The Xbox 360 was one of the better names for a console, a name that was a master stroke of brilliance (the ‘3’ in Xbox 360 made the console seem competitive with the PlayStation 3, which it was- where calling it Xbox 2 might have made it seem generationally inferior), and the name also made good sense in terms of what Microsoft were trying to achieve with the machine.
But for a while there, they considered going with a name a lot worse, and a lot more baffling- the Xbox 3. Yep, for a while, they contemplated following up the original Xbox with… the Xbox 3.
“Certainly Xbox 3 was actually on the list because, well, you’ve gotta catch up. You don’t want to be Xbox 2 compared to PlayStation 3. We actually talked about that… You don’t want to feel like you’re a generation behind, so why not skip?” former Chief Xbox Executive Robbie Bach said in an interview with IGN.
Ultimately, sense prevailed, and Microsoft went with a name that made a lot more sense- and there is an argument to be made that the Xbox 360’s name was instrumental in it being as iconic as it was in the long run.
Now if only Microsoft had exercised the same kind of sense and prudence when it came to naming the Xbox One and Windows 10…
