Xbox Series X | S

[Transient Curse]

Please stop. 

[Boozy The Clown]

12.2 TF vs 9.3 TF really got them shook.

[Stanley]

16 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

 

Gameboy came out in 1989 and the Advance in 2001 so you know, a bit of a bloody obvious difference.

 

Ok, so how about NES to Super NES? They weren’t even compatible, unlike Wii and Wii U. 

[Down by Law]

You wouldn't last five minutes in game retail with that attitude

 

[fattakin]

18 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

Microsoft is releasing consoles named S and X when they already have current S and X models on the market but those are actually different devices

 

Agreed, this is the jist of the issue.  The name Series X/S is fine but theyve already used the frigging letters in consoles that are already out there.  Where is next in 7 years, Xbox Series 2 X 

[Marlew]

34 minutes ago, footle said:

it isn’t, really. The main reason the discussion exists isn’t to prove that there’s something inherently confusing about the name. It’s because it’s fun to troll.

 

It may be more comfortable to dismiss all criticism this way, but the discussion exists because of the poor naming decisions. I don't think you believe that I'm trolling but I don't appreciate the implication at all. Go back to the points I made about language and lettering and we can happily try again, though. 

 

It's a mass mainstream product, not a tyre rim, and clarity and simplicity is therefore fundamental. If you disagree with that idea, why do naming conventions exist and why do teams spend so long deciding on product line naming conventions and structures? They don't always make good decisions, of course, but why do they put so much time into it if they could just slap on a UPC and say figure it out? 

 

@JPL is absolutely right that the pricing normally tells much more than the name itself, but that doesn't invalidate the basic linguistic points I made about the naming choices. I consider myself firmly in the Xbox bubble with a One X, Game Passed up to the tits and a Series X on day one, but I can still consider that not every decision they make is impervious to criticism. 

[Stanley]

1 minute ago, Down by Law said:

You wouldn't last five minutes in game retail with that attitude

 

I was in game retail around the time the SNES came out, funnily enough - don’t seem to recall mass confusion over the difference between NES and SNES. 

[Boozy The Clown]

I've been banned for less than the last 4 pages of this thread.

[JPL]

1 minute ago, Stanshall said:

but I can still consider that not every decision they make is impervious to criticism. 

Oh, you’re absolutely right. They’ve made some terrible decisions over the years. Closing studios, Kinect, TV, TV, TV, etc. But the naming of a console is so far down the list, that it’s almost like people are being deliberately stupid because they’ve got nothing else to bash them with.

[Down by Law]

I was replying to wahwah

 

but yeah I mean come on. The NES was released in 1983 and the SNES in 1990. Apart from the fact they look completely different, use different carts, different boxes, different controllers and Nintendo hadn't released a 'Supreme Nes' two years prior, it was obviously a new product.

 

 

[Harsin]

4 minutes ago, Boozy The Clown said:

I've been banned for less than the last 4 pages of this thread.

[citation needed]

[Down by Law]

3 minutes ago, JPL said:

Oh, you’re absolutely right. They’ve made some terrible decisions over the years. Closing studios, Kinect, TV, TV, TV, etc. But the naming of a console is so far down the list, that it’s almost like people are being deliberately stupid because they’ve got nothing else to bash them with.

 

This is ridiculous. I'm not bashing them and the series X will no doubt be a stellar machine but now we can't criticize names or confusing marketing or we're trolls?

 

[Stanley]

7 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

I was replying to wahwah

 

but yeah I mean come on. The NES was released in 1983 and the SNES in 1990. Apart from the fact they look completely different, use different carts, different boxes, different controllers and Nintendo hadn't released a 'Supreme Nes' two years prior, it was obviously a new product.

 

 

I agree with you, there is no confusion due to the name despite similarities, and there is no confusion here either. Wii U wasn’t a failure because of the name, but the product. For another example consider the Gamecube - obviously a completely new system with smaller discs, new controllers etc. didn’t sell.

[Boozy The Clown]

5 minutes ago, Harsin said:

[citation needed]

 

https://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?/search/&q=boozy&quick=1&type=forums_topic&item=212550

[Transient Curse]

12 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

we're trolls?

That is very much how the past few months position these repeated discussions.  On the basis that (seemingly aside from Stanshall) the only people who find the name confusing are people not interested in buying one. And always, every single time,  the argument is that it's other people who won't understand the name. "Of course we all understand, I'm just worried about a fictional grandparent (who is based on a blueprint of grandparents from 1980, so is now 119 years old) buying the wrong console,  it really is very troubling."  

[Marlew]

1 minute ago, JPL said:

Oh, you’re absolutely right. They’ve made some terrible decisions over the years. Closing studios, Kinect, TV, TV, TV, etc. But the naming of a console is so far down the list, that it’s almost like people are being deliberately stupid because they’ve got nothing else to bash them with.

 

I'm sure you're not implying that I'm being deliberately stupid or attempting to bash them at all - because I made my points clearly and in an even-handed way - but I totally understand and agree that there will be plenty of people who are enjoying hamming this up, just as plenty of people enjoy hamming up reactions to the bizarre PS5 design. They're both 'a bit shit but not that big of a deal'. 

 

If you think that the naming could have been clearer and more effective but also that this is overblown in some quarters, I reckon we're on the same page. 

 

[Stanley]

Just now, Stanshall said:

 

I'm sure you're not implying that I'm being deliberately stupid or attempting to bash them at all - because I made my points clearly and in an even-handed way - but I totally understand and agree that there will be plenty of people who are enjoying hamming this up, just as plenty of people enjoy hamming up reactions to the bizarre PS5 design. They're both 'a bit shit but not that big of a deal'. 

 

If you think that the naming could have been clearer and more effective but also that this is overblown in some quarters, I reckon we're on the same page. 

 

I don’t agree - there is a clear delineation between models - the S and X represent the lower and higher models, which will obviously be priced accordingly, and the ‘Series’ monicker denotes which generation they are. I mean there will only be two to choose from in the same way now you can only choose between Xbox One S or Xbox One X.

[Transient Curse]

"What size?"

 

"XL, please"

 

"Small Large?"

 

"Sorry, extra large"

 

"Ah, sorry, I was confused because X and S are audibly indistinguishable."

[Down by Law]

Well in the interest of fairness I think the PS5 is a fuck ugly colossus and the Xbox Series is a confusing mess of brand identity. I wasn't even trolling on that NBA cover, if someone came up to me in a shop and said will this work on my Xbox One S/X, I genuinely wouldn't know. I'm assuming it's a mistake and has been left off for whatever reason.

[Stanley]

Haven’t MS mandated that all software must run on the older models, at least for the first 18 months or so until the new systems are bedded in? 

[SweatyTravolta]

4 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

Well in the interest of fairness I think the PS5 is a fuck ugly colossus and the Xbox Series is a confusing mess of brand identity. I wasn't even trolling on that NBA cover, if someone came up to me in a shop and said will this work on my Xbox One S/X, I genuinely wouldn't know. I'm assuming it's a mistake and has been left off for whatever reason.

 

I thought it was already announced that their were two different versions of NBA Gambling 2k21? I mean I'm guessing the reasoning is bullshit and I doubt there would be much to separate the actual games but it's the reason they gave for the current gen version being $60 and next gen $70.

[JPL]

17 minutes ago, Stanshall said:

 

I'm sure you're not implying that I'm being deliberately stupid or attempting to bash them at all - because I made my points clearly and in an even-handed way - but I totally understand and agree that there will be plenty of people who are enjoying hamming this up, just as plenty of people enjoy hamming up reactions to the bizarre PS5 design. They're both 'a bit shit but not that big of a deal'. 

 

If you think that the naming could have been clearer and more effective but also that this is overblown in some quarters, I reckon we're on the same page. 

 

Oh no, it wasn’t aimed at you.

[Down by Law]

So there is two versions? A Series X only version and a One X version that's $10 less?

edit @SweatyTravolta

[Boozy The Clown]

3 minutes ago, Stanley said:

Haven’t MS mandated that all software must run on the older models, at least for the first 18 months or so until the new systems are bedded in? 

 

Only for first party studios and probably a few caveats to come. Flight Simulator for instance. I'm sure we'll get a few more pages out of that one.

[Stanley]

1 minute ago, Boozy The Clown said:

 

Only for first party studios and probably a few caveats to come. Flight Simulator for instance. I'm sure we'll get a few more pages out of that one.

Probably.

[Transient Curse]

Just now, Down by Law said:

So there is two versions? A Series X only version and a One X version that's $10 less?

edit @SweatyTravolta

No, an Xbox One version and a Series version. The xbox one version will be $10 cheaper.

 

"...wait  it's coming out for the original xbox but not the Xbox that they're currently selling? And its a dollar cheaper?"

[Marlew]

18 minutes ago, Stanley said:

I don’t agree - there is a clear delineation between models - the S and X represent the lower and higher models, which will obviously be priced accordingly, and the ‘Series’ monicker denotes which generation they are. I mean there will only be two to choose from in the same way now you can only choose between Xbox One S or Xbox One X.

 

I understand, and gave more specific criticism from a linguistic perspective on the previous page. 

 

In practice, I agree that the decision will be simplified to a choice of two given that they seem to have halted production of the One line, and that pricing and knowledge of features will influence purchasing decisions more than naming convention.

 

I'm not attempting to attack anything or anyone, nor claiming this will be a disaster nor taking the piss, I just wanted to cut through to look at what they could have done better, from my perspective. I hope it does really well regardless, and I hope the PS5 also does really well so both keep pushing each other. 

[Down by Law]

Just now, Wahwah* said:

 

"...wait  it's coming out for the original xbox but not the Xbox that they're currently selling? And its a dollar cheaper?"

 

What is the need for this? I asked a legitimate question and got a legitimate answer. 

[Pob]

Ah, if the Series X and S are the only consoles on sale come November, the naming does suddenly make a lot more sense.

[Stanley]

3 minutes ago, Stanshall said:

 

I understand, and gave more specific criticism from a linguistic perspective on the previous page. 

 

In practice, I agree that the decision will be simplified to a choice of two given that they seem to have halted production of the One line, and that pricing and knowledge of features will influence purchasing decisions more than naming convention.

 

I'm not attempting to attack anything or anyone, nor claiming this will be a disaster nor taking the piss, I just wanted to cut through to look at what they could have done better. I hope it does really well regardless, and I hope the PS5 also does really well so both keep pushing each other. 

I’d never really considered it from a linguistic POV, but “ess” and “ex” sound different enough to me to avoid confusion, I always thought of it as S being smaller, or standard, and X being extra or bigger, and no doubt they will look different enough whilst still obviously from the same family of devices. 
 

I dunno, I really like what they’re doing with the whole Xbox brand at the moment - I think they’re pretty pioneering in that respect with enhanced backwards compatibility, Game Pass, cross compatibility with older consoles and PC, Xcloud etc. It feels really unified to me.