Sources whisper to us that a lot of talk is going on at Microsoft over what the name will be for Xbox Next. While many favor Microsoft just calling it the Xbox 720, it seems that a new name is drawing some strong momentum within the company, which is Xbox 8.

The idea of calling the new console the “Xbox 8” should not surprise anyone, as Microsoft has been moving very quickly to stamp everything Windows 8 or Windows 8-like; and that influence has been seen on the current Xbox 360 as the radical revamp of the dashboard that has drawn so much criticism from so many users. Many that talk to us all the time tell us that they simply don’t like the new dashboard interface. However, as we have seen with Windows Phone 8 and the upcoming Windows 8, the interface appears to be here to stay, despite user objections.

We spoke to a marketing analyst familiar with the marketing and branding of a product as huge as the next Xbox and projects that are targeted at that market segment. He advised, “Buyers in this video game console market segment are difficult and opinionated, so it comes as no surprise that Microsoft will be trying on a number of different names for the new console prior to release; and in addition it is likely that they will bring in top advertising agencies to do proposals and presentations surrounding the proposed branding so that Microsoft can get a feel for it and see if it resonates and then they will test it.”

Our analyst also told us that this is a long process and it is likely that nothing is decided yet; but a common-themed branding approach where the new console could be called something like Xbox 8 would not surprise him, although he does not think Microsoft will favor that direction in the end. “I just don’t see Microsoft choosing Xbox 8 as the name they will go with for the new console. Just call it a hunch, if you will.” We, too, don’t think that the last chapter has been written about the new console’s name just yet.