, Microsoft saw the opportunity to further their lead in the console war with Sony by commissioning two exclusive episodes of downloadable content for the game for a hefty price tag.

The first, “The Lost and the Damned” reintroduced players to a minor character from Nico’s Grand Theft Auto IV campaign as he fought his way to the top of the food chain to become leader of The Lost biker gang. With the changes in gameplay and the engrossing story, many people felt “The Lost and the Damned” was better than the core GTA IV experience. Now, Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive hopes to catch lightning in the bottle a second time with “The Ballad of Gay Tony”, the second and final exclusive episode for the XBox 360.

“The Ballad of Gay Tony” revolves around, shocker, a character named Gay Tony who is the owner of the most popular straight club and gay club in Liberty City and what he has to do to keep that from being taken away from him. As far as pushing the envelope further, it’s pretty safe to say that anything could be on the table for this episode as “The Lost and the Damned” featured a full frontal shot in it (and no, it wasn’t female.) With virtually no limits to what they can’t do and an epic landscape like Liberty City, take a look at the first trailer of Grand Theft Auto “The Ballad of Gay Tony” after the jump.

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Set to go live on August 11th, the Summer XBox Live update adds three new features for players to use to expand their XBox Live experience.

Part 1: Games on Demand

Much like the XBox Originals program which has slowed down as of late, players will be able to download full XBox 360 games to their hard drive after purchasing a digital copy off XBox Live Marketplace. Unlike installing the game from the disk, players will not need to insert a disc in to the drive to play the game as all licenses will be saved to the hard drive as well.

To make transactions easier, players can use credit or debit cards to purchase games instead of being forced to use Microsoft points and causing extra unnecessary steps in the purchasing process. Prices have not yet been released for the following titles which should be live when the update launches.

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