Microsoft is set to make its big announcement regarding the Xbox (720/Durango Unchained/The Search for Spock) on May 21st. Up until this point, we've been speculating what this announcement would entail, especially after Sony made its big PS4 announcement back on February 20th. With ground lost in the PR department, Microsoft is going to have to make it up somewhere, and if they're smart they'll do so by making some big reveals at May's event. If the marketing heads at Microsoft are smart, here's five of the key details they'll have their team revealing on the big day.
5. Unveil The Console's Official Brand Name
As you could see in my intro, I poked fun at the fact that the new Xbox still doesn't have a predictable name to call itself. Unlike Sony, who's easily worked its way through the numbers with its consoles, Xbox made a leap from being called just plain old Xbox to the trendier Xbox 360. Now we know the console itself is code named "Durango", and will probably not be the finished product's name. It probably isn't even the code name anymore at this point, which begs to ask just what Microsoft might do with the name of their next gen hardware. The most rampant rumor is, of course, that it'll be named the Xbox 720. (For some reason, the principle of doubling the number involved with a console's name has still stuck with the public, even when the industry has abandoned it. Now this may be the likely option, however the other main rumor that's cropped up seems to be the more believable one: that of the suits at Microsoft reverting their product's name back to its simpler, initial form. Going back to the name "Xbox" seems to be a shrewd move. It not only capitalizes on the past success of the console, but it also cements the name as a legacy root for all future iterations. (As opposed to Sega and Nintendo, who both used their company's name as the legacy root to any console's name.) Bottom line: the Microsoft gang needs a strong, uniform, set in stone name to sit atop the lips of every gamer from May 21st until Launch Day.