Revolution Renamed

Well today the official name was given for Nintendo's next console which was codenamed Revolution. (Drumroll please) It will now be officially known as..... the Nintendo Wii. No, that's not a typo, Wii is what it's called. Meant to be pronounced 'we' as in "We are going to the park".

The name suprised me at first but after the dust settled the name began to make more and more sense. In fact there is a video made by Nintendo explaining the philosophy behind the name which can be viewed here. The text in the video reads as follows:

Introcucing ... Wii.

As in "We".

While the code-named "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.

Wii will break down that wall that seperates gamers from everybody else.

Wii will put people more in touch with their games ... and each other. But you're

probably asking: What does the name mean?

Wii sounds like "we," which emphasizes this console is for everyone.

Wii can be easily remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they

speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.

Wii has a distictive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the

image of people gathering to play.

And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video

games that sets it apart from the crowd.

So that's Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.

Because it's really not about you or me.

It's about Wii.

And together Wii will change everything.

Not a bad name actually when you consider how it represents the philosophy behind the console and the uniqueness of it. The only problem I can see is that people are gonna look at it for the first time and not really understand why it has such a wierd name. It just doesn't roll of the tounge as well as Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. But remember that names like Gameboy, Playstation and Xbox were once criticized as well and they all turned out to be a success. Bottomline is that names should have very little influence on wether or not you buy a console.