Why have Xbox named their consoles so similarly?!!

It is a constant problem, The recent steps to create barriers for digital purchases has been a direct result of that confusion. I would suggest putting the disk up on craigslist, You should be able to get back most of what you paid based on my experience

Personally I've been suggesting since the 360, And to be clear I do not work for Microsoft and as far as I know no one there listens to me, to just use model years. Everyone understands it and it's very clear. And the number is bigger than PlayStation, which was the original goal

While I can understand your cynicism, it's not a ploy by Microsoft to sell you games deliberately that you can't play. Indeed, games that can not be played on your console will show a message on the Xbox Store before purchase that a particular game is not compatible. However, this feature is only available on the store built into the console.

I really can't comment on the naming convention Microsoft have chosen, I don't work for Microsoft. It does appear to be confusing to the average consumer. Unlike Sony, Microsoft decided that they weren't going to use Xbox 1, Xbox 2, Xbox 3 for their consoles because when they released the first original Xbox back in 2002, Sony's competing machine was already their second console, the PlayStation 2, which would have meant Microsoft were already one number behind.

Then again, in 2013, Microsoft decided to call the successor to the Xbox 360, the Xbox One, despite the fact that Sony were going to be calling their console the PlayStation 4 (or PS4), go figure...

All is not lost however, you can still request a refund for your mistaken purchase. You can do so by clicking here

Note that your request will likely be refused. If this is the case, you need to reply to the email you'll receive and explain in this email why you believe you should be entitled to said refund.

Hi, really appreciate the reply. Perhaps I am being overly cynical but it’s at least a major own-goal for customer clarity whatever their reasoning. Unfortunately this was a physical disc purchased from another retailer so the chances of a refund are nil. I do still wonder how many other non-gamers, i.e parents and grandparents have fallen into the same trap and are now selling on eBay as I will be. Meanwhile, we’ve purchased direct from Xbox a download of one of the games at a much higher price. All very good for Microsoft, all very bad for us as a customer…

I have several other friends that have changed their names similarly as well, and none of theirs were taken (until they got them), and some of them had a common word inside the o's as well. There's nothing at all being taken that would make the system say
it is, which is why I'm confused.

So you're saying that if I make more SeriesX-accounts these will be usable on 360-games as well? If so, why doesn't signing in with a guest account work similarly?