Anyone who games on Xbox 360 knows all about Achievement Points. Every single Xbox 360 game rewards players for accomplishing different tasks. These points are currently used for bragging rights, as the die hard gamers gobble up every little task in a game to up their points total, which is shown on their GamerTag information.

According to online reports, Microsoft may turn those points into prizes as early as next month. The game giant is evidently in talks with key sponsors who are eager to get positive association with their brands. This means that those points could be redeamed for prizes. That gives gamers even more incentive to get deeper into Xbox 360 games. I talk to many in the game industry who play the Xbox 360 version of a game instead of the PlayStation 3 version just to accrue these Achievement Points. Microsoft certainly has created a stir with gamers, and it makes sense that the game company wants to cash in on its achievement.

While no official confirmation from Microsoft exists yet, the Internet flurry started after a devoted Xbox 360 gamer found a partially torn document that talked of trading points for prizes. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Microsoft is interested in product placement and in-game advertising. The company bought Massive last year, the largest in-game ad company in the world. Tying sponsors to Achievement Points is yet another way to package in-game content with corporate America. And everyone's looking for a way to reach the male gaming demographic that Microsoft has.