The first of these custom Xbox 360s began showing up on the doorstops of lucky, longtime Xbox LIVE subscribers at the beginning of the week, but at the time, Microsoft hadn’t said anything about it. That changed yesterday with a tweet from Larry Hryb, better known to the Xbox faithful as Major Nelson.

The custom Xbox 360s that Microsoft is sending out sport a unique grey, green and orange color scheme (check out those cooling vents!) and come decorated with artwork that reads “Xbox LIVE A Decade of Entertainment.” The metallic disc tray on the systems is emblazoned “XBL 10.” A matching grey Xbox 360 controller and a year of free Xbox LIVE Gold rounds out the generous - and extremely cool - package. Take a look at some pics of the system below, courtesy of All Games Beta.

– Larry Hryb (@majornelson) November 13, 2012

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So, how do you get one? Right now, consoles are (apparently) going out to players who’ve been Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers from day one, though how many of them will ultimately end up with shiny new systems remains to be seen. In a statement delivered to CNET, a Microsoft representative touches on just who is being rewarded.

Thankfully, players who haven’t ponied up a decade’s worth of Xbox LIVE subscription fees aren’t entirely out of luck - they’ll have a shot at scoring one of the custom consoles, too.  Details on how players can win one of the anniversary systems are slated to go up tomorrow morning (Thursday, November 15, 2012) on majornelson.com, so be sure to give the site a visit.

It’s easy enough to take potshots at Xbox LIVE: it’s the only console service that charges its users a subscription fee for playing games online, and there’s a fair chance that anyone who’s been a subscriber for 10 years has lost one (or more) Xbox 360s to the Red Ring of Death. That being said, there’s no telling where online console gaming would be without Xbox LIVE, and Microsoft’s decision to reward the service’s most ardent supporters - without, it must be said, much self-congratulatory fanfare - should be applauded. Good going, Microsoft!

Ranters, have any of you received one of the custom Xbox 360s? We’d love to hear from you!

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Follow me on Twitter @HakenGaken.

Source: @majornelson, majornelson.com, CNET, All Games Beta