Microsoft marks 10 years of Xbox Live with free consoles
updated 01:12 pm EST, Fri November 16, 2012
Custom consoles to longest subscribers, free game to all
Microsoft is celebrating the tenth anniversary of Xbox Live by giving some of its longest subscribers a free console. While a gift of hardware will not be made to all users of the service, Microsoft is also offering a free Xbox Live Arcade game to download, as well as allowing US-based members entry into a sweepstake for various prizes.
The sweepstake, entry for which requires players to download an image to their console, has a customized Xbox 360 and 12 months of Live Gold subscription as its grand prize, with points bundles, Xbox Music passes, Live Arcade games, and a free month of Hulu Plus also able to be won. Some long-term users of the service have already received the custom console, complete with an orange and green color scheme and the term "XBL 10" inscribed on the disc tray.
Users have until this evening to download the Kinect castle destruction game Wreckateer for no charge, regardless of where they are in the world, while other popular titles such as Geometry Wars and Castle Crashers have received 50-percent discounts for the next week.
A letter from Marc Whitten to Xbox Live users thanks the 40 million players of the service, and revealed that nearly 14.5 billion achievements have been unlocked by players, giving the entire population a combined Gamerscore of more than 270 billion points.
