Games consoles aren’t exactly famous for having great names. The PlayStation sounds like something either an 8 year old would come up with. Xbox was pretty much designed to include as many x’s as possible because x stands for EXTREME!!! As for the Wii, anyone who defended that name when it was revealed is so far into fanboy world they must actually have a guy called Mario as their plumber.
But it could have been worse, at least for Microsoft’s monolithic first entry into the console gaming market, the Xbox. Edge recently spoke with Seamus Blackley, who was a member of the team behind the Xbox. Blackley revealed the names that were on the table when Microsoft was creating the Xbox, check out the full list below:
- “MAX (Microsoft Action Experience)
- AIO (All In One)
- MIND (Microsoft Interactive Network Device)
- FACE (Full Action Center)
- MITH (Microsoft Interactive Theatre)
- XON (Experience Optimised Network)
- MVPC (Microsoft Virtual Play Center)
- TAC (Total Action Center – discs/games could be called TACs)
- MARC (Microsoft Action Reality Center)
- LEX (Live Entertainment Experience)
- M-PAC (Microsoft Play and Action Center)
- RPM (Real Performance Machine)
- MOX (Microsoft Optimal Experience)
- E2 (Extreme Experience)
- MTG (Microsoft Total Gaming)
- VIP (Virtual Interactive Player)
- PTP or P2P (Powered To Play)
- VIC (Virtual Interactive Center – disks/games could be called VICs)
- MARZ (Microsoft Active Reality Zone)
- TSO (Three, Six, Zero)
- EHQ (Entertainment Headquarters)
- O2 (Optimal Ozone or Optical Odyssey)
- MIC (Microsoft Interactive Center)
- R&R (Reality and Revolution)
- MEA (Microsoft Entertainment Activator)
- AMP (Active Microsoft Player)
- VPS (Virtual Play System)
- MAP (Microsoft Action Play)
- MEGA (Microsoft Entertainment & Gaming Attendant or Microsoft Entertainment & Gaming Assembly)
- CPG (CyberPlayGround)
- VERV (Virtual Entertainment & Reality Venture)
- OM (Odyssey of the Mind)
- P2 (PowerPlay)
- IS1 (Interactive System In One)
- MET (Microsoft Entertainment Technology or Microsoft Entertainment Theatre)”
Hey guys, do you want to come round to my place and play on MARC? Thank god Blackley was able to overrule the executive acronym department. Especially the CPG (CyberPlayGround) which sounds like something the police should be monitoring if you catch my drift. It’s interesting to note that Microsoft didn’t abandon everything on this list though, as the TSO (Three, Six, Zero) was clearly the inspiration for the Xbox 360.
What do you think of Microsoft’s alternative console names? Do you wish you could have played with MAX? Let us know in the comments below.
