Rumor: Microsoft ditching its Microsoft Points virtual currency by year’s end

One of the banes of my existence has been the Microsoft Point system that’s used to purchase anything digital from a number of Microsoft’s online marketplaces including Zune, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Windows Phone Marketplace. According to a recent rumor published by insidemobileapps.com, it looks like Microsoft may finally be listening to its customers and plans to doing away with its horrid Microsoft Points system.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Microsoft Points system, it’s a virtual currency that Microsoft decided to implement with the release of the Xbox 360 back in 2005. The math goes like this:

• 80 Microsoft Points = $1 USD

That took me 5 years to finally figure out on my own without using a number of websites online that convert real world currency into Microsoft Points.

According to the rumor, Microsoft plans on phasing out its Microsoft Points system and allowing its customers to pay with their real world currency rather than convert it into a virtual currency. Developers for all of their marketplaces have been notified of this change and have been asked to plan for upcoming DLC and in-app purchases to reflect that change. Customers who currently have a balance in Microsoft Points will have it changed to their local currency, which I’m sure will go on without a hitch.

As with all rumors, take the information with a grain of salt, but pray to whatever god you believe in that this becomes true as I could definitely go on with my life without knowing 80 Microsoft Points equals $1. That part of my brain could be used for something more useful like knowing how to use a fire extinguisher or how to rescue people from a burning building unscathed or how to deliver a baby using nothing more than a turkey baster.