Developer Epic Games recently released five videos on XBox Live Marketplace that show in detail how to find all of the coveted COG tags in Gears of War. This would be great if the videos were free, as one would expect. Inexplicably, they are not, costing 100 Microsoft Points each, bringing the real money total for all the videos to $6.50. Not terribly expensive, about what you'd pay for a used PS2 copy of NHL 2005, but I ask you, why would anyone in the world pay ANYTHING for information that can easily be found for free on any of the countless video game websites out there? It's baffling. I'm really not sure who they think is going to buy these things, but to me the whole thing seems irrational, embarrassing and kind of insulting.

The ill-advised videos are only the latest in a line of questionable XBLM releases, including the infamous Oblivion Horse Armor; a game item that was supposed to be in the retail release but instead ended up costing 160 points. The worst example may be the nearly $50 worth of Need for Speed Carbon unlockables to make your $60 game "complete". Now, I know that we have a choice to buy or not buy these things and it's not like they're forcing us to buy them or deceiving us in the item descriptions. Still, releasing useless and overpriced junk like this sends the message that XBLM is nothing but a platform for publishers to make any and all efforts, no matter how desperate, to lure your hard earned dollars, sorry, Microsoft Points away. Microsoft needs to realize that this is a terrible way to build trust in their still very new, unproven online service.