XBOX LIVE TURNS FIVE YEARS OLD – FREEBIES HIT MARKETPLACE
Xbox Live turns five years old today, and to celebrate Microsoft is rolling out a bunch of freebies for the masses via the Xbox Live Marketplace. That's right – Xbox Live is having a birthday, but we get the presents.
"Wait… presents? What presents?", you ask – well, let me tell you all about them;
- Carcassonne
- On Thursday, November 15th and Friday, November 16th, Carcassonne – the Xbox Live version of the classic European board game – will be made available to all Xbox Live subscribers as a free download. The game is normally priced at 800 points ($10), so be sure to grab it during this 48 hour window.
- Xbox Dashboard Themes
- Microsoft will be offering the following "special edition" Dashboard Themes available as free downloads;
- Live is 5ive – A dashboard theme celebrating five years of Xbox Live.
- Return to Castle Wolfenstein – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.
- Gears of War – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.
- Halo 2 – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.
- Mech Assault – A dashboard theme based on the game of the same name.
- Special 5 Year Member Bonus
- Xbox Live members who have been with the service since the very beginning will be receiving 500 Microsoft points ($6.25) and a few bits of "exclusive content" as Microsoft's way of saying "Thank You". According to the promotional page, those eligible will be receiving more details via e-mail. I've been a member since day one and haven't seen that e-mail yet, so I'm assuming it won't be sent out until the promotion is fully underway.
It's definitely been a fun five years and I think just about everyone will agree that Xbox Live is without a doubt THE defining feature of the Xbox 360. It really is amazing when you stop and think just how fast the service has grown since the launch of the 360.
Think about it – at the time Live was launched, many people said it would never work, that no one would be willing to pay for the privilege of playing their games online. Microsoft took that challenge and presented a solid service on the original Xbox that many (myself included) felt was well worth the price and then massively expanded the concept with the Xbox 360 while raising the quality of that service even farther. If there is one thing Microsoft has done right since their entry into the console market, it would have to be Xbox Live.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY XBOX LIVE – SEE YOU AT THE 10 YEAR MARK!
- Xbox Live is 5ive – Xbox.com
