Starting with the next Xbox 360 system update, gamers will no longer have to deal with the much-maligned Microsoft Points system that's long been used to facilitate digital downloads. Microsoft hasn't announced when that update is coming, but the software has been in a public testing phase for over a month now. As on the Xbox One, Points will be replaced a much simpler system: gamers' local currencies. Microsoft will also begin selling gift cards that can be redeemed through the system, but they won't be in stores until later this year.

Fortunately, Points that are left over on gamers' accounts won't just vanish when the change happens. Microsoft plans to convert all remaining Points — be they already in the system or still lying around on unredeemed gift cards — into a cash credit that it says will be of an equivalent or greater value. Those gift cards will be accepted until "further notice," and the same policies will apply on the Xbox One, which will exclusively use local currencies out of the box.