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.
April 28th, 2006 at 2:32 am
It’s an interesting move for Nintendo, but I’d rather keep the old name, as this one just sounds wierd.
“Sorry, we have no Wiis in stock. Would you like to pre-order a Wii? Or perhaps visit our site for more Wii-related info?”
That just sounds wiierd to me (pardon the stupid pun).
Although, the meaning behind the name is understandable, I don’t think everyone is gonna want one. But then again, games aren’t for everyone.
April 29th, 2006 at 12:02 am
Though Wii is strange, it is good they scapped the “Revolution” name. Sure, this is a revolution, but technically, the next console coming in like 5 or so years will be more “revolution”-ary, and thus the Nintendo Revolution won’t be the “revolution”-ary console anymore.
So, it’s for best, but I’m not fully into “Wii”
April 29th, 2006 at 5:00 am
Wii is a great name as was nes and snes and n64people thought they were weird but they one of nintendo’s consoles the nes and snes brought us the d pad and the n-64 the analogue and the gamecube those small disc the wii bring us free hand game play something like never before.
Nintendo are finally saying wii are here, The shop well have more nintendo now and less xbox and sony.
April 29th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
They must have been smoking wiid when they came up with that name…