http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/07/25/xbox-360-was-nearly-called-xbox-3-a-ign-unfiltered?abthid=57843a161c64461032000018
While Microsoft ended up naming its second console Xbox 360, the company considered other options, including Xbox 3.
"Certainly Xbox 3 was actually on the list because, well, you’ve gotta catch up," former Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach said on the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered. "You don’t want to be Xbox 2 compared to PlayStation 3. We actually talked about that," he added.
"You don’t want to feel like you’re a generation behind, so why not skip?" he continued, noting that "Microsoft has a long history of skipping numbers," citing the jump from Windows 8 to Windows 10 as a prime example.