What should Microsoft call the next Xbox? – The Verge

The next phase of the unending console wars is starting to heat up, with Sony announcing that the successor to the PlayStation 4 will, predictably, be called the PlayStation 5.

But the news got us wondering: what will Microsoft call its next-generation Xbox console, which is currently using codename “Project Scarlett”? Unlike Sony, which tends to stick to strictly utilitarian names for its consoles — PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, with a few self-explanatory “Slim” or “Pro” variants thrown in — Microsoft has tended toward what we’ll call… creative branding.

There’s no obvious pattern. There was the original Xbox, which is a good place to start. But that was followed by the Xbox 360, which had two midcycle refreshes, the Xbox 360 S (allegedly for “slim”) and the Xbox 360 E (for… something that starts with an “e”). That circularly named console was followed by the Xbox One, the current generation, which has since gotten another two midcycle models, the Xbox One S and the tongue-twisting Xbox One X.

All of that means guessing the next Xbox name will be a far more difficult task than just applying an “f(n) = n+1” formula like we can with Sony. I’ve assembled The Verge’s expert team of product name analysts to compile a list of our best guesses at Project Scarlett’s real name.

Vote in the poll below or sound off in the comments if you think you’ve got a better idea.