I'm not sure if the name is as big a problem as some are making it out to be. What else could Microsoft have called the 360 if it intends to build on the Xbox brandname?

Xbox Chan? Xbox Desu? Xbox Gozaimasu?

I suppose if MS really wants to boost sales, it could change the name to "The Microsoft Nintendo Wii." Yep, that'd fly real well.

Decent read, but near the final paragraph or so, your short blurb on nomenclature seems like nonsense.
(1) You'd have to do have a literal japanese translation as evidence to justify your claim that themes in name affect sales
(2) How do you explain the Wii/DS's unprecedented sales then?
(3) In general, I think it's the fact that the 360 seems Western and redundant, not that it's not physically appealing, that results in such low sales.

Well, there's no reason why their next console has to have X-box in the name. Nintendo simply call their console the "Wii" (incidentally a name specifically chosen for it's worldwide appeal). It doesn't have Nintendo or anything linking it to previous consoles in the name.

It's too late to completely fix this gen, but they have an opportunity to try to fix some of these problems when they eventually shrink the components and can bring out a 360 slim. Then they could introduce a design that appeals to a worldwide audiance, or a separate design for the Japanese market. They can't completely change the name, but they could drop the "Xbox" and simply call it the "360 Slim" or something similar in Japan.

i HATE the design of the Euro SNES...as i read his post, i was sitting there thinking: that's what it looked like in Europe?  That sucks for them; it looked more antiquated than the NES did...

 i guess that's why tho...we have different tastes

(1) There all just "Engrish" words which most Japanese understand, there isn't any need for a translation as they are English words which have been incorporated into the Japanese language. X actually has slightly negative connotations in Japanese, Link, as pointed out by totalwar. Xbox=Bad Box, and not in a "cool" Michael Jackson use of the word.

(2)The "Wii" name was chosen for it's global appeal, I'm arguing the "Xbox" name wasn't. It also incorporates the "playing games" theme. It doesn't emphasise power as it's not aimed at the market, and thus isn't particularly powerful anyway.

According to Nintendo:

""Wii sounds like "we," which emphasizes this console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play."

Link

(3)My argument is that the design and name reinforces the image that it's Western/American.

As a European I also think the US SNES is ugly, Japanese/PAL version looks far better to me. Same goes for the PC Engine, but this is what I would expect as US SNES was designed specifically for the US market/tastes.

I was under the impression that 'X' meant 'no' in Japanese. Who would want to buy a No-Box?

No, it doesn't.

Most (if not all) consumer electronics from Asia have a shiny gloss coating to it nowadays.

no because unless they can get that MS sign off the console its no point...

There were rumors for a while that MS and Toshiba were considering cooking up something where a HDDVD enabled 360 could be sold under the Toshiba brand in Japan. I dunno how well it would have done as the brand name would have helped a lot but including the HD drive would have driven up the price a bit.