Rejected Xbox Names Revealed in List

[StewShearerOld]

Rejected Xbox Names Revealed in List

Microsoft originally didn't want to name its console the Xbox.

Naming things is hard. You wouldn't think it, considering the fact that the very existence of language points to a lot of people picking words to represent things over the course of human history. That said, when you really think about the weight of deciding what something will be called for the duration of its existence, it can be a heavy choice. That in mind, recent reveals have given some incite into the naming of the Xbox.

According to Seamus Blackley, co-creator of the original Xbox, the naming process was something of a battle. While the launch team grew attached to the "xbox" moniker, which grew organically from its development, Microsoft felt the name wasn't "legally sound" and requested a new one. "[We] got the phase two, or 'car' names. These were so bad we didn't even save them," said Blackley. "Then we got the 'acronym' phase from the naming geniuses." Acronyms that can be found in the list below:

- MAX (Microsoft Action Experience)
- AIO (All In One)
- MIND (Microsoft Interactive Network Device)
- FACE (Full Action Center)
- MITH (Microsoft Interactive Theatre)
- XON (Experience Optimised Network)
- MVPC (Microsoft Virtual Play Center)
- TAC (Total Action Center - discs/games could be called TACs)
- MARC (Microsoft Action Reality Center)
- LEX (Live Entertainment Experience)
- M-PAC (Microsoft Play and Action Center)
- RPM (Real Performance Machine)
- MOX (Microsoft Optimal Experience)
- E2 (Extreme Experience)
- MTG (Microsoft Total Gaming)
- VIP (Virtual Interactive Player)
- PTP or P2P (Powered To Play)
- VIC (Virtual Interactive Center - disks/games could be called VICs)
- MARZ (Microsoft Active Reality Zone)
- TSO (Three, Six, Zero)
- EHQ (Entertainment Headquarters)
- O2 (Optimal Ozone or Optical Odyssey)
- MIC (Microsoft Interactive Center)
- R&R (Reality and Revolution)
- MEA (Microsoft Entertainment Activator)
- AMP (Active Microsoft Player)
- VPS (Virtual Play System)
- MAP (Microsoft Action Play)
- MEGA (Microsoft Entertainment & Gaming Attendant or Microsoft Entertainment & Gaming Assembly)
- CPG (CyberPlayGround)
- VERV (Virtual Entertainment & Reality Venture)
- OM (Odyssey of the Mind)
- P2 (PowerPlay)
- IS1 (Interactive System In One)
- MET (Microsoft Entertainment Technology or Microsoft Entertainment Theatre)

The naming battle peaked with the launch team eventually putting its foot down. "They wanted, for some unknowable reason, to call it '11-X' or 'Eleven-X'," said Blackley. "Finally, we told them no." Despite the internal objections, Blackley and his team went with Xbox, something we can all be grateful for considering the competition.

Source: Edge Online


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[synobal]

They are just releasing this so they can say "See you think our name is stupid but it could of been so much worse!". I honestly doubt any of that list was ever considered.

TL;DR List is fake, released to make the decision to name it Xbox One seem intelligent.

 

[Jumwa]

Don't confuse familiarity with it being better than those other titles. All stupid names lose their edge with time. Xbox is a terrible name, born late out of the "extreme marketing" fad of the 90's.

I mean, everyone acknowledged Wii was a dumb name when it was first unveiled, but you accept it and move on. I knew a girl who was actually named Star Power, which was an incredibly cruel joke by her parents, but you know what? Growing up, nobody even seemed to realize it was odd, because we were familiar with it.

Xbox remains a dumb name that came years too late to even be timely, but we accept it because with time we stop seeing the name, and instead what it represents: the product, the person, the _____.

 

[Karoshi]

They are just releasing this so they can say "See you think our name is stupid but it could of been so much worse!". I honestly doubt any of that list was ever considered. Like they would drop the Xbox Brand name for even a second.

TL;DR List is fake, released to make the decision to name it Xbox One seem intelligent.

Well, all this list does is make me realize, that they are even more stupid than they appear to be. While Xbox One is an eyerolling name, abandoning an old and popular brand for no apperant reason is just idiotic. The fans of Xbox want the "next Xbox", not the "new Microsoft console". Brand loyalty is powerful and you can't just jump ship like that.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

Those sound like some of the most sterile, clinical names I ever heard.

I know people always come up with some pretty dumb ideas during the brainstorming sessions but still...Microsoft Interactive Network Device?

Also notice how only one of those names actually mentioned gaming.

 

[mad825]

TL;DR List is fake, released to make the decision to name it Xbox One seem intelligent.

How is "Xbox One" intelligent in any shape or form? The name "Xbox" was a good one compared to those on the list but how they've stretched it out was done very badly and very campy.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

TL;DR List is fake, released to make the decision to name it Xbox One seem intelligent.

Maybe you should have read it. The names were concerning the original Xbox, not the Xbone.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

They are just releasing this so they can say "See you think our name is stupid but it could of been so much worse!". I honestly doubt any of that list was ever considered. Like they would drop the Xbox Brand name for even a second.

TL;DR List is fake, released to make the decision to name it Xbox One seem intelligent.

Well, all this list does is make me realize, that they are even more stupid than they appear to be. While Xbox One is an eyerolling name, abandoning an old and popular brand for no apperant reason is just idiotic. The fans of Xbox want the "next Xbox", not the "new Microsoft console". Brand loyalty is powerful and you can't just jump ship like that.

Er, given the page image and the fact that the source says "rejected names for Microsoft's first console", I think that these are the rejected names for the original Xbox, not the Xbox One.

 

[synobal]

They are just releasing this so they can say "See you think our name is stupid but it could of been so much worse!". I honestly doubt any of that list was ever considered. Like they would drop the Xbox Brand name for even a second.

TL;DR List is fake, released to make the decision to name it Xbox One seem intelligent.

Well, all this list does is make me realize, that they are even more stupid than they appear to be. While Xbox One is an eyerolling name, abandoning an old and popular brand for no apperant reason is just idiotic. The fans of Xbox want the "next Xbox", not the "new Microsoft console". Brand loyalty is powerful and you can't just jump ship like that.

Er, given the page image and the fact that the source says "rejected names for Microsoft's first console", I think that these are the rejected names for the original Xbox, not the Xbox One.

Sorry I got confused, I thought they were talking about the Xbox one, not the Xbox, as in the er first xbox. Gods that is confusingly stupid.

 

[Karoshi]

Er, given the page image and the fact that the source says "rejected names for Microsoft's first console", I think that these are the rejected names for the original Xbox, not the Xbox One.

Oops, thanks for sorting it out! Kinda embarassing mistake.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Oh, wow.

That has got to be the most retarded list I've seen this year.

Show me the names and faces of the folks responsible for this.

 

[Vie]

Reminds me of some of those terrible names from the 1950's for cars.

For example, this little list from: http://jalopnik.com/5972546/the-edsel-could-have-been-named-the-intelligent-whale are a selection of the names Ford had suggested for the Edsel.

The Ford Silver Sword
Hirundo
Aerundo
Hurricane Hirundo (swallow)
Hurricane Aquila (eagle)
Hurricane Accipter (hawk)
The Impeccable
Symmechromatic
Thunderblender
The Resilient Bullet
Intelligent Bullet
Bullet Cloisoné
Bullet Lavolta
The Intelligent Whale
The Ford Fabergé (That there is also a perfume Fabergé seems to me to do no harm, for here allusion is to the original silversmith)
The Arc-en-Ciel (the rainbow)
Arcenciel
Mongoose Civique
Anticipator
Regna Racer (couronne a couronne) sovereign to sovereign
Aeroterre
Fée Rapide (Aerofee, Aero Faire, Fee Aiglette, Magi-faire) Comme Il Faire
Tonnere Alifère (winged thunder)
Aliforme Alifère (wing-slender a-wing)
Turbotorc (used as an adjective by Plymouth)
Thunderbird Allié (Cousin Thunderbird)
Thunder Crester
Dearborn Diamanté
Magigravure
Pastelogram
Regina-Rex
Taper Racer
Varsity Stroke
Angelastro
Astranaut
Chaparral
Tir á l'arc (bull's eye)
Cresta Lark
Triskelion (three legs running)
Pluma Piluma (hairfine, feather-foot)
Adante con Moto (description of a good motor?)
Turcotinga (turqoise cotinga-the cotinga being a South-American finch or sparrow) solid indigo.
Utopian Turtletop

Times don't change do they?

 

[Simple Bluff]

That's odd - they're all acronyms. Was it fashionable to do that back then or something? Most of the don't even make sense; the Odyssey of the Mind? The FACE? What?

 

[SecondPrize]

I hope the people who came up with this list got paid in animal crackers instead of actual money.

 

[Lo Flying Frying Pan]

None of these standalone names are entirely appealing. I might have gone for a combination, such as the "MAX MIND FACE" or the "MARC MOX MARZ" ... the whole lot is ridiculous.

 

[Dango]

Well I sure am glad they didn't name it the "FACE". I would've actually liked if they named it the E2 (Extreme Experience), sounds like a good time.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Im guessing this list is from a brain storming session. As in they write down every name that comes to mind. Most of them are worthless, but thats the whole point of brain storming....finding that diamond in the rough.

As for names, will every one though Wii was crappy - but doesnt seem to have made much difference to the machines selling power.

 

[Vivi22]

They are just releasing this so they can say "See you think our name is stupid but it could of been so much worse!". I honestly doubt any of that list was ever considered. Like they would drop the Xbox Brand name for even a second.

TL;DR List is fake, released to make the decision to name it Xbox One seem intelligent.

Well, all this list does is make me realize, that they are even more stupid than they appear to be. While Xbox One is an eyerolling name, abandoning an old and popular brand for no apperant reason is just idiotic. The fans of Xbox want the "next Xbox", not the "new Microsoft console". Brand loyalty is powerful and you can't just jump ship like that.

The list is potential names for the original Xbox, not the Xbox One.

 

[Buizel91]

Glad they didn't call it "FACE"...otherwise if i went to a friends I would playing on their FACE...

 

[Mydnyght]

MAX was the only okay name on that acronym list to me, and even then I didn't really like what it stood for.

Whoever suggested VERV, gee, thanks... It reminded me of the band the Verve and that one song "Bittersweet Symphony"...
I'm sorry to anyone who likes that song, but I think sounds so goddamn annoying.

To be frank, I would've preferred 11X over any of those acronyms.