We’re about a year away from the next generation of consoles, and while Sony’s plans for the PlayStation 5 are pretty straightforward, we don’t know what the next Xbox is called.
So, what would you call it?
Microsoft has traditionally gone with numbers for all of their generational jumps, even though there’s been a fair amount of variation in their hardware codenames (Scarlett, Scorpio, Durango, Xenon, and Natal for example). Numbers have been the way to go over the last decade with the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One, although Microsoft has never spelled the number out.
So it’s a bit of a mixed track record when guessing what the next Xbox will be. Sony has it easy: the PlayStation 5 makes a lot of sense.
But what about the next Xbox? I put the call out internally and externally to see what ideas people had. A fair few bet on the idea that Microsoft would wipe the slate clean altogether, simply naming the console Xbox. Others figured Big Green would keep things simple with Xbox 2, avoiding the mass market confusion that plagued the Wii U.
Xbox. https://t.co/Eu5Qge7NR4
— The Outer Chocobo (@noreasonspec) October 25, 2019
Bet’cha it’ll be something dumb like, “the Xbox”
— Stewb (@Pablo__durr) October 25, 2019
NeXt Box
— Adam Rorke (@Gharphield) October 25, 2019
The Xbox One X Box.
— Stone Ocean When (@TheSaltminer) October 25, 2019
Xbox One More
— Peter Burns (@Pierreth) October 25, 2019
X Box One X 2
Or XBOX2 for short.
— merkin rot (@Kermitron) October 25, 2019
Being Friday, a few took the opportunity to shitpost about the Dreamcast, adding more X’s to the name, or just stealing Sony’s thunder by adding a 5, which I’m all here for.
xXx_DreamCast_xXx
— Steve (@Seshakey) October 25, 2019
True, but there’s gotta be an X in there somewhere.
The DreamXast?
— Beavwa (@CannonFodderJnr) October 25, 2019
V Box. So people don’t think it’s less than the ps5.
— Syama Mishra (@SyamaMishra) October 25, 2019
Xbox 5
— mawt (@Mawtful) October 25, 2019
Xboxx
Just keep adding an additional x until the end of time.
— Jamie Dalzell (@Sir_JD) October 25, 2019
I plan on calling it the Xbone 2 regardless of actual name, because I’m a very mature person.
— Adam Wells (@TrjnRabbit) October 25, 2019
Other suggestions from the Kotaku Australia offices were, shall we say, less than helpful:
- xBOx Straight Edge Hardcore Edition
- Xbox System Update Required
- Xbox Pro Max
- SE Xbox / Xbox SE
- X-BOX
- Lil Box X
- Xobx
Personally, I hope they bugger the numbers off altogether. Don’t just call it an Xbox, because people already call the Xbox One an “Xbox”. Gamers will know there’s new hardware, and you’ll see it on every billboard, cinema ad, bus and every website, but the families and households that make up a large chunk of the audience over the lifecycle of a generation could get confused.
So throw caution to the wind. Go with letters or numbers that aren’t just a straight iteration. Xbox N or Xbox 2020. Even Xbox 20 could work. It’s a bit Windows-esque, but at least it’s aurally distinct from the Xbox/Xbox One era, which helps on a showroom floor.
Or, hell, actually just keep the codename. Xbox Scarlett. It worked for Untitled Goose Game.
What would you call the next Xbox?
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