When the current generation of Xbox Series X was leaked in the press years ago, there was a lot of comments on how the boxy design looks. That is naturally always the case with any design renders that comes out of any manufacturers and companies though. Before a product is out in the market or announced, a render leak of what the product would most likely look like might be ‘leaked’ to the press or the public to sometimes create a public hype. It could almost be like a litmus test of whether or not there is genuine interest in the product.
Sometimes it backfires though, and design renders get ridiculed or gets turned into a meme. In the case of the Xbox Series X, the public quickly points out that it looks like a refrigerator of some kind and that quickly turned into a meme. No doubt, there was a lot of excitement about this product coming out of Microsoft. Thanks to the public reaction at the time, it could give the designers of this gaming console a few things to think about.
Welcome to E3 2021 though, where new games get teased and launched. It is also the place where the unexpected can be expected to happen. This year, the unexpected happened on Microsoft’s stage in their ‘one more thing’ segment at the end of their show. They made it.
Microsoft introduced the world to the “world’s most powerful mini fridge” set to hit the stores in the coming months. They call it the Xbox Mini Fridge, which is thoroughly fitting of a name for this little box that holds canned drinks or other things you put in a mini fridge. They also say that it uses Xbox’s clever velocity cooling architecture to keep your drinks cool in the fridge, hence “world’s most powerful mini fridge”. How did this mini fridge meme become a reality though?
Twitter Marketing ran a #BestOfTweets championship in April for users to vote on which brands ran the best twitter account. It came down to Skittles and Xbox. Xbox was trailing behind when they announced in their twitter account that they would make the Xbox Mini Fridge a reality if they won the campaign. They did, by 1 percent of votes.
Xbox fulfilled that promise in E3 2021 and the product is actually something that you can purchase later in the year, not just a concept. Except, Microsoft did not say that it will be for sale. They pointed out that it will be available in the holiday season (presumably in the United States), but not its price or where it is going to be available. It could be a free gift if you already own an Xbox, or a bundle if you buy the new Xbox in that season.
Whatever it is, it shows that tech giants like Microsoft are listening to the public and are moving with the public. While it is a little bit more marketing gimmick and move, it also shows that Microsoft has some sense of humour after all. You should be reminded also that Microsoft made a fully sized refrigerator in the shape of the Xbox Series X just for Snoop Dogg last year just because they can.
