How did Microsoft choose Xbox One X name? "It spoke to us, meant something in our history"

Last month, Microsoft officially unveiled its new console, calling it the "most powerful console ever". It had originally teased the new device a year earlier, back when the mighty gaming machine was still known by its development codename, Project Scorpio.

In the weeks leading up to Microsoft's E3 2017 showcase, speculation intensified over what the new console might be called, with many hoping that the Scorpio moniker would live on. A mysterious trademark for a gaming-related 'S' symbol, and a cryptic string of characters in an official teaser video, fuelled speculation further - but as Microsoft explained, the final choice for Scorpio's 'real' name was a surprisingly easy one for the company.

Microsoft's Dave McCarthy, head of Xbox operations and general manager of Xbox services, told MCV:

There was a real appeal to going back to our roots as an 'X'-box team. That original Xbox was founded on a principle of real technical innovation opening up some new avenues for games developers, and gamers overall. So it didn't take us long to land on the X name.

More than just a quick and easy choice, McCarthy added that the console's final name resonated with the Xbox team on another level. "It spoke to us, it meant something in our history," he said. "So, as a team, we gravitated to the name pretty quickly. But I like Scorpio as a project codename as well."

McCarthy also discussed the decision to only launch the console in black, unlike the Xbox One S, which was originally available only in white - although several themed models have been released in a range of colors since then. He explained:

At the launch of the original Xbox One, we did a ‘we made this’ white version of the console for our employees. So we had white in mind, it was actually pretty awesome, people like the design of it in their rooms. And obviously putting together the Xbox One S was a pretty special design moment for us.

Did I know that we were going to land back on black specifically [for the Xbox One X]? That might be a bit of a stretch, but it was definitely a journey we went on from launch with that special edition. We also did a special edition of the original Xbox One in white that sold very well.

We'll have to wait and see if Microsoft launches its Xbox One X in more colors in the future, but the black console will launch on November 7, priced at $499 in the US.

Source: MCV