Naming matters. Yeah, it's great that hardcore gamers didn't have a problem. Unfortunately, that's not where most of the console sales go. Same problem Microsoft dug themselves into. It's just a bad marketing decision as it causes confusion that at best makes Microsoft look nonsensical, and at worst passes on that confusion to the consumer, which has clearly happened.
The Xbox naming conventions are the absolute dumbest thing about those consoles and a complete self-own. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, really, if that's the worst thing about your product. It's just an unforced error that causes nothing but problems. It's putting a false sense of creativity over logic and what's best for the customer. I doubt it impacts their bottom line too much, but it really shouldn't impact their bottom line at all.
Indeed. People in this very thread were getting confused and kept linking the old system as being available thinking that it was the new XXX. I've caught myself having to even just double checking to not to screw somebody over here.
On Tuesday, Microsoft launched pre-orders for its upcoming next generation console, the Xbox One X. Sorry, I meant the Xbox Series X. Can you blame me? There’s only one word of difference between the two names, and it’s the one in the middle. There are also three X’s.
I might not be the only one who gets them confused, though. (Microsoft itself has, but I digress.) Despite today being pre-order day for the Series X (reminder: the new one), the One X (the old one) had a banner day on Amazon as well, at one point up 747 percent on Amazon’s “Movers & Shakers” sales charts.
I actually like the "Series" based naming convention of these new consoles. As with essentially everything that's ailed Microsoft's consoles in their recent past, it was the beginning of the Xbox One generation that screwed it all up. That name stemmed from an Xbox department (under the command of Don Mattrick) that wanted to capture the "all-in-one" entertainment device that Xbox One was supposed to become (Kinect, snap, TV integration with HDMI passthrough, etc.). When that all sort of went by the wayside they were left with a console with the number "1" as a suffix more or less, which is just odd and set things up for confusion with future consoles.
In a vacuum though, I don't mind the names "Xbox Series X" and "Xbox Series S".
Indeed. People in this very thread were getting confused and kept linking the old system as being available thinking that it was the new XXX. I've caught myself having to even just double checking to not to screw somebody over here.
On Tuesday, Microsoft launched pre-orders for its upcoming next generation console, the Xbox One X. Sorry, I meant the Xbox Series X. Can you blame me? There’s only one word of difference between the two names, and it’s the one in the middle. There are also three X’s.
I might not be the only one who gets them confused, though. (Microsoft itself has, but I digress.) Despite today being pre-order day for the Series X (reminder: the new one), the One X (the old one) had a banner day on Amazon as well, at one point up 747 percent on Amazon’s “Movers & Shakers” sales charts.
It just goes to show in my opinion how peoples attention to detail lack in everyday use.
Xbox Series X
Xbox One X
^^ That is pretty obvious that they are two different products. They have different names!!!
Hell you can even argue that
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
are more closely named then the XBOX consoles.
I just have no sympathy for those that made this mistake, IMO even parents/regular people should be able to differentiate without having there hands held.
It's a non issue made into an issue by people that do not pay attention to detail.
Nintendo's unconventional naming techniques were never problem even when you had a Wii and Wii U.
Don't be dumb and pay attention to what you are buying.
I feel bad for parents. Granted I'm not an Xbox guy, so it was bound to happen, but this was the first year in my life I've been confused by a console. Somebody asked me what it was called a few weeks ago and for the life of me I couldn't recall it. I am a guy who listens to video game podcasts in my spare time–and while they're not focused on xbox–this is something I should probably know.
If I worked in marketing for Microsoft and I came across your comment, I'd be immediately concerned. If you're relying on the consumer to pay attention and not be dumb, I have some very unsettling news for you about the average consumer.
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Naming matters. Yeah, it's great that hardcore gamers didn't have a problem. Unfortunately, that's not where most of the console sales go. Same problem Microsoft dug themselves into. It's just a bad marketing decision as it causes confusion that at best makes Microsoft look nonsensical, and at worst passes on that confusion to the consumer, which has clearly happened.
The Xbox naming conventions are the absolute dumbest thing about those consoles and a complete self-own. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, really, if that's the worst thing about your product. It's just an unforced error that causes nothing but problems. It's putting a false sense of creativity over logic and what's best for the customer. I doubt it impacts their bottom line too much, but it really shouldn't impact their bottom line at all.
The naming conventions aren’t all that bad. Basically like an iPhone iteration. Sure, a number system might work, but at this point like you said they sort of backed themselves into a corner. The names themselves are cool. Never liked the 360 name personally.
It just goes to show in my opinion how peoples attention to detail lack in everyday use.
Xbox Series X
Xbox One X
^^ That is pretty obvious that they are two different products. They have different names!!!
Hell you can even argue that
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
are more closely named then the XBOX consoles.
I just have no sympathy for those that made this mistake, IMO even parents/regular people should be able to differentiate without having there hands held.
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S
Xbox One X
A regular consumer is supposed to automatically recognize and know which one of these is the newest and best?
Xbox One
Xbox One X
Xbox One S
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S
If you're in the know, it's pretty easy to differentiate. However, I think it probably hurts those who are casual, or those buying gifts (grandparents, etc.).
It's pretty easy to go in to a store (or look online), see a Playstation 4 and a Playstation 5, and know which one is the most recent version.
It's not as apparent with the Xbox line of console with how they name it. Not an issue for the majority of gamers, but I think it definitely causes confusions with those who are uncertain about what to buy.
It just goes to show in my opinion how peoples attention to detail lack in everyday use.
Xbox Series X
Xbox One X
^^ That is pretty obvious that they are two different products. They have different names!!!
Hell you can even argue that
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
are more closely named then the XBOX consoles.
I just have no sympathy for those that made this mistake, IMO even parents/regular people should be able to differentiate without having there hands held.
Again, you're looking at this through the lens of a regular gamer who knows what they're doing. If Grandma wants to by little Johnny the latest console for Christmas, she can very easily get confused by the Series X vs. One X. Who ultimately loses in the end? Microsoft. It's a dumb naming convention, it just is, until the One X is discontinued an no longer available.
Put it this way. Every little detail matters when a company is setting up names or marketing something. Heck, I went through an exercise where I saw how a company laid out its webpage for ecommerce. They're meticulous down to where to place the add to cart button to get maximum engagement.
They should have just called the Xbox 360 the Xbox 3 if having the same numeral as the PS3 mattered that much. They would have been ridiculed initially but by now nobody would care and it would be PS5 and XB5 and all would be well.
Location: In a land without pants, or war, or want. But mostly we care about the pants.
Exp:
One X and Series X are logically more akin than Series S and Series X. "Series" is a collection of similar things, so if you have two different letters as your series names, it implies they are not similar, while there is no logical reason why a "One X" couldn't be part of a "Series X".
Not to mention there is no logical relationship between the letters X and S and the differences between standard and digital-only version. Xbox Series Xs and Xbox Series Xd would have been better if the X bookending was dear to Marketing's hearts. Or just go full X everywhere, and have it XBoX X Series XStream Frost and XboX X Series Xtra Ebon.
__________________
Better educated sadness than oblivious joy.
They should have just dropped the X, and named it something different. I'm not sure why MS has such an obsession with it. It's already in their name. Nintendo learned their lesson with the Wii U. After that naming debacle, they've gone back to naming their consoles unique names. NES, Super NES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, Switch. You avoid a lot of confusion doing it that way.
Nintendo had a big branding problem for a while there beyond the Wii U.
Wii
Wii U
2DS
2DS XL
3DS
3DS XL
New 3DS
New 3DS XL
Good luck to grandma and grandpa on deciding!
That's true. I forgot about their handhelds. The most confusing one was the New 3DS. At least with those, it's the same handhelds, just different versions of it.
It just goes to show in my opinion how peoples attention to detail lack in everyday use.
Xbox Series X
Xbox One X
^^ That is pretty obvious that they are two different products. They have different names!!!
Hell you can even argue that
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
are more closely named then the XBOX consoles.
I just have no sympathy for those that made this mistake, IMO even parents/regular people should be able to differentiate without having there hands held.
Brutal take. Come on man, I’m sure you’ve been confused by things you’re not an expert on.
The One S and Series S not only sound similar but look almost identical. To the uneducated consumer looking for a Christmas gift it’s really easy to see how someone could get confused. Hell when I was younger I had trouble teaching my parents the difference between the PS2 and the GameCube.
I feel bad for the parents who inevitably messed up.
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