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Josef Fares (Director of Brothers & A Way Out) rips into Microsoft over Xbox Series X name: ''It's a total f*cking mess''

TLZ

Banned
Why they didn’t just call it XBox 5 will forever amaze me. This whole nonsense started from being afraid of XBox 2 vs PlayStation 3, but the Series S has now rectified that.
Even if it was that fear, they still could have chosen a 1000 better names that don't revolve around or even sound like they're always pushing the restart button.

Xbox - it's the first one so makes sense.

Xbox 360 - a whole 360 means you're back to where you started, Xbox.

Xbox One - self explanatory. One. So back to the beginning. Why? What happened to the two before it?

Xbox Series X/S - Again sounds like they're either starting a series? Or are they continuing from the previous X/S, which if it was the case, why weren't they called Xbox S/X 2?

I don't understand any of this. It's much easier using either a numbering system, or keeping the project names at least, like Scorpio, Anaconda etc.

Also, why S and X? What do they stand for? Slim and X Large? At least two other letters that don't sound similar to lessen the confusion. S for Slim or Small and P for POWER or Phil.

I want my Xbox Phil bitch!
 
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Chittagong

Gold Member
He is absolutely right. I honestly thought that Xbox One is the dumbest name ever but the whole Series S/X thing, compounding on One S/X is a whole other level of stupid.

I say this as a person who owns and loves his X (London) and S (Travel)
 

Zannegan

Member
I mean, he's nuts, and known for being so. On the other hand, he's not wrong.

Series X is on par with Wii U in terms of awful names that probably sounded great to a bunch of suits in a boardroom meeting. It's soulless, hypeless, and confusing. It's also least important thing about any product, thank goodness.

Still, what a missed opportunity. lol
 

Mista

Banned
Imagine being a living meme mostly known for public use of profanity getting triggered by a console's name.

Even funnier, imagine actually finding this newsworthy enough to make an article about it. I guess it's an early weekend at Metro. 😂
I do agree with what you said. I don’t like the prick but every site does the same too :)
 
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zombrex

Member
Honestly he is right. It is a terrible name that's confusing for consumers.
X and S sound too similar and it some accents they are almost impossible to distinguish.
It is clear they wanted to avoid negative associations around with like basic or standard but it would have been better to go that route. Even Xbox X and Xbox X plus would have been better.
 
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Biff

Member
Don't worry, Microsoft will redeem themselves in 2027 with the reveal of the Cumbox xXx

images
 

Kerotan

Member
I never though anybody would outdo the wii u naming catastrophe.

Nintendo got a great name with the Switch. Sony Rock solid with ps5.

Xbox naming is vita and wii u levels of retardedness.
 
Series X and Series S....doesn't exactly sound complicated. It's not like they are priced the same.
It's not confusing to you or me because we are gamers and we know our hardware. But to new consumers, from a semantics standpoint is going to be confusing compared to PS4, PS4Pro & PS5.

What's so hard about naming your products 1,2 & 3? Sure it may not be as "exciting" or cutting edge but hey, it works.

Microsoft don't care about current customers who know the difference, they got their money. They want to sell to new customers, most of which aren't going to be gaming conessuirs or have hardware prowess.
 

Excess

Member
Why they didn’t just call it XBox 5 will forever amaze me. This whole nonsense started from being afraid of XBox 2 vs PlayStation 3, but the Series S has now rectified that.
From what I remember, the successor to the 360 was supposed to be named Xbox Infinity with an "8" infinity symbol that looked like an "X". This was also supposed to be part of Microsoft's plan to create one holistic experience across all devices for Windows, specifically Windows 8.

 

kittoo

Cretinously credulous
I loved Brothers. It's the only game I have ever finished in one setting. The guy is a legend for it in my eyes.

The names and indeed confusing, though not terribly so, and I do wonder who at MS thought it was a good idea. Nevertheless, his rant is still funny.
 

longdi

Banned
'SERIES' gives it a classy vibe. Everything about SX and SS is about class and posh design (within console BOM limitations, of course).

X = One X
S = One S

Maybe Phil could have name them

Xbox Series 2
Xbox Series 2s
and a midgen upgrade Xbox Series 2X

He needs a X and S because of their SKU positioning. Xbox Series X Mini sounds worse.

Still who is the josef? Click baiter? 🤷‍♀️
 
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Sentenza

Member
It's trash but he could have phrased in a way that didn't make him look like an angry fanboy.
He doesn't sound like an "angry fanboy". That's just you people being WAY TOO sensitive to any criticism.

He does sound like a cocaine addict, tho. But that's just Josef Fares in general, regardless of what he speaks of.

Case in point:

Keep in mind this is the same guy.
 
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THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Who cares. Somehow apple can get away with 7 generations of "ipad" but ms gets lambasted for this? Please.
Once everyone actually gets used to it, and xbox one/one x/one s fade from memory, its a non issue. It sets out two distinct lines of xbox products.
 
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ironmang

Member
Between this and "Xbox One" MS is clearly the worst at naming consoles. It's not a big deal but it's still funny to laugh at especially when X1X and XSX are even the same price.
 

sunnysideup

Banned
It is the dumbest console name in the history of console names. He is absolutely right.

Wiiu was much better. Because there was only wii and wiiu.

Xbox one x, xbox series s Xbox series x. At a glance it all looks, sounds, feels the same.
 

Self

Member
I get the confusion and rightfully so, but let's not forget the name Wii U. Nintendo had to create commercials to actually clear up its confusing name. I enjoyed the Wii U so don't hate me :)

He's right, it's just a confusing mess. MS needs to adress this nonsense in the future. Nintendo did it with the 'WiiU' and Sony did it with the 'PS Vita'. Companies can be very stupid if you think about it.
 

sircaw

Banned
Without a doubt, the names are a mess and to the average consumer very confusing.

I am not sure if this is done on purpose or just a giant misstep for their product.
 

T-Cake

Member
I think these names we have now - Xbox Series X|S are here to stay. The next models will still be called Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. They will play all the same games that the current ones do with the enhancements for each family. Apple don't called their iPads 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. it's just "iPad". And that is what Xbox now is.
 

Jboemios

Banned
I think these names we have now - Xbox Series X|S are here to stay. The next models will still be called Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. They will play all the same games that the current ones do with the enhancements for each family. Apple don't called their iPads 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. it's just "iPad". And that is what Xbox now is.
You definitely should work in MS marketing department
 
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Ozrimandias

Member
Xbox One S
Xbox Series X
Xbox One X
Xbox Series S
Xbox One S Digital Edition


All of them are being selled by retailers.
It's a bit confusing sure.
 
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