It’s hard to believe that Microsoft’s Xbox One game console has already been on the market for a whole year – and how quickly it’s managed to turn around its sales since its release to stay competitive with Sony’s PlayStation 4.
Regardless, the company has vowed to celebrate the birthday in style by providing a number of gifts to avid Xbox fans, according to Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb’s announcement on his blog page.
Beginning tomorrow, those who purchased an Xbox One system will have access to a number of digital goodies, including a special gamer picture that celebrates the anniversary of the console, along with exclusive backgrounds, a special Year One image for use on Twitter, and free rentals of exclusive programs, including Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods and select Dragon Ball Z episodes.
In addition, Microsoft will be sending out physical prizes to random Xbox One owners, including everything from game consoles packed in with Sunset Overdrive or Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, to a free year of Xbox Live, to limited edition goodies, such as a Forza Horizon 2 limited edition Casio G-Shock men’s watch. The full list of goodies can be found here.
“It’s been an unbelievable year, but we never would have gotten to this point without our incredible fans,” said Nelson. “We want to thank you for being a part of an amazing 12 months by celebrating with you all weekend long.”
In addition to the announcement of the giveaway, Nelson shared some interesting numbers in terms of the most popular games on Xbox One, including Forza Motorsport 5, Titanfall, Destiny and Call of Duty: Ghosts. He also stated that the total community Gamerscore amongst Xbox One owners has now totaled over 11 billion points unlocked, with more than two billion hours of games played on the console. That’s quite a large game community.
2015 should be an even bigger year for the company, between such releases as Halo 5: Guardians and Crackdown, amongst other soon-to-be-announced projects. Here’s hoping for another stellar year.
