The Xbox Series X and S are more than a year old, and they have proven to be impressive consoles. With the Xbox Series X, gamers are given access to 8K graphics, high framerates, and raytracing. The Series S, which is a budget-friendly console, allows people to indulge in current-gen games at a lower resolution than the Xbox Series X. The success of Xbox's multi-pronged approach was seen when the Xbox Series S was reportedly the best-selling console of Black Friday 2021.

Although dedicated gamers may find it easy to tell the Xbox Series X/S apart from their predecessors, this is not the case for all new gamers and parents. During the holiday season, some parents may have bought the wrong console for their kids, and any confusion caused by Xbox's naming conventions are counterintuitive to the brand's success.

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Xbox's Console Naming

xbox 20th

Microsoft released its first gaming console, the Xbox, in 2001; named such because it uses Microsoft's DirectX graphics API. Although the console struggled to gain footing in foreign markets, including Japan, it found success in North America. The Xbox struggled to make a profit for Microsoft due to its high manufacturing cost, but paved the way for future consoles.

The next home console from Microsoft, the Xbox 360, was released in 2005, a year before the PlayStation 3. Its name was chosen because direct comparisons with the PlayStation 3 by calling it the Xbox 2 would have made Microsoft's console seem a generation behind Sony, as confirmed by Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach in an interview with IGN.

The Xbox One released in 2013. The name is counterintuitive because it is not the first Xbox. However, as Microsoft's Jeff Henshaw explained, the name was chosen to highlight the fact that the console is meant to be an all-in-one home entertainment system. Microsoft lost its fear of being compared to Sony's devices, especially the PlayStation 4. As Henshaw said, "I think there was a few minutes of 'hmm' but then as soon as people realize what it's all about and understand the experience, the One brand immediately gets applied to this new generation of experience." Several versions of the Xbox One were released, including the Xbox One X and Xbox One S as mid-generation revisions that feature upgraded hardware.

The Confusion Caused by Microsoft's Letter 'X'

Xbox One, Series X and Series S

With its current generation of gaming consoles, Microsoft has essentially reverted to the name "Xbox," with the Series X and Series S being different models. While this may, at first, seem like a good way to simplify the naming conventions of Xbox consoles, it also leaves a lot of room for confusion. The Xbox One X and One S are still available alongside the Series X/S. Hence, to the uninformed buyer, it is easy to purchase the "X" console and not realize one has grabbed the last-gen One X instead of the current-gen Series X.

Recent Reddit posts like one by user shivaherer to the r/XboxSeriesX subreddit on December 27 highlight how easy it is for a non-gamer to make this mistake. They said, "I did a tiny bit of research and thought it was basically the same but with a smaller fan and less powerful processor." As the parent soon learned, if their son "doesn't get a Series X he can't play with his friends anymore as his 4 good Xbox bros all got Series X for Christmas." This is not a mistake most hardcore gamers would make, but it is an understandable error.

Sony avoids this issue by naming its consoles sequentially; the PS3 comes after the PS2, the PS4 comes after the PS3, and so on. The PS5 also has multiple skews, but one is simply called the "Digital Edition" to differentiate it. At this point, it seems clear Microsoft is not interested in using a numerical system to name its consoles. Hopefully as Xbox One consoles are slowly phased out, cases of buyers purchasing the "wrong X" when they want an Xbox Series X/S will no longer be an issue.

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Source: Reddit