Xbox One X Masterminds Explain The Name And How They’re Future-Proofing The System
The recently-unveiled Xbox One X is an undeniably impressive piece of hardware, but some fans [...]
The recently-unveiled Xbox One X is an undeniably impressive piece of hardware, but some fans still rolled their eyes just a bit at the reveal. The Xbox One X isn't the most original or inspired name, and arguably doesn't sound as cool as the system's codename, Project Scorpio. Well, in a recent interview with MCV, Xbox head of operations Dave McCarthy justified the name.
"There was a real appeal to going back to our roots as an 'X' box team. That original Xbox was founded on a principle of real technical innovation, opening up some new avenues for games developers, and gamers overall. So it didn't take us long to land on the X name. It spoke to us, it meant something in our history. So, as a team, we gravitated to the name pretty quickly. But I like Scorpio as a project code name as well."
Okay, fine, Microsoft just really loves Xes. I look forward to the Xbox XXX a couple generations from now.
Another concern fans might have is that the Xbox One X hasn't been properly future-proofed. Oh, sure, it sounds impressive now, but will its tech still wow a year or more after launch? Developers already seem to be bumping up against the limits of what the PlayStation 4 Pro can do! In an interview with Shacknews, Microsoft's Albert Penello assured consumers Microsoft has devoted a lot of effort to future-proofing the Xbox One X…
"We actually have a really great technology team that works with developers. And what's really interesting and unique about this console is that the specs were a result of working with software. It wasn't just us saying, 'these are the numbers we wanted to hit'. We actually examined existing code, and we said if we want to hit 4K on existing engines, this is what it takes.
[Forza Motorsport 7 developers Turn 10 Studios] were able to come in and prototype. That's what really gave us the confidence that these specs are what it takes to deliver the promises that we're making to customers. More's always better. We actually just gave a gig of RAM back to developers. We were getting feedback that was like, 'In a year or two, that extra gig of RAM is really gonna help us out.' So, we were like, 'Great, we'll extend that.'"
Xbox One X arrives on November 7. You can check out WWG's latest Xbox coverage, right here.