While there have been more than a few doubts about the future of Xbox gaming consoles, both due to declining hardware sales compared to systems like the Nintendo Switch and massive structural changes to Microsoft as a whole, the company could take full advantage of both powerful next-gen technology and a healthy dose of nostalgia with the Xbox 720. Yes, that name has been memed beyond belief, but with all that, the modern age of gaming has actually managed to see enough of the title. The Xbox 720 could be just what Microsoft needs to put the Xbox back at the front of the pack and fully revive the infamous “console wars”.
In a truly honest conversation, Microsoft's naming trends for the Xbox game consoles have been erratic at best and complete nonsense more often than not. It all started with the original Xbox, released in 2001, which was the humble beginning of what would later evolve into the oddly named Xbox 360. One of the best-selling video game consoles of its time, the Xbox 360 put Microsoft squarely in direct competition with Sony's PlayStation family of consoles and even Nintendo's various gaming system offerings. A meme host in its own right, the Xbox 360 was arguably Microsoft's pinnacle era of console gaming, and it could really work in Xbox's favor if the next console in the inconsistently named hardware series harkened back to this golden age.
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The Xbox 720 could be the perfect next console name for Microsoft
Countless jokes have been made about the irony of the third console in Microsoft's catalog being called the Xbox One, and many fans are still scratching their heads over the admittedly fortuitous leap to the Xbox Series X|S. So would it really be completely out of left field for Microsoft to flip its naming conventions around 360 degrees and go straight to the Xbox 720? Frankly, embracing the meme and bringing back the nostalgia of the old days and the “console wars” could help Microsoft climb back to the top of the hardware sales charts. Microsoft has already teased another big upgrade in terms of system capabilities for its next console, which is likely to be a key selling point given the impending launch of the Steam Machine gaming system (aka “basically a PC”) and whatever Sony is cooking up with the PlayStation 6.
In 2025, the PS5 officially surpassed the Xbox 360 in sales, and despite Microsoft's focus on online gaming and multi-platform releases, it would be illogical to think that the Xbox will take that defeat lying down. One of the biggest advantages of the Xbox 360 over the PS3 was the 360's superior performance, especially with online gaming. So if a potential Xbox 720 could revive the same prowess while introducing more PC-like graphical fidelity and operating speeds, Microsoft would have a real champion ready to start another slugfest with Sony.
Of course, very little is currently known about the next Xbox console, but if Microsoft can follow in the 360's footsteps (and perhaps go full steam ahead with the 720 name), the company could once again become a strong contender in the console gaming landscape. Simple inclusions like backwards compatibility, larger storage and faster download speeds seem like straightforward inclusions, but a potential Xbox 720 could have even more up its sleeve if Microsoft is willing to prioritize innovation. Only time will tell if an Xbox 720 ever sees the light of day or if Microsoft once again concocts an off-the-wall name for the next Xbox system, but many are crossing their fingers that whatever the company manages to release will be able to live up to the Xbox 360's greatness.
