There's a bit of confusion surrounding the name of Microsoft's next-gen console, the Xbox One. I'll admit, when it was first announced I thought it was stupid. How could the third Xbox be the Xbox One!?
But through the hour-long presentation, I slowly began to understand what the name "Xbox One" meant: an all-in-one entertainment hub capable on transforming your entire living room. All of your entertainment devices controlled through One single device. But don't listen to my take on the name; how about hearing from Xbox Incubation group program manager Jeff Henshaw, who explained to CNET exactly how the name "Xbox One" came to be.
"The original Xbox was just the 'Xbox,' it wasn't 'One.' But this vernacular formed where people referred to it as the Xbox. Even today during interviews, I've slipped," Henshaw said.
"It only takes a little while before you realize what's going on underneath that name. There's something very powerful about it. Xbox One really embodies the concept that this is the first device, the combination of this very powerful console that brings all its eight cores, 8GB of RAM, super fast memory, super powerful SoC we built, super powerful dedicated audio and video processing subsystems," he explained. "There's incredible power in this device, married with the next generation of Kinect for really enabling those subtle interactions between you and your entertainment.
"So to us, One is really the embodiment that this becomes one device that addresses all the entertainment that you want to enjoy on your TV, and brings it to you in a way that's so simple, that it can be the only input you have connected through your television. It is truly the one place to go for all this. So One ends up being a deeply meaningful thing to us here. It's almost a bar that we are striving to achieve, and I think we nailed it really well with the Xbox One."
Sure, in a numerical order it makes absolutely zero sense. But I sure do like it a hell of a lot more than the "Xbox 720." At least this has some meaning to it. Are you a fan of the Xbox One name? I suppose the more important question would be are you a fan of Microsoft's stance on used games? That seems to be the hot topic of late.
