Microsoft Makes Special Consoles for Xbox Live 10th Anniversary

Microsoft is rewarding the members who have been on Xbox Live the
longest with special consoles. As revealed by Xbox Live’s Major Nelson
on Twitter,
Microsoft is “surprising some of the Xbox Live members that have been
with us the longest” by sending them a special limited edition console
featuring 10 year anniversary imagery.



A Microsoft spokesperson explained to IGN that “we are celebrating
the 10th anniversary of Xbox Live by conducting special promotions for
our members worldwide and today we began to surprise a select number of
our loyal 10 year Xbox Live members in the U.S. with special edition
anniversary consoles. These consoles were created for a special
promotion and will not be available at retail locations.”

The console features a special “Xbox Live: A Decade of Entertainment”
logo that includes imagery from the original Xbox, Kinect, the Vision
camera and much more from Xbox’s history. In addition, the disc drive
says “XBL 10” instead of the usual Xbox 360.

It’s unclear how many of the systems will be manufactured and what
the specific qualifications are to earn one, but we’ve reached out to
Microsoft and will update with any additional info we receive. Until
then, watch out interview with Bungie’s Harold Ryan about Xbox Live’s
10th anniversary on Up At Noon:

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that to celebrate the 10th anniversary
of its Xbox Live service, it would be sending its longest-term
subscribers a special console.
The machine in question is a thing of beauty. Just look at it below,
all shiny and emblazoned with joyous little Xs. Microsoft fans the world
over rejoiced.

Well UK friends, prepare to have your hopes mercilessly crushed like a
butterfly under the wheels of a bicycle ridden by an elephant.


The tic-tac coloured console, it seems, is a promotion exclusively available in the States. Today, Microsoft UK has announced
what those of us in Britain will be getting. While we won't be
receiving a special edition console, it seems the company has saved the
best for Blighty...we're getting a free download of Wreckateer. The Xbox
Live Kinect-only game. We can almost hear the frantic scratching of
pens as you all gleefully cross it off your Christmas lists, safe in the
knowledge it'll be provided free of charge.

That's not quite all: a range of XBLA will be offered at discounted
prices for a limited time. Battlefield 1943, Castle Crashers and Bastion
are now all available for 600 MS points rather than their original
1200, while Fruit Ninja, Geometry Wars Evolved and Peggle only cost 400
MS points where they previously cost 800.

Both the Wreckateer deal and the discounts are also available in the US, alongside the console promotion.

Xbox Live CVP Marc Whitten has also written a letter of thanks to the community,
which is genuinely quite an enjoyable read despite the otherwise
lacklustre rewards. It's worth checking out. Assuming you can tear
yourself away from the madcap thrills of Wreckateer for long enough, that is.