Aren't we reaching when we slam the Microsoft Xbox Series X naming convention?

When i was writing my top 10 list of game disappointments for this generation I came across a sentence i wrote. I said that i really want Wolfenstein to be the game that makes me go out and buy a Series X or PS5. I knew exactly what I was talking about when i wrote that. When i went back to edit (don't worry folks i published without proofreading, i just go back and edit) I thought man. That title is kind of sexy.

Isn't the Microsoft Xbox kind of a prefix that is understood. I dont go.. here is my Apple iPhone. However, i would say "i have a 'Samsung Galaxy Note S20.'" I think with some subtle marketing and the fact that the thing hasn't really reached the general public conscious yet can't they go all in with just calling it Series S or Series X. So many gamers are reaching when they look for complaints. It's okay if your mom calls it the Xbox, she doesnt care anyway. If the community refers to it as Series X exclusively then that is a lot more sexy than PS5. I'm starting to feel like i do when i hear about a movie franchise that i really dont care about. Oh they made a Leprechaun 5? Cool Cool. Are you actively engaging in a disinformation campaign against Microsoft? What's the hashtag for it?

This is the Windows people we're talking about.

1, 3, 3.11, 95, 98, ME, NT 3.0, NT 4.0, 2000, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10.

Please don't describe anything to do with a videogame console as "Sexy"

It's way better than Xbox One, I'll give it that.

I'll say the same thing I always say when people bring this up: the names of video game consoles don't matter. The parents buying the consoles for kids don't care. The kids don't care. The vast and overwhelming majority of video game players don't care. The ONLY people that talk about this are the people who are so engaged with the video game industry that they listen to gaming podcasts and write posts on gaming forums.

In a short time, the names become second nature to say and even the types of people that DO talk about it just accept the names and move on.

Extremely casual video game consumers may be confused when first hearing a name like Wii-U, or Xbox Series X, or whatever. However, I think any type of confusion that actually affects the market is overstated. I bet the number of consumers that are actually buying the "wrong" console is a lot lower than what one would think if they listened to gaming podcasts.

Series X does sound sexier than XXX, so they dodged that pitfall. When i see Series X, i think about a high-end car in my Gran Turismo showroom. Not the worst connotation to evoke.

The one annoyance is that the naming convention doesn't immediatly tell you that Series X is the new one, while One X is the old one. But i imagine that's only a problem right now during the transition towards the new console.

I think they are bad with names, but it also hasn’t lead to brand confusion. I don’t think I’ve ever heard somebody say, “Why are they releasing Halo 5 on the Xbox One? Why are they releasing a game on a system that old?”

My two main things are:

1) What will it look like when they phase out the current gen. i.e. “I can’t play this game on my Xbox One X?” “Yes, you need an Xbox Series X.” Which in reality probably won’t cause too many issues. Even with parents or somebody buying a system for somebody else, kids can just say “No it doesn’t work on this, we need the new one.”

2) What do they call the next systems? What’s beyond X or S? The Xbox Series E? The Xbox Series Z? The Xbox Series X Pro? The Xbox Series 2X? Xbox 5? Xbox 2024? The Xbox?

Their names aren’t as different as Nintendo, but not as uniform as Sony. It’s mainly just kind of silly. Not that it will affect their success going forward, but I can’t help imagining explaining this to my parents who only know of the original and the 360.

What extactly is the 'series' aspect of the Series X? They just named the next system the Series S. So what damn 'series'are they a part of? You cannot have a series that consists of one thing....that not a series...that singular.

Sorry, but Microsoft got so far ahead of itself that they have an illogical naming scheme. There is no SERIES being demonstrated. If they wanted to call the first unit of the Series X fine, but then the next units should have been called Series X Duce or Series X 2 or or Series X Blue. They should NOT start a whole other Series S, that starts of an entirely other series of 'whatever' they fuck they think they are differentiating.

Their names are bad and confusing. I don't own any Xbox, and likely will not or never so i'm not "high information" on Microsoft consoles. But i could swear that right now there is already an "Xbox X something" and an "Xbox S or smal/slim or something like that". And in their infinite wisdom their next consoles are also called "Xbox X something." and "Xbox S something"....I think, perhaps !? it's almost headache inducing.

You would think that all the naming geniuses where fired after they thought Xbox one was a great name... For something that was in no way shape or form the firstXbox.while also having already shipped something called: the xbox.

You're forgetting that its codename was Scorpio, which is pretty rad.
I'm ok with using simple number conventions, you know where in the franchises Dynasty Warriors 6 and Max Payne 3 are, and it works for Playstation because the PS1 and 2 were so legendary, the PS5 is the 3rd console after the PS2. I'm not losing sleep over the Xbox names but they are dumb, if only because i trip over myself in conversations "It was on the Xbox one, i mean the original one, the classic...", and parents out of the loop won't have a clue what the difference is between a Series X and a One X.

My favourite thing names are for military aircraft, Rafale, Stratofortress, Hercules, Gripen, Spitfire, Raptor, i like similar car names, Mustang, Firebird, Reliant Robin, it's why i thought Revolution was a cool name before they ended up calling it Wii, and why i think Scorpio is so much more identifiable than Xbox Series X, XBSX? The SX?
Me and my friends have already been calling it the Sex for so long it's stuck.

I have not understood this weird argument for quite some time. For one, a lot more parents are buying consoles just as much for themselves as for their kids. But even those who don't, buy a ton of consumer electronics. Right now I can go to Samsung's website and purchase a Samsung Galaxy Note 20, or a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, or a Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, or a Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G, or a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, or how about something from the Samsung Galaxy A series? Could get the A11, A21, A51, A71, A10e, A20, A50, or A70. Or perhaps I should go with the Galaxy Z Fold 2, oh wait maybe the Galaxy Z Flip 5G. And those are all just phones that they have on their website right now. That's not getting into the Galaxy Tab (7 or 7+), Galaxy Watch, or Galaxy Buds.

I think they will be okay discerning between the Xbox One S, the Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X. And if they find it confusing, they will ask someone who works there.

I... think I agree? In my house, it's just going to be the Xbox. None of my friends or family keep up with gaming enough to where anything more specific is going to mean anything to them.

Series X as a name is inoffensive enough. I'm also pretty sure the only people complaining about the name are well enough in the know that even if the name were confusing, this confusion sure as hell won't affect them in any way.

If, say, my brother ever wanted to buy an Xbox, he'll just call me and say 'yo, they got 3 different ones here... which one do I need?' And he's going to do that regardless of what the things are called.

The point is, either you know what a Series X is and are just being obtuse, or you don't, at which point the name really doesn't matter.

They don't even need to ask. They can google before they even head out.

@insomniak08: this only falls partly under the captain obvious realm of control.

Do we have to pull Brad into a thread to get his blessing on only saying Series X moving forward. We wield serious power here. We named a Karen(s) with the switch reveal. Well reddit did. Message board nonetheless.

The name is bad only because it's too similar to an existing Microsoft product. Xbox One X and Xbox Series X briefly coexisting for a couple years is just fucking dumb. Learn to use other letters and numbers besides X.

It's not the same problem, but this also plagued Nintendo with the whole Wii into Wii U debacle. Reusing a console name is fine if you're clearly iterating on it. Nintendo into Super Nintendo, obvious. Playstation 2 into Playstation 3, obvious. Wii into Wii U, not obvious. Xbox 360 to Xbox One to Xbox Series X, not obvious.

So first and foremost, just use fucking numbers for your products. This is what just about every tech company does, it's not hard. Or if you're really against iterations being numbered, then fine, use wackadoo meaningless names, but make them distinct. At least do a Nintendo, where most products just have a standalone name that is usually pretty removed from the previous product (Wii into Wii U is the only time they really bungled this), or clearly iterative (DS into 3DS).

The One X is already effectively discontinued and the One S will likely be sunsetted once the Series X and S are out. From there the average customer buys whatever fits best for them and they all play the same games. At that point it all just becomes “Xbox”.

@navster15: Sure, the marketplace will never be confused due to how rapidly they’re phasing out the One X. But as a matter of language for people who want to talk about the game industry, the Xbox suffixes are an abomination.

@navster15: I thought the plan was already announced to be One S as there super cheap last gen option that can be used to stream games, Series S as the lower tier new gen system that can play new games natively, and then the Series X as the premium product that plays new games at the best quality? Did I misunderstand this.

Announced? No

Inferred from the rumours of the Series S and the fact that they haven't (yet) stopped production of the One S

@insomniak08: I never understood the logic of that rumor about the One S being a streaming box. If Microsoft wanted to do that they could simply build what’s essentially a thumb drive with an HDMI connector and give that away with XCloud subscriptions. There’s literally no need to keep building One S once the Series consoles are out, and I fully expect the Xbox One line to be fully phased out by early next year, provided the Series S rumors are true.

@bisonhero: So the complaint now is that people that closely watch the industry are getting confused. I’m not sure Microsoft cares as much, especially since everyone I hear on podcasts makes their joke about the confusing naming, and then just says something like “the new Xbox” or “the current Xbox” and we all move on with our lives.

This. Microsoft has always been garbage about naming their stuff, Xbox is no exception.