Xbox 360 to launch in Israel Nov. 21, seven years after it launched U.S. and Japan

The Xbox 360 – a console only a few weeks from its seventh birthday – will launch in Israel on Nov. 21, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmner announced in Tel Aviv while on an international promotional tour for the new Windows 8 operating system.

The console first launched in North America, Japan and Europe in 2005 before releasing globally between 2006-2008, but it never made it to parts of the Middle East. The console was available in Israel only as a gray import and Xbox Live was unavailable unless users registered their Xboxes with foreign accounts.

According to a Hebrew language report from Newsgeek, Microsoft has secured local content deals to support the launch of the Xbox 360. The site says that the console will be offered in several configurations: the 4 GB Xbox 360 with or without the Kinect and the 250 GB console with or without Kinect. Both consoles will be sold with English manuals and phone support will be offered in Hebrew.

The console will be launching in Israel on Nov. 21, a day before it turns seven.