The Xbox One design has received much criticism since it was first unveiled. The Xbox One which has a two-tone 'liquid black' finish, half finished in a matte grey, and the other in a glossier black has come under fire numerous times largely due to its size. When Microsoft first announced the Xbox One it was a totally different machine to the console we know and love today. Initially the next gen console was more entertainment-oriented and the design certainly reflected that. Carl Ledbetter is the mastermind behind the design of the Xbox One, and he has recently explained why the console looks like it does today. The Xbox One was designed to blend into the background along with all the other entertainment equipment in the living room. The consoles rectangular design resembles that of a widescreen TV whilst featuring a rectangular patchwork design that represents the Xbox One dashboard so the whole design blends seamlessly. When MVC questioned Ledbetter about the consoles size, he explained it was necessary: “Everybody gets frustrated, because what we want is for everything to be wafer thin, not get hot and just be a snap to put together,†he explains. “But the reality is that there are very real issues around cooling when you’re pushing some number of watts in the processor, therefore the thing has to have some size to it. There’s always an interesting dynamic between engineering and design, and constraints around performance.†It would seem the thesis for the Xbox One design which would of been given to Carl Ledbetter and his team by Don Mattrick, would have been to create a console that looks like part of the living room entertainment system and does not overheat.
