Xbox 360 celebrates fifth birthday

Microsoft's Xbox 360 has turned five years old. The bunting's over there.

Xbox 360 has turned five. The machine, which has now sold 44.6 million units globally, released on November 22, 2005, in the US and Canada; December 2, 2005, in Europe; and December 10, 2005, in Japan.

Originally released in 20Gb HD and HD-less SKUs, the machine was Microsoft's second under-the-TV console, following the original Xbox, which first shipped in 2001.

Xbox 360 launched in the US with 18 games, including Call of Duty 2 and Condemned: Criminal Origins.

While the cycle of the original machine was a mere four years, the recent launch of Kinect will, Microsoft hopes, extend the life of 360 for many years yet.

What's left to say? After red rings, Halo tattoos and mental raving, it's impossible to deny that Xbox 360 has changed videogaming forever.

Little white box: we salute you.