What Happens On Xbox LIVE When You Press A+A+A

While at work, reader Mike got an email on his telephone from Xbox confirming his purchase of a LIVE Gold subscription. But Mike is an Xbox LIVE Silver Member. And he was out forty bucks.

“I called home, and jokingly told my wife that she had some explaining to do,” says Mike. “She didn’t know what I was talking about, so I asked if there were any purchases she might have made that I should know about.” Mike thought maybe she bought it for him as a surprise. His wife, however, had no idea what he was talking about.

She did mention that their three year-old son had walked up to her with a powered-on Xbox controller asking her to play the “cars game” — Forza 3, that is.

“So it seems that my son turned on the Xbox with the controller, tapped the A button 3 times, and spent forty bucks,” says Mike. “This is completely understandable since he knows how to turn it on, and the green button is about the only one he ever pushes when pretending to play games.”

Microsoft, to its credit, was quick to offer a refund. And in order to avoid any future problems, Mike says he removed his credit card from his Xbox LIVE account.

“But I think it’s pretty stupid that it’s this simple for a 3 year old to make such a large purchase,” says Mike. “Why on earth does my Xbox default to that upgrade offer anyway?”

Money, Mike, to make money.