- The Xbox Series X was recently announced at the Game Awards 2019.
- The design and name of the console have been a source of ridicule online.
- Comments from Phil Spencer seem to indicate that many variations of the console could be in the brand’s future.
The Xbox Series X has been revealed, and the internet collectively went “huh?” about it. A little while ago, Phil Spencer said that the new console’s name would reflect its purpose. When we all learned what the new name was, we were pretty damn confused by what the hell ‘Series X’ indicated.
Luckily, Spencer recently spoke to GameSpot and cleared up some details about the design. Unluckily, he entirely failed to clear up why it was called that at all. At least he did elaborate partially with GameSpot again, saying:
Obviously in the Series X, it gives us freedom to do other things with that name so that we can create descriptors when we need to.
If you need help reading between the lines, then let me spell it out. There are going to be so many Xbox Series X consoles.
‘Designed to power your dreams’ is about as specific as the current marketing has gotten. | Source: Twitter
The Xbox Series X Is Probably Going to Have a PC Design Philosophy
So the new machine is called the Series X. Not only does this name sound slightly too close to Xbox One X, but it also doesn’t seem to describe what the machine does. That’s because instead, it’s describing not a single machine but an entire line of machines.
Extrapolating from Spencer’s quote above, it seems like they’re planning on producing numerous versions of the console. ‘Create descriptors when we need to’ sounds a hell of a lot like having an Xbox Agility X which cuts loading times and an Xbox Silent X which runs games silently.
Basically, the point I’m getting at is that there are possibly going to be many, many different hardware revisions for the Xbox Series X. That might even affect how well your games run or what they look like. We’re pretty much seeing that this generation anyway with the Xbox One X running games in ‘enhanced’ modes.
What Will This Mean for Consumers?
The main way this will affect consumers of video games is in their choices. If I’m right and there are numerous versions of the Xbox Series X, then everyone should have a version available that suits them best. A stripped-down option for those on a budget, a quiet version for those with a baby in the house/room, etc.
I mean if this is the case, of course, it will mean that Xbox will need to be clever to avoid financial difficulties. They will really need to make sure that each machine is actually sold at a profit if they do want to have multiple versions. Unless, of course, they go the full PC route and just have Xbox Series X consoles manufactured by various third-parties.
No matter what happens, the next generation of video game consoles is sure to be an interesting one. With gaming potentially moving away from consoles altogether, this may possibly be the last generation with dedicated consoles.
This article was edited by Gerelyn Terzo.