When Microsoft finally pulled the curtain back to reveal their new console, most of us were taken back by their choice for a name, the Xbox One.
While Microsoft never confirmed they had the console in development, let alone a name for it, Xbox 720 seemed like a good enough fit, particularly if you bothered to watch "Real Steel." So when they dubbed it the Xbox One instead, we were all a bit confused. It doesn't even make sense chronologically.
To set the confusion aside, Microsoft exec Jeff Henshaw tells CNET why the company went with that moniker over any other.
The idea behind the name is that the console serves as the one thing the audience will need for all their entertainment purposes. As Henshaw explains, "The embodiment that this becomes one device that addresses all the entertainment that you want to enjoy on your TV, and brings it to you in a way that's so simple, that it can be the only input you have connected through your television. It is truly the one place to go for all this. So One ends up being a deeply meaningful thing to us here. It's almost a bar that we are striving to achieve, and I think we nailed it really well with the Xbox One."
Henshaw continues, sounding more like he was reading from a press release than answering questions.
"There's something very powerful about it. Xbox One really embodies the concept that this is the first device, the combination of this very powerful console that brings all its eight cores, 8GB of RAM, super fast memory, super powerful SoC we built, super powerful dedicated audio and video processing subsystems. There's incredible power in this device, married with the next generation of Kinect for really enabling those subtle interactions between you and your entertainment."
And as far as the odds that people will be confused by the new console with the original, as Henshaw notes, "The original Xbox was just the 'Xbox', it wasn't 'One'...The thing you have to bear in mind, is that if you look at the original Xbox, the experiences have grown to become so dramatically rich and different. There's no resemblance anymore between the two. You can't confuse them in any way. So when people say "Xbox One," it's going to be reflective of this new generation of experiences. I really don't think there's going to be any confusion."
Plenty of other questions were asked to Henshaw, cost of the console, the system's game library, Xbox Live plans, the used game debacle, etc. However, the majority of the questons were met with a non-answer that the company wasn't yet prepared to provide responses. Looks like we really will have to wait until E3.