Microsoft Releases Digital Gift Card for Xbox and Windows Stores

The holiday season is here, and in case you are an Xbox family, Microsoft has made shopping and gifting for you a whole lot easier. The concept of gift cards themselves is nothing new, of course. Everything does it, and not just digital stores like Apple’s iTunes, Google’s Google Play, Xbox Live, PSN Store, or Nintendo eShop- everything. It’s a fairly well known concept worldwide.

But Microsoft has now gone ahead and made gift cards themselves even more streamlined by making them entirely digital. Via a new gift app (exclusive to Windows Phone for now, though Microsoft usually makes it a habit to release its apps on other platforms too), you can now create a personalized digital gift:

• Select a gift by occasion and interests.
• Include a personal note.
• Easily select friends and family from your contact list.
• Send your gift today or select a future delivery date – no shipping deadlines or last minute trips to the store.
• The perfect “add-on” for family and friends receiving an Xbox or Windows device.
• Track and manage your gifts using the History feature.
• Recipients can choose great content from the Xbox and Windows stores to be enjoyed on their Windows 8 phone, PC, tablet, or Xbox.

I have to say, while this is nifty, it sort of takes away from the thrill of unwrapping a present on Christmas morning…