But right after the system premiered alongside its laundry list of consumer-unfriendly features (almost all of which have since been changed), gamers came up with their own identifier, the Xbone. The term stuck, and you'll still see the Xbox One referred to as the Xbone all across the internet to this day. Now, Microsoft has tried to at least secure the term on the web to some degree, as they've recently purchased the Xbone.com domain name. No, it wasn't set up as a dig at Microsoft, rather, the domain has existed since 2000, where I have to assume it was purchased as a possible future porn site name.
Right now, the site redirects to a Bing search page for the Xbox One. I supposed redirecting to the actual Xbox One site directly would imply that Microsoft is acknowledging the term as legitimate, instead of one that requires a "Did you mean...?" clarification. Some at Microsoft are none too pleased with the existence of the nickname at all, like Major Nelson, who had this to say about the issue on NeoGAF.
"I don't like it," he said on September 9th. "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."
It was two days later that Microsoft acquired the domain.
Yes, the term is meant to be a dig at the system, but I've almost caught myself using it out of convenience, as it flows off the tongue easier than XB1 or just "One." But hey, at least it's not the "Wii U," and many worse names could have been chosen.
We'll have to wait and see how long "Xbone" sticks around, and if and when consumers forgive Microsoft for their earlier transgressions, if a more respectful term takes its place.
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