The amount of time, money, and general resources that goes into making a new video game console, like the Xbox Series X, is something that may be too difficult to fully grasp. For fans, the beginning of the next-generation of consoles is just about to start, as many wrestle between choosing an Xbox Series X or PS5.
But for those who worked hard on it for years, in some ways this holiday season is the finish line. Recently some of the design team behind the Xbox Series X and S game together to talk about the development behind the powerful new consoles, and some of the information shared is titillating.
The specs of the Xbox Series X and S are now in the wild, as understanding how the consoles will perform is very important to buyers. For the most part, that is what is inside the console. As far as how the shell of the console came to be, much time and effort was put into that as well, as it went through multiple changes during the conceptual stage. Images of those concepts have now been made available, showing how the console came to be.
The team behind the Xbox wanted to create a product "with visual impact," but form and functionality were also extremely important, as in the end, "most gamers buy an Xbox to play games, not for its aesthetics." The images that were shared shows that the team went through multiple iterations before coming up with the final design. And although the Xbox Series X and S can be the butt of a few jokes and memes, many enjoy the look, and the work behind making sure the consoles run efficiently was the main focus.
The images that were provided show that the Xbox Series X and S seem to have always had the boxy design. The exact shape of the box looks to have varied, but the team had a general idea of the design early on. One concept of the Xbox Series S had the giant circle on it, similar to the final look, but much larger and seemingly protruding out of the box itself.
Our focus on form following function influenced this newest generation’s aesthetic and personality
The form factor of the consoles need to match the guts inside, and the team talks about how they worked on the consoles having a personality while being functional. The Series S is a console that has impressed developers with its relatively powerful specs in a small box. While the console's black circle is unique, it was specially designed to help the console be small, which is the concept that had the fan in place from early on.
It is probable that the design team for Xbox will start working on whatever console is next rather soon, as it is a long and grueling process. But it is extremely interesting to see how the team came up with the final design for the Xbox Series X and S.
Source: Medium