Xbox Series X | S

[Mike S]

38 minutes ago, Wahwah* said:

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."  

 

I'm intending to buy one and I find MS's naming convention to be nonsensical and, yeah, confusing. And that is even without comparing it to the very straightforward Sony nomenclature.

 

I must be a stupid troll too!

[ThePixelbarks]

How is this "complicated" at all. It's there, right at the top:

That's all the average user needs to look at, and if they're buying a game digitally, then they'll only be shown products that are compatible with their system. The public are used to buying the "iPad", which has been a different product on a yearly basis with EXACTLY the same name. There's no issue, there will be a marketing campign that will show an oblisk with xbox branding, and that will be enough information for your average consumer to go into a store and buy the right product. Most people will just call it "The new xbox", so can we stop pretending that there's some fundimental issue with the name.

[Transient Curse]

2 minutes ago, Mike S said:

 

I'm intending to buy one and I find MS's naming convention to be nonsensical and, yeah, confusing.

 

I must be a stupid troll too then!

Seriously? There's two generations, One and Series. 

 

Each has an S and an X variant. 

 

That's it.

 

What's confusing? 

[Pob]

I don't think that MS are intending the big new Xbox to be known as the 'Series'. It seems more like an attempt to create a generic naming convention for future upgrades. 'Xbox' is the product name, the suffix is the spec. The 'series' bit is just a conjunction.

[Alex W.]

And I don’t think they even manufacture the One X any more. After that £260 sale earlier this year the supply seems to be drying up.
 

The PS4 and PS5 is legitimately less confusing but that doesn’t mean the Xbox name scheme is bad.
 

I’m glad the PS5 has an edition that’s not digital so I can use it with my CRT without any adaptors, although I’m not sure how they will get multiplayer working over FM radio.

[Uncle Mike]

4 minutes ago, Pob said:

I don't think that MS are intending the big new Xbox to be known as the 'Series'. It seems more like an attempt to create a generic naming convention for future upgrades. 'Xbox' is the product name, the suffix is the spec. The 'series' bit is just a conjunction.

 

If that's the case, why are they starting at X?

 

I don't really want to add into the "people pretending to be stupid" conversation, but I guess we'll only really know when they announce the low spec model.

[Alex W.]

1 minute ago, Uncle Mike said:

 

If that's the case, why are they starting at X?

 

I don't really want to add into the "people pretending to be stupid" conversation, but I guess we'll only really know when they announce the low spec model.

Because if they started with A it would be the Abox?

[Dudley]

1 hour ago, footle said:

now we can happily argue that these are deliberately confusing in order to make work for dealers, but people have been able to navigate the scary complexity for years through the simple mechanism of saying “which features do I want”.^ if I want a sunroof I pay this much, if I want sat nav I pay this much more etc.

see also... tv model names, etc.
 

 

 

The problem with this is all those cars drive on the same roads.

 

1 hour ago, Down by Law said:

 

So does this actually work on an Xbox One X or not? 

 

We've got Xbox branding at the top, and a series X banner, and an optimized for series X sticker... which would lead anyone to assume it would, but would be better on a series x

 

but Far Cry states Xbox One X and Smart Delivery so there's no doubt it will work on both machines

 

 

40 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? 

 

People are confused on a games based web forum full of people who do fuck all else but I'm sure everyone ELSE will be fine.

 

No it doesn't work on an Xbox One X, no they haven't.  In that order.

[Stanley]

4 minutes ago, Uncle Mike said:

 

If that's the case, why are they starting at X?

 

I don't really want to add into the "people pretending to be stupid" conversation, but I guess we'll only really know when they announce the low spec model.

In the same way that all the promotional material for the new iPhone is initially centred around the Pro model in all the adverts. 

[macosx]

16 minutes ago, Wahwah* said:

Seriously? There's two generations, One and Series. 

 

Each has an S and an X variant. 

 

That's it.

 

What's confusing?

 

Series usually has something after it to denote it’s series . Ie. Lost Series 1, Lost Series 2.

 

Xbox One X, then naming the better model the same thing; Xbox One Series X is fucking stupid. 
 

 

[Hitcher]

Are those covers even the genuine product or just placeholders?
Also there's only one next gen Xbox confirmed so far so all this 'Xbox Series S' talk is just speculation.

[JPL]

3 minutes ago, macosx said:

 

Series usually has something after it to denote it’s series . Ie. Lost Series 1, Lost Series 2.

 

Xbox One X, then naming the better model the same thing; Xbox One Series X is fucking stupid. 
 

 

It’s not called Xbox One Series X. Forget One, that’s finished.

[metallicfrodo]

The last few pages of this thread are giving me flashbacks to the conversations about the Wii name and how it was utterly awful and would put people off buying it.

[Popo]

18 minutes ago, Wahwah* said:

Seriously? There's two generations, One and Series. 

 

Each has an S and an X variant. 

 

That's it.

 

What's confusing? 

The fact that it needs explaining at all is the problem; it’s not confusing, it’s just not clear. 
 

Playstation 5: job done, everyone knows what that’s about. 
 

Microsoft have taken on the ambitious goal of repositioning backwards compatibility as a branded, marketable selling point (smart delivery) - this is a new concept for games consoles and needs a bit of explaining - challenge number one. They’re applying this to a line of consoles that haven’t historically had a clear progression in their naming convention (360 > One) and then changing the naming convention on the new console (Series) - challenge number two. They’ve then decided to stick partially with the naming conversation they came up with in the previous generation (X and S) to indicate difference in power, slightly obscuring the difference between previous and current gen - challenge number three. 
 

Them add into the mix that they’ve decided not to force third party developers to implement smart delivery, so that concept isn’t as straightforward as they probably would have hoped. That’s a fair few challenges - some they’ve inherited, some they’ve erected themselves - that get in the way of clarity of message. 
 

Like I already said, I respect the ambition of what they’re doing and am even considering a purchase. I’m not trolling - it’s just bleedin’ obvious to me that the messaging around the system could be clearer. 

[Hitcher]

4 minutes ago, metallicfrodo said:

The last few pages of this thread are giving me flashbacks to the conversations about the Wii name and how it was utterly awful and would put people off buying it.

It's got me wanting to click ignore user more than anything.

[metallicfrodo]

3 minutes ago, Popo said:

Like I already said, I respect the ambition of what they’re doing and am even considering a purchase. I’m not trolling - it’s just bleedin’ obvious to me that the messaging around the system could be clearer. 

 

There really isn't much messaging at the moment though is there. There is no release date and no price point. Once that actually happens we'll see what the messaging to Johnny's granny looks like.

 

It might be a complete clusterfuck like the Wii U messaging was but I'm willing to stake money that MS are going to spend an absolute shit load on advertising once the console is actually available for people to buy.

[Uncle Mike]

19 minutes ago, Alex W. said:

Because if they started with A it would be the Abox?

 

I assume you're making a joke, but clearly it's already the Xbox. If Series is simply a word to separate the "Xbox" from the model number, that's entirely reasonable naming, but then it seems odd to start at X. Where do they go after that? Xbox Series X, Xbox Series Y, Series Z and then they've run out? Or will they need a new word because they love extra Xs? The One X seems to have tricked them into thinking it needs to start and end with X from now on.

 

15 minutes ago, Stanley said:

In the same way that all the promotional material for the new iPhone is initially centred around the Pro model in all the adverts. 

 

Not "why are they showing off the X first", of course they're doing that. "Why are they starting what Pob suggested is a new numbering scheme at X"?

 

I'm also sure it'll be fine, but I don't get their approach to naming. But also pretty sure it won't make much difference.

[Clipper]

I think we should just stop grandparents buying consoles - it is obviously too much for them.

 

And given the aging forum population it should come as no surprise that some of us are naturally falling into that demographic that is suddenly unable to distinguish console versions

 

[Transient Curse]

14 minutes ago, Popo said:

The fact that it needs explaining at all is the problem; it’s not confusing, it’s just not clear. 
 

Playstation 5: job done, everyone knows what that’s about. 

But its not as much of a problem as is being made out. They can't use xbox 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 because they entered the cosole space a generation after Sony released playstation and someone in marketing decided that releasing xbox 2 when sony released playstation 3 would make them seem inferior (at a guess). 

 

As has been documented repeatedly, people buy things that are named in a similar manner and nobody wrings their hands in the way that they do in this thread.

 

Yet, saying you're  bored of hearing about it again and explaining the above gets another lesson in why it's  a confusing name. From someone who understands it. 

I don't think anyone is saying they love the name, I don't care for it either,  but it's not difficult to understand, even if you have to be told "this is the new one".

 

[Pob]

1 minute ago, Uncle Mike said:

Not "why are they showing off the X first", of course they're doing that. "Why are they starting what Pob suggested is a new numbering scheme at X"?

 

I don't think it's a numbering scheme, I think it's a signifier of the 'trim' level, like Zetec/Ghia or whatever it is Ford use for their cars. You do raise a good point about what the next one will be called, assuming it'll be on the market at the same time as the Series X. Xbox Series X Pro or something? Or maybe just rely on the year, like MacBooks, and keep the name the same - Xbox Series X - until they stop selling client-side consoles?

[JPL]

17 minutes ago, Popo said:

it’s just bleedin’ obvious to me that the messaging around the system could be clearer. 

Just imagine that there’s still a few months to go before launch and they’ll do a huge global marketing campaign to clarify everything.

[cultofweaver]

I studied Linguistics. S and X are separate consonant clusters and if you pronounce them the same way you should get speech therapy. 

 

There are a lot of people in this thread who continue to embarrass themselves in public in a most disconcerting way.

 

I know the average age of some of you is now pushing the point at which you should be left on a secluded tundra for the good of the community but at least try to keep up with the world around you.

 

I never thought my reaffirming shot of self-confidence today to make myself aware of my great intellectual capacity would be the ability to read two separate letters in the Latin alphabet and understand how to read a Box cover. I'll save Ulysses for tomorrow.

 

My nephew understands this. He is 12. 

[Popo]

@Wahwah* I don’t disagree with you, except to say that it remains to be seen if Microsoft can make a success of the iPhone business model but for consoles. I think all the challenges I outlined in my earlier post are illustrative of how it’s not a like for like comparison and will need a certain amount of vision from Redmond to execute. 

[Ran]

They should have gone with Xbox One Zero (or Xbox10 / X10). Leapfrogging their original problem of looking a generation behind Sony if they'd gone down the route of Xbox2 etc. Then adopt Nvidia's numbering convention with future machines being X20, X30. By the time Sony get to Playstation 10 they'd be X60!

 

...I don't really care.

[Transient Curse]

2 minutes ago, Ran said:

adopt Nvidia's numbering convention with future machines being X20, X30. By the time Sony get to Playstation 10 they'd be X60

A Series of X branded consoles, you say? 

[Uncle Mike]

17 minutes ago, Pob said:

I don't think it's a numbering scheme, I think it's a signifier of the 'trim' level, like Zetec/Ghia or whatever it is Ford use for their cars. You do raise a good point about what the next one will be called, assuming it'll be on the market at the same time as the Series X. Xbox Series X Pro or something? Or maybe just rely on the year, like MacBooks, and keep the name the same - Xbox Series X - until they stop selling client-side consoles?

 

Ah - now I understand you. Yes, that makes more sense.

[Mike S]

15 minutes ago, Wahwah* said:

Seriously? There's two generations, One and Series. 

 

Each has an S and an X variant. 

 

That's it.

 

What's confusing? 

 

Yes, that is all very clear!

 

For a corporation looking to sell a brand to then be diluting that brand name with an increasingly ludicrous and complex naming convention is not that great.

 

You are seeing this all through the lens of someone who spends way more time on a games forum - watching, reading and  ingesting news about video game hardware and software than the average person. Remember those stories of consumers who did not realise that Wii U was a new console? That is was an add on or something? Why do you think that might have been?

Sony, despite making one of the most shit awful looking pieces of hardware I have ever seen, have at least been consistent with their incremental generational naming. It is boring but it is simple and, consequently, it is not at all difficult to work out which is the latest hardware and that they are now selling that latest iteration to the consumer. There is literally nothing in MS's naming that offers such insight without prior knowledge of the product and that is not an assumption any company should be making. It is just a small halt on the thought process that is entirely unnecessary,

 

As an aside, I wonder if the Series X name was dreamt up by an exec who noticed how popular the infantile, and still cringe inducing, XBONE contraction became and decided to offer the kids the equally awful SeX for this generation?

[Kryptonian]

I think the names are a bit shit but they started down that path and now have to make the best of it, I’m assuming with the One S & X they’ve established the base and pro models are are just continuing that. However, I do think the ‘series’ part of the name is superfluous and rubbish.

 

Is the Series S model actually an official thing or is it something that everyone is assuming at this stage?

[layten]

Guyz... GUYZ!

 

I want to buy a Macbook Pro from Apple, but they are all just called the Macbook Pro, how do I know which one I will be getting? I might end up with one ten years old as I am trying to make a really stupid and laboured point about my less favoured console manufacturer.

[JPL]

3 minutes ago, Mike S said:

 

Yes, that is all very clear!

 

For a corporation looking to sell a brand to then be diluting that brand name with an increasingly ludicrous and complex naming convention is not that great.

 

You are seeing this all through the lens of someone who spends way more time on a games forum - watching, reading and  ingesting news about video game hardware and software than the average person. Remember those stories of consumers who did not realise that Wii U was a new console? That is was an add on or something? Why do you think that might have been?

Sony, despite making one of the most shit awful looking pieces of hardware I have ever seen, have at least been consistent with their incremental generational naming. It is boring but it is simple and, consequently, it is not at all difficult to work out which is the latest hardware and that they are now selling that latest iteration to the consumer. There is literally nothing in MS's naming that offers such insight without prior knowledge of the product and that is not an assumption any company should be making. It is just a small halt on the thought process that is entirely unnecessary,

 

As an aside, I wonder if the Series X name was dreamt up by an exec who noticed how popular the infantile, and still cringe inducing, XBONE contraction became and decided to offer the kids the equally awful SeX for this generation?

You’re right, everything should be named literally so people don’t have to think for more than a couple of seconds.

 

I’d like a pint of beer 3 to go with my curry 2, please.