Apple Matters has a complete breakdown of the points system used by the Zune Marketplace. It seems as if James was a little overzealous in his claims that the Zune Marketplace is overcomplicated, but whatever, it’s worth checking out.
Alright the Zune Marketplace price scheme isn’t perfect. Users should be charged per song or full album. Sure Apple did it first, but that shouldn’t have mattered, it’s an efficient idea. Microsoft went wrong with the whole points system. I believe it was going for a jukebox effect, where users purchase a block of songs, but it should have just stuck with the tried and true method of cash-to-song.
Zune Marketplace’s Absurd Pricing Scheme [Apple Matters]