By the way, why is Xbox called Xbox?

Microsoft’s gaming brand is called Xbox, the name given to the very first console marketed by the Redmond firm. Its origin refers to the PC world.

In 2001, Microsoft attacked the video game console market by launching the first Xbox. The name attributed to the product has since become a real brand – declined for services (example: Xbox Live Gold, subscription that allows you to play online). Like Sony and PlayStation, the Redmond firm is keen on its gaming brand.

Unlike Nintendo, which likes to change the names of its consoles, all the generations marketed by Microsoft are called or have been called Xbox. In the same vein, the multinational is attached to Windows – for its operating systems – and to Surface – for its computers and tablets.

But, by the way, where does the name Xbox come from?

Xbox refers to a technology born on PC

In a file devoted to the history of the Xbox, Digital Trends recalls that the name ‘Xbox’ is the contraction of ‘DirectX Box’, literally ‘the DirectX box’. DirectX is a development platform originally used to design video games for Windows. The idea behind the ‘DirectX Box’ was therefore to bring this technology to the console market, with power and flexibility. DirectX brings together several technologies designed to make life easier for creators in Windows and Xbox environments. The first version was born in 1995, under the name Windows Games SDK. Today we are at DirectX 12.

Seamus Blackley, Ted Hase, Otto Berkes and Kevin Bachus, the four fathers of Xbox, wanted to design a PC disguised in console format, with a hard drive (goodbye memory cards) and multimedia features (Xbox read DVDs). The choice to integrate DirectX was motivated by the ambition to make life easier for developers, knowing that the console has never been pushed to its limits. Note that internally, the name Xbox has not always been unanimous: Digital Trends recalls that the marketing team was not convinced that the name is a good idea, but that after testing the idea on focus groups, the feedback was good enough to keep it.

Microsoft subsequently declined the Xbox brand at will. :

• Xbox Live: the online network;
• Xbox 360: the second console, the ‘360’ referring to the player placed at the center of the experience;
• Xbox One: the third console, the ‘One’ referring to the all-in-one side materialized by the presence of an HDMI input to connect its TV box (all-in-one);
• Xbox Game Pass : subscription video game service;
• Xbox Series X : the fourth console, expected for the month of november, the ‘Series’ referring to the emergence of a real range.

Soon after making Xbox Series X official, Phil Spencer has indicated : ” The name we give to the next generation is simply Xbox. And, during The Game Awards, you saw that name come to life with Xbox Series X. As fans have seen with older generations, the name Xbox Series X opens the door to other consoles in the game. future. Today, Xbox has therefore become a brand-range that covers several products in the same category.