As Otto Berkes, Ted Hase, Seamus Blackley, and Kevin Bachus of the DirectX team seek support in bringing the Xbox Project to company executives, the squad dives into meetings to present their research. “We were annoying”Admits Otto Berkes. “We met important people who stood in the way, who did not understand or who thought that the games were not important”He adds. It is good to clarify that we are talking about a time when what made Microsoft live was Windows and Office, which has nothing to do with the gaming world. The team eventually met Nat Brown, the company’s Software Architect (1991-1999). He knows a lot of people at Microsoft and gives the team some useful advice, such as finding a memorable name that will be remembered. Little by little, the doors open and the squad manages to present the idea of the “Direct X Box”, Which will become Xbox. But in the world of new technologies, keeping the codename of a product is wrong.
The more the project progresses, the more the marketing teams take over and try to find a unique name able to talk to players. It’s time to find a real name for Xbox! Frixion, Psyclipse, Norbo, Infini-D, Zod, XOD, Shock Factor, Fire Plug, Questria, Vybe, Xantra, Vrontier, OG, Velvet, Xig Xag, Zimulate, Carpet Ride, 11X, all these names are offered at the squad in charge of the project. Of course, nothing suits Kevin Bachus. Finally, the console will keep its code name: Xbox.
Power On: The Story of the Xbox is available in full via here.
