Microsoft: Plenty of Opportunities to Customize the Xbox One

The Xbox One, Microsoft’s next-generation entertainment console comes in one color, but the console’s designer says that there are plenty of ways that the company can alter it for special edition versions down the road.

Microsoft’s Carl Ledbetter noted that the company did take customizations into consideration when it began designing the final look of the Xbox One during an interview with Polygon this week.

“While I can’t talk about if there are going to be or if there are not going to be any limited- or special edition consoles… while we were designing it we did think about how the console could be customized, and it has plenty of opportunities to do it.”

To be clear, the company isn’t outright confirming that users can expect the Xbox One to come in different versions other than the glossy black box that will arrive on store shelves November 22nd. However, it would be odd if it didn’t. Since introducing the Xbox 360 in 2005, Microsoft has released a dozen different versions of the console. The different versions include themed designs for Star Wars, Gears of War, Halo, Resident Evil and Final Fantasy.

Comments by Ledbetter seem to indicate that these special edition consoles were well received – Ledbetter himself says that he has been a big proponent of special edition consoles from within Microsoft’s Xbox design team.

The piece also offers a great look at the design language that Microsoft has used since the introduction of the original Xbox. Among one of the more interesting points comes as Ledbetter compares the original Xbox to the Incredible Hulk for its beefy design and bulging plastic shell.

Ledbetter also discusses the need for the Xbox One’s design to blend in with the electronics that will sit around it, like televisions and home audio equipment. It’s Ledbetter’s assertion that the Xbox One’s flat box-like design helps it blend into user’s entertainment experience. As the Xbox One’s design is routinely compared to a VCR, it seems the company was successful in giving the console a look akin to most other living room electronics.