Come guys. It's just XBOX. Hopefully this clears things up......
The next-generation Xbox has a much simpler name than you might think: It's actually just 'Xbox'
The Xbox Series S, left, and Xbox Series X, right. Both are part of the ongoing Xbox product line. Microsoft
- The next-generation Xbox was officially unveiled last December at the 2019 Game Awards in Los Angeles.
- It was introduced as the "Xbox Series X," but the way that name was presented made it look like the console generation was actually just named "Xbox."
- That is the case, Microsoft confirmed to Business Insider. The next-generation Xbox consoles are named "Xbox," starting with the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on November 10.
- "The name we're carrying forward to the next generation is simply Xbox," a Microsoft representative said.
The
next-generation Xbox got another big reveal last week, with a first look at a new piece of hardware and a name: Xbox Series S.
The Xbox Series S — and its more powerful and more expensive counterpart, the Xbox Series X — is part of the fourth generation of Xbox consoles from Microsoft, following the original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
It's quite a list of names, especially compared with the simplicity of Sony's PlayStation line, which starts with the PlayStation 1 in 1995 and runs through to
the PlayStation 5, scheduled to be released in 2020.
And that's why Microsoft is streamlining the naming conventions: Going forward, it's just Xbox.
"The name we're carrying forward to the next generation is simply Xbox," a Microsoft representative told Business Insider earlier this year. More than just simplifying the name, it also allowed "room for additional consoles in the future."
With two new next-gen Xbox consoles on the horizon, the Series S and the Series X, that subtle naming change makes more sense than ever.
The strategy was first hinted at when the Xbox Series X was first shown in late 2019. There was something particular about the way that Microsoft revealed the name of the console:
Microsoft's Xbox head, Phil Spencer, on stage at the 2019 Game Awards, where Microsoft introduced the Xbox Series X. Microsoft / The Game Awards
Do you see it?
"The new" is tiny, followed by "XBOX" in huge letters, and then "Series X" in medium-sized letters below that.
Like this:
Upon closer inspection, it appears that "Xbox" is the make and "Series X" is the model — as if the name going forward for Xbox consoles is simply "Xbox."
That was, in fact, the intent — however subtly it was conveyed.
"The name we're carrying forward to the next generation is simply Xbox," a Microsoft representative told Business Insider. "And at The Game Awards [in late 2019] you saw that name come to life through the Xbox Series X."
Like the first Xbox generation, the next one is simply named "Xbox."
It's a basic rebranding, but a meaningful one that could help to simplify the Xbox line for interested consumers. It also clarifies Microsoft's intention with its console line.
Like Apple's iPhone, there are options: The $300 Xbox Series S, or the $500 Xbox Series X. Both consoles play the same games, and are functionally similar, but the more expensive console can produce higher fidelity visuals.