Mike Works said:
I'm completely serious. People continually dodge the question by using this answer. When someone asks, "Why did they call it 360", replying with, "Because they didn't want to call it XBox 2 since it would seem weak next to the PS3 name" is obviously not a valid answer to the question they were asking. If someone asked why they didn't call it XBox 2, sure. But the question was how the hell they came up with "360", why they decided to go with it (over ALL other names, not just XBox 2), and what exactly does it mean.
It's getting really annoying having to spell things out for people in the gaming forum, thank god e3 is at an end.
Ok, since we're here, I would've figured the question, "Why call it XBox360?" inherently carried with it, "Why not XBox2?". You know the unspoken question.
Anyway, XBox had to keep the name - you don't successfully set up a brand name then ditch it. You use teh same name to let people know you're dealing with the next one.
Playstation -> Playstation2 -> Playstation3.
Nintendo -> Super Nintendo -> Nintendo64 -> GameCube ?!
Yes, it's NINTENDO Gamecube, but most refer to it as simply GC. Anyway, I believe the nintendo company name is so tied with videogames (seeing as it's the only thing they do), it stands on it's own merits. You can argue wether something like GameCube was a wise decision elsewhere.
So, XBox has to be there somewhere, to really emphasize it being the next step. You could do the 2 thing, but they may have not liked teh whole 2 vs. 3 thing as well as not wanting to be contrived. Why 360? Well, it does mean complete (180 means half). And it doesn't necessarily have to refer only to a circle, seeing as any foursided shape has angles that dd up to 360. They may want to emphasize the complete entertainment that is the XBox. It has that extreme factor, geared towards it's userbase.
It's a number with at least some meaning.
Why a number? Well, why not? They could've called it XBox next, or Super XBox, but maybe they simply liked 360.
