“XBONE” will never die

Jason Alexander’s character on Seinfeld learned a lesson about nicknames the hard way. It’s almost impossible to determine your own nickname. Whatever resonates with the crowd is going to be it. You may want to be called “T-Bone” but you could end up as a “Koko.”

Almost immediately after Microsoft revealed the Xbox One, internet wiseguys started calling it the “XBONE.” It stuck because it fulfilled the requirements of a good nickname. It’s short, memorable, and can be said in a derogatory way. Although Microsoft has reversed almost every unpopular facet of the Xbox One, as George Costanza learned, nicknames stick. Microsoft’s Major Nelson even expressed his dislike for the name, but “XBONE” is just too good to stop using.

“I don’t like it…it disrespects the teams that have put in thousands of hours (already) into the development of the product. Sure, it’s cheeky but I don’t care for it myself.”

Fusible reports that Microsoft has purchased the Xbone.com domain, cementing the nickname forever. For now, the site just redirects to a Bing search for “xbone” but it will likely get tied to the official Xbox page eventually. For example, xbox180.com, a snarky reference to the console policy reversals, already sends internet surfers to Xbox.com.

Take heart Microsoft! At least people aren’t calling your console “Koko.”