Big news coming from Microsoft less than a week before they will be showing off the next-gen Xbox to the masses on May 21, as a new report in The Verge is claiming that Microsoft Points will no longer be the primary means of buying digital goods for Microsoft products, but instead the company will move towards a gift card/voucher system that can also support credit and debit card transactions as well.
The new system would work much in the same way as iTunes vouchers do for the Apple Store. While previous Microsoft gift cards could only be used in actual physical stores, the new gift cards would allow the buyer to obtain true currency for digital goods. Thus, the cards could be used on the Xbox, as well as the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store. The company could announce this transition as soon as E3 in June, and have the system up and running by the time the next- gen Xbox is released.
In other next-gen news, Sony has apparently trademarked the phrase "Greatness Awaits", indicating that the slogan may be part of Sony's marketing campaign for the PlayStation 4.
The slogan first came into prominence last week when leaked marketing material prominently used the term, and used it in conjunction with upcoming blockbuster titles such as the new Killzone game and Bungie's Destiny. "Greatness Awaits" sums up the general feeling that many new console launching instills inside gamers, but the PlayStation 4 may be particularly apt for the slogan. With the impressive hardware in the console and a slew of promising games already announced, the PlayStation 4 is already building up a mighty head of steam months before any expected launch date.
While the PlayStation 4 and next-gen Xbox do not have release dates as of yet, both consoles are expected around the holidays.