Say goodbye to the Revolution -- Nintendo has unveiled the official name of its next generation console, Wii.
Pronounced "we", Wii takes over Nintendo's original code name of "Revolution". In a statement, Nintendo said "while the code-name "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer".
"Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else."
Nintendo said the name was chosen to emphasise the message that its upcoming console was for everyone.
"Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii," the Nintendo statement said. "Wii has a distinctive 'ii' spelling that symbolises 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."
It may also be worth noting that "ii" means "good" in Japanese.
Game-industry analysts were swift with their responses. "Looks like a good solid name for Nintendo," said an optimistic Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director of Jupiter Research. "The key is making sure they follow up with a strong launch campaign to evangelise the new brand and help drive the message forward."
Michael Goodman, senior analyst of media and entertainment strategies at The Yankee Group, believes the name change is a mistake. "I thought Revolution had much more meaning," he told CNET.com.au sister site GameSpot.com. "It was an apt description for the console. It was a revolutionary design ... the controller is pretty revolutionary. Wii just doesn't do it for me. How do we even pronounce this? WEEE? I'm not sure this is technically a word. What is a WEE, W-I-I? You're building everything from scratch in terms of awareness and in terms of building a brand. Versus Xbox 360 -- you're taking the core Xbox brand and leveraging it to a new product. With PlayStation 3, it still has all those great attributes of the PlayStation."
Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter was more mixed in his assessment. "My initial reaction, of course, is that the name is dumb," he bluntly stated. "However, upon reflection, I thought that the name Game Boy was dumb, REALLY thought that the name Xbox was dumb, and can't even recall my reaction to PlayStation. Let's face it, devices with cool names like Dreamcast and Gizmondo fail, and the lame names seem to do well."
Colin Sebastian, Lazard Capital Markets' senior research analyst for Internet and interactive entertainment, displayed Vulcan-like logic responding to the Wii revelation. "The success of the console will have much more to do with the quality of the games and the gameplay," he said. "Nintendo probably believes they've found a name that can stick with consumers. Revolution was catchy, but given similarities with the Xbox 360 name, perhaps Nintendo felt they had to make a change."
However, Nintendo is confident that, after the initial shock wears off, people will take to the Wii name. "The other systems have an extension of their current names -- ours is a new leap to something different," Nintendo of America vice president Perrin Kaplan told CNN/Money. A rep for the company echoed similar sentiments, assuring GameSpot that "the name will grow on you."
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ellie
28/04/2006 10:35 AM
"Wii" is not the best choice for names - in Australia "wee" is a polite word for urine, and if something is;**** then that means it's not good at all. Maybe "Wii" will be pronounced as "weeeeeeeeee" which is an exclamation of joy as you're moving through the air.
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jeik
28/04/2006 11:48 AM
hmm you'll find me taking a wii wii behind the counter of a local eb games store....
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chris
28/04/2006 01:16 PM
That is the DUMBEST name I've ever heard of. Even dumber than the Intel Viiv. It's not even a word. It makes me think of going to the bathroom. You know, when like kids say they have to go wii wii. Dumb. Change it back quickly Nintendo, or face the possibility of looking like idiots. Stop it with the Japanese Engrish.
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Rodney Mayhew
28/04/2006 03:16 PM
Since Nintendo is Japanese company, they are usually very creative and use words like Wii which in their language have a very strong meaning. I like the new name, simple, short, concise, not hard to spell, and completely different. It will grow on people since its been made public.
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Tim
28/04/2006 03:23 PM
How do you get excited about something called **** Maybe it's just Australia but "wee" is slang for;**** which is slang for "urine". I've lost most of my enthusiasm for this revolutionary console and really feel deflated because I was so hyped before.
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shastrix
28/04/2006 07:15 PM
Wii sounds interesting. Numerologically, it adds up to 8 (the number of Saturn and the masses). If the pricing is right, they have a killer product.
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Nick
29/04/2006 05:25 PM
The name does nothing for me, but as one of the Engadget crew said, 'iPod' is a pretty bad name, too. Revolution as a name would have been much better. Although you have to give it to the Big N - they are entertaining people BEFORE they buy the console. After all, can you imagine asking to take a Wii at Kmart?
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MyWii
14/09/2006 04:25 PM
I think wii is a good name, I love it. -- mywii.com.au
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Yasar Chowdhury
15/09/2006 04:35 PM
I am with the PS3 it rocks it will obviously take down the market unlike some WII crud. What a name!
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bob
15/12/2006 05:02 AM
Revolution sounds waaaay better than "wii" especially if you have an American mind, and pronounce it, "why."
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nintendo wii
18/02/2007 12:17 AM
wii rocks and will continue to, with the ps3 costing $999 its twice/three times the expense http://www.wiiyou.com
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