Microsoft’s Xbox CEO Asha Sharma polls nearly 20,000 gamers on the brand’s title — I can’t believe this is what players want the Xbox name to look like

Since the day Microsoft first released its original gaming console alongside Halo: Combat Evolved way back in late 2021, its brand has been known as Xbox — a title that gives the gaming system a short and memorable name that also sounds cool as hell and is fun to say. Indeed, the iconic name is quite beloved, and will likely never change.

What if the way it was presented did, though? I can’t imagine the Xbox branding being shown as anything other than, well, Xbox — but according to a new poll that Microsoft’s new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma ran this week, quite a few fans would enjoy the title more if it was a little bolder.

On Wednesday, she put up a poll on X (Twitter) that simply asked, “Xbox or XBOX?” As I write this, its 24-hour window has just closed, and according to its results, a full 64.8% of the 19,176 people that voted think Xbox should go all caps and simply become XBOX. That’s just shy of two-thirds of all the respondents, which is a sizable majority.

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Overall, I do get the appeal of the all caps title. “XBOX” is more of an eye-catcher than the standard case version of the name we’ve always written it out as, and the logo for all the various Xbox consoles often features an all caps style for the name, too. There’s certainly precedent for it appearing that way.

And yet, despite all of that, I just can’t help but feel like “XBOX” is a little too loud and out there, in the same way I don’t like gaming headsets with neon green accents or gratuitous RGB. I feel like it gives off the vibe of trying really hard to be cool and hip, but ultimately ends up being cheesy instead.

The standard “Xbox” branding just looks cleaner and reads off the page better, at least for me. Thus, I strongly prefer it, and I’m honestly shocked so many others said that they didn’t in this poll. But I’m in the minority, so maybe this is an “old man yells at cloud” situation even though I’m still a couple years off 30.

Regardless, I doubt we’re going to see Microsoft and Xbox shift how it presents its gaming brand based on one poll, though the poll’s very existence suggests the firm may be considering how it can market Xbox different and more effectively moving forward. After all, it’s dropped “Microsoft Gaming” in favor of Xbox completely, and has an ambitious plan to strengthen and elevate Xbox’s core.

Ultimately, only time will tell if we eventually see Xbox become “XBOX.” Personally, I hope it doesn’t — but if it’s something that benefits the brand as a whole, even a small amount, it’s probably for the best that Microsoft goes for it.

Which do you prefer, Xbox or XBOX? Why do you like one over the other? Are you indifferent? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, and also vote in our poll as well.

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