The Xbox Series X was revealed at The Game Awards, alongside an incredibly impressive trailer for Hellblade II, comprised of in-engine footage. As tends to be the case with new console announcements, commentators set out to pick the device apart. So far, it seems that one "flaw" has risen above the other criticisms to take center stage in the wider narrative — that the Xbox Series X has a confusing name.
According to my Twitter feed, the fear is that confused grandparents will "accidentally" purchase an Xbox One X for little Timmy at Christmas, leading to mass disappointment-induced trauma (seriously, who are these grandparents buying $500+ dollar consoles for their grandkids?)
I keep seeing the Xbox Series X compared to the Wii successor, the Wii-U, which some blamed for the console's general failure. Of course, it was absolutely nothing to do with the Wii-U's hardware limitations. Funny then that nobody has been confused between the Xbox One, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X, either, but I digress.
The notion of the Xbox Series X name being "confusing" rings like hollow grasping at straws from concern trolls looking for any inlet to put the console down. Microsoft clarified in a statement that the next generation of Xbox consoles is simply called "Xbox," and that the "Series" part of the name will denote the different models. I expect then we'll get a less powerful Xbox Series S (rumored to be codenamed Lockhart). And future consoles may just be called "Xbox Series X (2025)," or something of that nature, similar to how laptops are often named. I've owned three different types of Razer Blade laptops, all with completely different designs and internals, while also sharing the same name. Have I been confused? No, but I am also someone who knows how to search for the differences in Google/Bing. You know, like practically everyone.
The one time I recall being confused about a console naming convention was Nintendo's "New 3DS," which replaced and upgraded its old 3DS. To circumvent this cognitive horror that Nintendo had imparted upon me, I simply searched "Differences between 3DS and new 3DS." Lo and behold, thousands of articles comprehensively explaining the differences enlightened me in mere seconds.
We live in the information age. I am utterly convinced that literally nobody is going to find this confusing. Look at the damn thing; it's obviously not an Xbox One in any way, shape, or form. How do the ignorant masses manage to buy the correct phone every year if tech names are so damn confusing?
You can argue that you simply don't like the name — and that's fine. Because, when you're playing Halo Infinite at 8K resolution, I doubt you are going to be sitting there thinking, "oh wow, my enjoyment would be tenfold higher if the console had a cooler name." I at least hope not.
In any case, where do you stand on this apparently controversial topic? Vote in our poll, sound off in the comments, let's hear all the talking points. We're on the internet, after all.
Xbox Series X/S
Main
- Xbox Series X: Everything we know
- Best games coming to Xbox Series X/S
- List of Xbox Series X specs
- What is the Xbox Series X release date?
- How much does Xbox Series X cost?
- Why you can't preorder Xbox Series X yet
- Best Xbox Series X Headsets
