Xbox didn’t need to be any shorter. Xbox 360 was straightforward: X360 is unambiguous, and even just 360 is perfectly workable. But abbreviating Xbox One? That way danger lies.
XO is a good starting point. What could be wrong with using the machine’s initials? Well, amongst many other things, it’s a rather good album by the late Elliot Smith. Consider the following hypothetical sentence:
Activision will publish Bungie’s new game Destiny for XO as well as PS4.
OK, it’ll be released on PlayStation 4, but do you mean Microsoft’s new console or the fourth album by a troubled American singer-songwriter? As you can see, the potential for confusion is massive.
What about X1 – that’s a pretty neat solution, right? No, that’s a BMW. Just plain One? One what? Exactly.
The syllables, then: XBO. That’s no use: it just looks like you’ve forgotten to type the final ‘X’. XB1? Not bad, but it looks a bit rubbish.
Well, it’s the Microsoft Xbox One, so how about MXO? No, that doesn’t look like anything. MX1? Now you’re into motocross.
There’s only one thing for it. Going by the third party press releases, Microsoft have decreed that the correct way to refer to it is:
Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft
So, XOtAIOGaESfM it is. Job’s a good ‘un.