All good things must come to an end and this rings true for even for virtual money. Later this year, Microsoft will be transitioning from points to dollars...or whatever your country's currency may be.

In a statement presented yesterday on its site,

Following an upcoming Xbox 360 system update, when you go to buy something or redeem a Microsoft Points card or code on your console with your Microsoft account, the company will add to your account an amount of currency equal to or greater than the Xbox Marketplace value of your Microsoft Points.

Those with MS Points Cards after the transition will still be able to redeem them via Xbox Live for "equal to or greater" sums of local currency.

The company has also confirmed plans to release new Xbox Gift Cards available in your local currency through online retailers and in local retail stores.

The new Xbox dashboard update and its real-world currency has been in beta testing in recent weeks now, however controversy erupted when testers noticed a "vast decrease" in value of their MS Points when converted to real money.

Microsoft quickly rectified the situation by stating, the inflated beta test prices were "an unintended error."