No 10th Anniversary Xboxes for UK Xbox Live Users

By Jane McEntegart
published

Earlier this week it emerged Microsoft was honoring some of its long-time Xbox Live users with a special Xbox console and a letter thanking them for using the service for a decade. Microsoft's Major Nelson confirmed the program via Twitter, revealing Redmond had been surprising some of its oldest Xbox Live members with a special edition console. However, it seems those in the UK will miss out on this special show of gratitude from Microsoft.

Eurogamer reports that the offer is US-only and cites a Microsoft UK spokesperson as saying the anniversary edition Xbox won't be available to users in the United Kingdom.

"The Special Edition Xbox Live Anniversary console is a US promotion, but we will be engaging our members in various ways worldwide as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Xbox Live," a Microsoft UK spokesperson said. "Stay tuned for more information."

Indeed, UK users aren't getting totally shafted. CNet writes that UK users are being treated to a handful of cheap titles through to next Thursday. Among them are Castle Crashers, Fruit Ninja Kinect, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Bastion, Peggle, and Full House Poker. Not exactly a free Xbox and a year of free Xbox Live, but it's ... something. Right?

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Jane McEntegart
10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • DroKing
    Cool little action but these consoles are still overpriced.
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    And those boxes are based on GPU/CPU/motherboard designs back before 2006...
    Reply
  • jazz84
    @ DroKing and A Bad Day: Right, but the fact that these particular consoles are 1. FREE and 2. still current-gen means you're both completely missing the point here. This is actually a very generous and surprising promotion for Microsoft to do, even if it's just for the US customers. What the heck more do you expect in this situation? A pre-release 720???
    Reply
  • bllue
    DroKingCool little action but these consoles are still overpriced.They're free to whoever's been Xbox live member for 10 years
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    jazz84@ DroKing and A Bad Day: Right, but the fact that these particular consoles are 1. FREE and 2. still current-gen means you're both completely missing the point here. This is actually a very generous and surprising promotion for Microsoft to do, even if it's just for the US customers. What the heck more do you expect in this situation? A pre-release 720???
    You'd think that the Xbox live members already have the same type of console...
    Reply
  • The upcoming 25th anniversary special (year 2027) better be something really spectacular for those whom been committed from the very beginning, like a free ride on a SR-71 Blackbird over Siberia with two F-22s as escorts and anti-aircraft missiles shooting you from all sides for the ultimate Xbox experience.
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    jupiter optimus maximusThe upcoming 25th anniversary special (year 2027) better be something really spectacular for those whom been committed from the very beginning, like a free ride on a SR-71 Blackbird over Siberia with two F-22s as escorts and anti-aircraft missiles shooting you from all sides for the ultimate Xbox experience.
    Or, you get a free 30-day trial of Xbox Live Premium.
    Reply
  • shloader
    So they only wanted to make a small production and shipment of NTSC Region 1 consoles. Completely understandable. I mean, who are they really leaving out in the PAL and NTSC-J markets that qualify for ten year mark? I'd be surprised if it numbers beyond a few dozen, so they go with an option that doesn't incure shipping costs.
    Reply
  • army_ant7
    I wonder how much these could auction for. I mean think about it, how many people have been members for the whole 10 years (straight?). I'm not sure what the exact criteria are, but since you can't buy this console from a retailer, these people getting them may have quite the cash cow, especially maybe if they hold on to them longer in pristine condition. (I'm thinking that there are some collectors/museums out there, are at least will be.) Hehe...
    Reply
  • quotas47
    This is hard to believe. They're just shipping consoles to people? I got an xbox live message giving me a code for the 10th Anniversary Avatar Helmet. Does this mean I get a console...?
    Reply