The Xbox 360 Was Almost Named The Xbox 3

Microsoft’s naming schemes for its consoles has been a bit weird. Unlike Sony who has opted for more traditional naming like the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and the PlayStation 4, Microsoft has chosen rather odd names. The first Xbox was the Xbox, then we had the Xbox 360, and the Xbox One.

The last one is rather odd since “One” would suggest that it should be first, doesn’t it? That being said for those wondering about Microsoft’s naming schemes, it seems like Microsoft had at one point wanted to be more traditional and almost named the Xbox 360 the Xbox 3. This is according to former Chief Xbox Office Robbie Bach during an episode of IGN’s Unfiltered.

According to Bach, Microsoft wanted to name the Xbox 360 the Xbox 3 even though it was the second console. “You don’t want to be Xbox 2 compared to PlayStation 3. We actually talked about that. You don’t want to feel like you’re a generation behind, so why not skip?” Bach also notes that Microsoft has a habit of skipping numbers.

Looking at Windows we jumped from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95, then there was Windows 98, then we had Windows 8/8.1 which jumped to Windows 10 – you get the idea.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360