Hazelight Studios founder Josef Fares has been making a number of comments about Xbox in the lead up to the release of EA's It Takes Two on March 26th, and most recently, he appeared on Major Nelson's official Xbox podcast.
Major Nelson pointed out that Fares recently had some things to say about the Xbox console naming convention, and Fares used this as an opportunity to ask what the Xbox Live exec thought of it:
"Seriously, be honest with me now. Isn't it confusing? Really? Like, what is it, Xbox One, Xbox One X, Xbox One S, Xbox Series X... what is this? Why not just Xbox 1 and 2 and 3?"
In a humorous exchange, Major Nelson went on to explain there are people "far smarter than I am" who made the decision, and even the Xbox 360 name didn't necessarily receive entirely positive feedback at the time:
"There are branding people that are far smarter than I am that have figured it out, but I remember when people heard the Xbox 360 name and they hated it, right? Names kind of stick with you after a while. But yeah, it's a little linear when you go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. We're just trying to change something up here, but I will tell Phil Spencer your feedback."
In response, Fares made a point of expressing his respect for Xbox boss Phil Spencer, calling him a "super cool guy," explaining that he will inform Spencer himself of his light-hearted opinion on the console names:
"You know what, I like Phil Spencer, I know him personally so he's a super cool guy. So I'm going to tell him this myself, he probably heard of it anyway, so... Phil, if you see this, it's going to be nice to see you again man, it was a long time!" Good work with everything with Xbox by the way."
What do you think of the Xbox console naming convention? Let us know down in the comments.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 23
I often wonder how many parents picked up a One X/S over Christmas thinking they were the new consoles.
I like the name Series X.
I’m not looking back but only forward
So to me Xbox one x doesn’t exist.
So Series X is no issue.
@Dezzy70
I don't particularly Like the Series X name, but I agree with you 100% that I only look forward and not backwards. New system, New games, games designed and created for the New system only.
Ah, this knob wanting to be "controversial", feigning confusion about a naming convention in the industry he's working in...
This guy is annoying. He's like the person who keeps asking your opinion on something, until it fits their narrative.
Josef: c'mon, its confusing, right? It's not just me, right? C'mon, right? Right? C'mon, it's confusing. You know it is, right?
People: If i agree, will you leave me the fcuk alone??
To be honest, I think that the names are pretty confusing and terrible.
What is it that he finds so confusing? Can he not tell the difference between the letters X and S? One of them is black and the other is white, is he colour blind? He’s just trying to make it a big deal out of nothing, the guy needs to give it a rest, nobody cares so just move the f**k on!
@JGRockford I mean Xbox One X sales went up 750% following Series X pre orders, you can even google it and see for yourself.
Its not confusing for you or me, but for the general, not to focused customer/consumer it may be. Plus the guy isn’t English so maybe its more difficult for him idk 🤷🏻♂️
Can’t wait for people to just get over it and move past his comments tbh.
Confusing is the wrong word. It’s making people think they are intelligent because they “can tell the difference” - rubbish is what he means. It’s clearly rubbish way of doing the names. You aren’t smart that you can work out the names.
@MaccaMUFC He's talking about Xbox One vs Xbox Series, not the difference between X and S
I think its not necessarily confusing for people to understand the difference, but, I do frequently hear people say the wrong name by accident.
The names are terrible. Sony keeps it simple and much more recognisable with numbered consoles.
And yes, the Nintendo DS has had similarly opaque naming, as well as the iPhone. And guess what? They're terrible names too.
@Jacko11
And for the standard grandmother and soccer mum, it could very well be confusing.
This guy is in the industry, asking other professionals if it's confusing. His livelihood is dependant on knowing the field, and being able to discuss relevant topics if he's putting himself out there.
Considering his background, he's relying on "controversy", and coming out as a complete knob instead.
Again, for the average person who has no connection to this field of entertainment, it may be an issue. But this ***** is in the industry, and younger than I am.
Is he really that ignorant?
Maybe.
I love Xbox but I always thought the names were bad.
@JGRockford First, just want to clarify that I am not a fan of Josef Fares.
But in response to your comment, I'm quite certain he knows the difference between these systems. The guy might have stupid opinions, but he's not an idiot. In this instance, he's using this opportunity to speak for the average consumer, NOT the average gamer. He isn't genuinely asking Major Nelson if the name is confusing, he's employing a question as rhetoric to make his point, which is that Xbox system names are unconventional and needlessly complex (or at least not simple) to the point that some people actually do get confused.
Like I said, I'm not a fan of this guy, but he is obviously not THAT ignorant.
Also, to clarify my own stance, I do not think the console names are confusing. However, the names are clearly not AS simple as something like PS2, PS3, PS4, etc. Literally not a single person is confused about which PlayStation home console is which and what order they were released in.
@OliverOwen
Totally agree, we need new games made to show the advances and powers of the new console.
This new generation has been strange and so far nothing really has shown the true power of the series x. It’s time now developers made games just for this new generation.
@JGRockford the other dude @everynowandben put it better than I could
I think the problem here is that the names are not intuitive. The Xbox Series naming convention doesn't clearly rectify this either, although using the word Series implies that there could be future consoles in the Series... Let us hope they have some clear kind of naming strategy.
On the other hand Nintendo don't have intuitive naming either, but other than the Wii and WiiU they have radically different names between console generations, so when diddykins asks for a Nintendo Switch a parent will have to try really hard to confuse this with a Nintendo WiiU.
Googling specs for the original Xbox is a mess. I remember we used to call the original Xbox The Xbox 1 when the Xbox 360 came out. Then Xbox made the Xbox One haha like what the hell were we supposed to call the original Xbox for short form? Now people call it the OG Xbox blah blah blah but the struggle was real. I've owned all gens of Xbox but naming is truly their amazing consoles' weak point
There's "far smarter" people than Larry that thought the TV TV SPORTS SPORTS games SPORTS TV TV showcase for an anti-used game spycam console was a good idea, too......I don't think they should be trusting smart people. They should trust Larry.
@Dezzy70 @OliverOwen I mean, they're still producing Xbox 1S though, so it's not past, it's current...
@NEStalgia
They should drop the one s as we have Series s and x.
And watch the one s will drop very soon.
Then we can focus on Series consoles and games only.
Gaming needs to move forward.
Else we will end up with constant remakes, hello Nintendo and current game upgrades.
@Dezzy70 Well, Nintendo drops the gen before it's done and then sells remakes for the next 5 gens. Sony has a whole studio that does nothing but remakes. And the most popular game is a rockstar ps360 game now remade the second time. Ms is the outlier. Though mcc, ki, and technically mass effect 1....
@NEStalgia
I know it’s all gone a bit strange for me.
I have been used to over many decades
New generation, new games no going back.
Like say the SNES to the N64 to the GameCube.
It’s funny ole gaming world at the moment.
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