But while the Xbox 360 makes a certain degree of sense after simply ‘Xbox’, it turns out Microsoft were considering getting super freaky when naming their second console.
According to an IGN interview with former Chief Xbox Executive Robbie Bach, the company were seriously considering naming the console ‘Xbox 3.’ I need to lie down.
The reasoning behind this, as you might expect, came down to the competition with Sony and the PlayStation 3. Microsoft didn’t want people to perceive the Xbox as somehow behind its rival.
Bach explained:
Certainly Xbox 3 was actually on the list because, well, you’ve gotta catch up. You don’t want to be Xbox 2 compared to PlayStation 3. We actually talked about that… You don’t want to feel like you’re a generation behind, so why not skip?
Microsoft’s inability to move forward in sensible numbers continued with the jump back to Xbox One, of course.
I’m assuming at this point the earlier logic of appearing behind PlayStation was abandoned, as simple Maths would lead an idiot to assume that the PlayStation 4 is three whole numbers better than the Xbox One.
Even on the PC side of things, the company decided to leave poor old Windows 9 out in the cold, preferring to jump straight from Windows 8 to Windows 10.
At least when it comes to a new Xbox, there’s very little chance any of us being surprised by what they decide to call it. I’m putting my money on ‘Xbox 5791’.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.