Now that the PS4 has been officially announced, we're just waiting for Microsoft to lift the curtain on its next-generation console. We think we know quite a lot about the next Xbox – it'll apparently run multiple games at once, support Blu-Ray discs, and require Kinect to be plugged in at all times – but aside from its codename Durango we're not really sure what to call it. Today, another possible name enters the fray: Xbox Gold.
Evidence comes from Fusible, which reports that according to WHOIS records Microsoft has been registering “Xbox Gold” domains like crazy, including XboxGold.com (which it had to acquire from a previous owner), XboxGold.biz, and XboxGold.fr. Those last two go nowhere, but XboxGold.com points to a Bing search that turns up results for Xbox Live Gold subscription.
It is possible that this is just a rebranding of the Xbox Live Gold service, but that may still be something to do with the next generation. A NeoGAF user appears to have found an agenda for an invite-only Microsoft event called START FY14 (as in, financial year 2014), which has sections called “Xbox Platform Deep Dive”, “Xbox Games”, “Xbox Retail Services”, “Xbox Q&A”, and “Xbox Gold & Entertainment”.
So it looks like we'll have to start calling something Xbox Gold in the near future, whether it's the console or just one of its services. Maybe we'll get a Pokemon-style progression and the next one will be called Platinum. Are you on board?