Microsoft’s next Xbox console won’t be called the “Xbox Two,” “Xbox 720,” or any other numbered name. Rather than being named in a numerical sequence like Sony’s PlayStation consoles, Project Scarlett’s official name will be based on the system’s capabilities.
In an interview with Stevivor, Xbox Head Phil Spencer explained the names of the two latest Xbox consoles. According to Spencer, the Xbox 360 got its name from the idea that the user’s entertainment experience would be centered around “the box,” and the Xbox One’s early branding was about it being an “all in one” system. While these names happened to contain numbers, Spencer said the reason behind their selection was not to imply a numbered progression but to show “what we [at Microsoft] think the capabilities are.”
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Spencer specifically mentioned “the box” three times in the interview, noting that the Xbox 360 and Xbox One names were “really built around the purchase of the box.” With Microsoft’s recent push for cloud-based gaming through Project xCloud, it’s interesting that Spencer emphasized these previous consoles’ focus on “the box” itself. Perhaps the next Xbox will have a name that instead hints at its streaming or other cloud-based abilities instead of its status as a physical console.
