The Original Xbox Console Almost Had An “Awkward” Naming Scenario

Have you ever spent countless nights awake pondering the correct collective noun for all of your Xbox consoles? Xboxes sound weird, and according to the father of that Microsoft console, there was almost something weirder floating around when the console was being developed. According to Seamus Blackley, who created and designed the original Xbox in 2001, there was a strong argument against keeping the console’s internal name of DirectXbox, as the pluralized form of that word was the “most awkward” when it was brought up.

Eventually, Microsoft’s first home gaming console would be christened with the Xbox name, a title that has since been used for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S generations. The history behind the development of the first console is still fascinating, and in case you missed it, the documentary mini-series Power On: The Story of Xbox is available to watch for free on YouTube.

The Xbox Series X|S generation is now three years old, and 2023 was a great year for the console. Forza Motorsport, Hi-Fi Rush, and Planet of Llana were all terrific Xbox-exclusive games, and the future includes several other highly anticipated games like Avowed, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, and Hideo Kojima’s OD.