Happy Birthday Xbox 360! The 360 officially turned 5 yesterday and I had to think if that was right and sure enough it really was. If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a trip back in time an reminisce

I had pre-ordered my system from EBGames near where I lived and was informed that I would not be getting a system on launch day by some jagoff employee mere days before the launch. When I asked why not, he told me that the inventory levels were really poor and I wasn’t on the list of initial people. I was more than a little enraged. Fast forward 2 days and the store manager called me to ask what time I’d like to book myself in for my “private shopping experience”. I told him what I was told and he asked me the employees name to which he replied with “Ya…He doesn’t work here anymore – You’re one of our best customers”. Damn I felt good (clearly when EB Games/Gamestop still had some semblance of customer service but that’s another story). My then girlfriend/now wife dutifully went in for me that day because I was on a plane home from a trip to Nova Scotia I was on with with Much Music (Canadian MTV).

Man it sure was exciting to get that sexy new machine with sleek curves and a snazzy white finish. I played and dominated almost every launch title and got a little excited with each achievement I earned. I still use my Xbox 360 almost daily but it hasn’t always been a honeymoon. No I’m on my 6th system and I fear that my current machine that I use for all my games is fast approaching it’s  death knell. I must hand it to MS though – They came through for me every time.

Most Memorable Moments with my Xbox 360
1.) Opening and launching the system for the first time
2.) My 1st achievement – King Kong was a mildly entertaining game for about 3hrs.
3.) My 1st dead system (RRoD)
4.) The feeling of loss when I moved to the country and was informed there would be no high speed internet therefore losing my ability to play on Xbox Live
5.) My 2nd dead system (Disc Read Errors)
6.) Dead system 3-5 (RRoD)
7.) Halo Reach: My 1st Legendary completion of a Halo Game
8.) Left 4 Dead Taking down my first survivor as an infected
9.) Playing with Kinect – Say what you will, I think this is going to usher in some awesome experiences in the living room (I do enjoy watching the wife Dance)
10.) Trying NetFlix and really seeing the value in it – Now if only they’d get more current up-to-date listings like the US

Despite the roller coaster ride we’ve had together, we’re still buddies. Happy Birthday Big Guy! Here’s to another 5 years hopefully with fewer required replacements.