Everybody likes free stuff, and if that particular item of "stuff" happens to relate to something you’ve been enjoying for a decade, well, even better. To commemorate ten years of Xbox LIVE, Microsoft has been really generous to some ardent users of its online gaming service, and has, it would appear, begun sending off free, limited edition versions of the Xbox 360 console to some of those who’ve been playing all along.
You don’t see giveaways of this magnitude too often, and gaming blog Kotaku reports one of its readers was among the lucky few to receive the shiny new console in the mail. The unit itself is customized in a gray-green color scheme (as is the controller), and with no idea how many of these have been made or how many will be given away, recipients can feel very privileged to have been sent an early Christmas present straight from Redmond.
A logo inscribed onto the side of the console is Xbox LIVE-themed, and includes the words, "A Decade of Entertainment," so we can be sure it’s related to the online gaming hub. As well as the Kotaku reader, numerous other Xbox LIVE fanatics are coming forward and claiming they too have received the very special gift.
The fact each console was sent without prior warning will only have added to the excitement, and as somebody who has been using Xbox LIVE for quite a few years, I am – rather in hope more than expectation – keeping my fingers crossed for a free console!
Larry Hryb a.k.a Major Nelson has confirmed via Twitter that Microsoft is in fact sending out these special packages, and although no details have been revealed as to how many will eventually receive one, there will be some description of competition later this week for anybody to win one.
Xbox LIVE has been nothing short of a revelation in its ten-year tenure. Even now, with the likes of the PlayStation Network (which is, of course, free to use), the Xbox 360 + LIVE partnership continues to be a formidable one, and in the ongoing console wars, Microsoft certainly holds the advantage moving into the next-generation.
Did you receive a console from Microsoft? Tweet us a pic if you did!
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