Is this program designed to deter people from making digital purchases?

If even microsoftstore.com is offering 15k rewards points *per* physical game pre-order, and digital offers nothing, why would I buy digital?

If I have to pre-order 3 games to get 15k rewards points, and one physical gives me 15k (or the same 3 games give me 45k total rewards points), why would I buy digital?

If any pre-ordered physical copy gives me 15k rewards points, and only a select few digital titles are eligible for the rewards punchcard, why would I buy digital?

If major competitors offer competitive discounts (competitive with the Microsoft store) on their physical retail copies of games AND allow me to pick-up in-person rather than waiting to ship, why would I buy digital at full price with 0 rewards?

If major competitors provide rewards on all of their digital purchases (and not just ones selected for pre-order punchcards) irrespective of whether the item is pre-ordered or purchased, why would I every buy a digital game from Microsoft?

If a pre-order does not provide rewards credits unless it is part of a select few available on a punchcard (and what we have now is the first of its kind IIRC), why would I *ever* pre-order a digital game for xbox?

If I need to spend $0 at major competitors to get rewards points, why would I spend money to get myVIP star ratings to get rewards points back at a comparable point to competitors?

If I have a PS4, why would I buy a digital copy on xbox instead?

If I have a PC, why would I pay a console premium to buy a digital copy on xbox instead?

:)

 

HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

The idea behind it is to deter people from doing the things that get you permabanned in the first place.

 

BO2 seems anti-camper, more run & gun

Pretty sure IW said MW3 and its maps were designed to be a fast, run & gun style of play to deter campers from camping. It didn't stop it much, but as long as there are walls and corners, there will always be camping.

 

You are focusing a lot of the pre-order aspect of the program when that is only 1 small piece. For the microsoftstore.com promotion there is a max of 3 games which means you max out at $45 in rewards**. Of course that is still a large sum, but no such exemption
exists in the digital pre-order promotions (you can participate in all digital pre-order missions). Another large part of the program is MyVip which essentially rewards all digital purchases for launched games and DLC. So for people who do not pre-order every
game they will pick up games on-sale or after hearing good things and get a % back on that purchase, which no physical disc promotion from a standard brick and morter store (or even Amazon/MSstore) will give you % back once the game launches. You can get up
to 10% back for all qualifying purchases under MyVip. Then you have survey credits, other monthly missions for avatar items, movies/tv shows, and other games you may have missed.

Overall, the program has a broad range of offerings. If you're the type of gamer who pre-orders every title, then maybe it won't work for you, but if you buy games after they launch, or DLC, or any of the other content mentioned above and you participate
in monthly missions then there is a lot of content that the program will reward you for that you will not find elsewhere.

**MS Store Terms: "Which content is eligible for this offer?Any pre-ordered, hard-copy (disc) game from the Microsoft Store for Xbox One or Xbox 360 will qualify, as long as the order is received before the title release date and the game ships before the
end of the offer. You will only receive one Reward per title, for a maximum of three titles total during the offer period."