Nintendo Revolution Name Revealed

[plot 0]

The Revolution is over. Make way for the Wii. And pronounce it "we."

 

That's the official name Nintendo announced Thursday (April 27) for its next home console, formerly code-named Revolution.

 

The company released a promotional video and statement to explain the somewhat unexpected name.

 

"While the code name 'Revolution' expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer," the statement read. " 'What does the name mean?' 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. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii."

 

Nintendo's stark, smooth hardware designs for Wii and the big-in-Japan Nintendo DS Lite have been compared to Apple's iBook and iPod. Now the spelling of its new console's name will invite similar comparisons. Nintendo said the lowercase I's "symbolize both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play."

 

Under the name Revolution, the Nintendo console and its unusual motion-sensitive remote-control-shaped controller generated months of hype. But at NeoGAF.com, a Web site where the hardest of hard-core gamers hang out, the initial reaction to "Wii" tipped to the negative. "I don't get it," wrote a gamer calling himself Speevy. "Months of positive hype, a genuine competitive advantage, and they named the thing Wii? If consumers don't even want to say the name of the product, they're not going to buy it."

 

Another poster named Sho Nuff wrote, "I'm actually laughing out loud thinking of 'wee' jokes. ... There is no way they can release a console with that name in Britain." According to a Nintendo spokesperson, the Wii name will be used worldwide.

 

What does Nintendo have to say to the naysayers? "We believe people will move past that issue," said Perrin Kaplan, president of marketing and corporate affairs at Nintendo. "Many top companies have successfully used names or phrases that might seem odd at first blush: Virgin for an airline, Caterpillar for construction equipment, Yahoo! for Internet services, Naked for juice, Prius for a car, Napster for a Web site."

 

There has been an occasional positive comment about the name. A NeoGAF poster named SuperPac wrote, "I like it. It's not the name of a game system. It's an iconic name like iPod. The more I think about it, the more I think this is the right choice."

 

Nintendo successfully weathered an earlier storm of skepticism in September when the Wii's controller was first shown to the public. That device eventually won gamers over.

 

Among Web-posting gamers, Nintendo had been generating a flow of mostly positive hype heading into next month's E3, where the first playable Wii games are expected to be released. While Nintendo's previous console, the GameCube, had long suffered a drought of non-Nintendo-made games, the last few weeks have been filled with near-daily announcements of Wii support from third-party developers. Announcements have included special versions of "Madden," "Super Monkey Ball" and "Tony Hawk" tailored for the Wii, along with exclusive games for the system from Konami and Ubisoft. Nintendo has yet to reveal what games the company is developing for the system.

 

A Nintendo spokesperson confirmed that the new name will be the biggest announcement made about the system before the company's pre-E3 press briefing May 9. An actual street date and price may not be announced until the fall, when the machine is expected to be released.

 

Source: MTV.com

 

So, who else this this is complete bs.... what a crappy name for a gaming console... revolution would be much better

 

View Nintendos flash site on Wii here

[Sarah81 0]

Wow, that's probably the worst video-game-related name I've ever heard. Ever. I'm with all the other people who are thinking of really bad jokes when they hear "Wii." Sheesh. If you have to explain how the stupid name is supposed to be pronounced, you need to change the name.I liked "Revolution." It's a little long, but fits the system pretty well.Nintendo can forget about me buying one of these systems.

[Hraefn 0]

I could have lived with it if Wii was pronounced 'why', which is how I read it at first. Then they had to go and say that it's pronounced 'we'. Blech. XPHeh. Imagine telling your friends that you couldn't go out because you had to go Wii. =^^=

[lonebyrd 0]

I say who cares what it is named, how does it play, that's what I want to know. Just because a system has a weird name isn't going to distract me from buying one. Look at the points they made with Virgin Airlines, Catapiller Construction etc... It's not in the name, it's in the game.

[Jeigh1405241495 0]

The reason the name is important isn't because of people who are "true" gamers. Real gamers will by a system even if they think the execs at nintendo hate them by giving it a retarded name that will only hurt gaming trying to continue its venture into the mainstream. What it WILL hurt is the sales for common gamers. If someone walks into a store and sees an xbox360, a playstation 3, or a Wii.... one will stand out as sounding like an idiotic device compared to the other two...They should be smarter then picking such a stupid name. "Any press is good press" might be true in some cases, but I think this bad of a name choice will hurt them in the long run. Parents buying a random system for there kids birthday or christmas gift would likely choose a less weird named console before dropping a few hundred bucks on the Wii

[Opethian 0]

I'm guilty of being dumbfounded by the name, when I first read it. Although in the long run, I will not be surprised if Nintendo creates a "revolution" as implied in previous statements.They are changing the way we play games. Sony nor Microsoft tried to do so, but Nintendo is changing it from the ground up.

[DarkDoc 0]

 

 

Source: MTV.com

 

So, who else this this is complete bs.... what a crappy name for a gaming console... revolution would be much better

 

View Nintendos flash site on Wii here

 

Revolution would be better, but it's harder to say. I live in Japan and even I think that "Wii" is a little silly, it's much easier to say. But who cares? It's all in the games, B, and personally I think Nintendo will deliver on that.

 

I'm guilty of being dumbfounded by the name, when I first read it. Although in the long run, I will not be surprised if Nintendo creates a "revolution" as implied in previous statements.

 

They are changing the way we play games. Sony nor Microsoft tried to do so, but Nintendo is changing it from the ground up.

 

I totally agree. The name's weird, but Nintendo's making it happen. I admit that I didn't want to buy anymore games after this current generation. However, once I learned that Nintendo was changing things up, I got interested in games again. The name's strange, but I hope that it can be as intuitive to say as thew controller is to play....

 

The reason the name is important isn't because of people who are "true" gamers. Real gamers will by a system even if they think the execs at nintendo hate them by giving it a retarded name that will only hurt gaming trying to continue its venture into the mainstream. What it WILL hurt is the sales for common gamers. If someone walks into a store and sees an xbox360, a playstation 3, or a Wii.... one will stand out as sounding like an idiotic device compared to the other two...

 

They should be smarter then picking such a stupid name. "Any press is good press" might be true in some cases, but I think this bad of a name choice will hurt them in the long run. Parents buying a random system for there kids birthday or christmas gift would likely choose a less weird named console before dropping a few hundred bucks on the Wii

 

A less weird sounding name?! It may be the "Wii" but it has Nintendo's logo and history on that box, too. Nintendo getting mad press not because of it's strange name, but because of the name, but because it's changing the game world. Hopefully, gamers (and parents as mentioned) haven't become that shallow as to only buy several hundred dollar systems based off of names.

 

 

Wow, that's probably the worst video-game-related name I've ever heard. Ever.

 

I'm with all the other people who are thinking of really bad jokes when they hear "Wii." Sheesh. If you have to explain how the stupid name is supposed to be pronounced, you need to change the name.

 

I liked "Revolution." It's a little long, but fits the system pretty well.

 

Nintendo can forget about me buying one of these systems.

 

Are you that shallow that you would not buy a "revolutionary" system because the name is weird? What is the world coming to?! I would rather a better name, but I would rather an innovative system with a weird name over a system with an average name with more shiny games.

[Jeigh1405241495 0]

I just listened to the penny-arcade podcast from last week or whenever the announcement was made about 'wii' and have to agree with their sentiments that it simply makes you think Nintendo has gone insane. I mean, 'whats in a name' is true but does that mean to just rape the name? I dunno, saying the name shouldn't matter is like saying the design shouldn't matter. Sure it SHOULDN'T, but it DOES, because it shows an aspect of the console that the creators are dropping the ball.Frankly the extraneous factors in a console ARE important from a consumer standpoint, not necessarily on software quality but on console creator effort and desire to put out a superior product.

[Sarah81 0]

Are you that shallow that you would not buy a "revolutionary" system because the name is weird? What is the world coming to?! I would rather a better name, but I would rather an innovative system with a weird name over a system with an average name with more shiny games.

You will find that most of the people who buy video-game systems are not super-hardcore gamers. We typically buy one, maybe two, of the three big systems. (Not counting our computers of course.) The video-game industry is a highly-competitive market, so every manufacturer has to make good choices every step of the way.

Including naming the system.

But that's not the only thing that turns me off where Nintendo's new system is concerned. The intended name is just the so-called last straw.

I'll give you this: Nintendo's technology *is* different and new. That's wonderful. The problem is that I don't care about motion-sensitive controllers and all that fun jazz. I'd rather have a PS3 because they have a nice, long list of really good titles (such as the GTA series, which is my favorite). Whereas the Nintendo titles that I actually like (Tony Hawk for example) are available on other consoles anyway. There's no incentive for me to buy the Nintendo: not liking their intended name just seals the deal for me, that's all.

**Edited to Add**

Besides: I earn my own money. If I want to be a "shallow" consumer and choose not to buy something because I think the name sucks, then that's well within my rights. What do you care? Unless or until I take your money or ask you to buy me things (not bloody likely) then I can be just as nit-picky as I want about my capitalist consumption. *smiles*
Edited May 6, 2006 by Sarah81 (see edit history)

[DarkDoc 0]

You will find that most of the people who buy video-game systems are not super-hardcore gamers. We typically buy one, maybe two, of the three big systems. (Not counting our computers of course.) The video-game industry is a highly-competitive market, so every manufacturer has to make good choices every step of the way.
Including naming the system.

But that's not the only thing that turns me off where Nintendo's new system is concerned. The intended name is just the so-called last straw.

I'll give you this: Nintendo's technology *is* different and new. That's wonderful. The problem is that I don't care about motion-sensitive controllers and all that fun jazz. I'd rather have a PS3 because they have a nice, long list of really good titles (such as the GTA series, which is my favorite). Whereas the Nintendo titles that I actually like (Tony Hawk for example) are available on other consoles anyway. There's no incentive for me to buy the Nintendo: not liking their intended name just seals the deal for me, that's all.

**Edited to Add**

Besides: I earn my own money. If I want to be a "shallow" consumer and choose not to buy something because I think the name sucks, then that's well within my rights. What do you care? Unless or until I take your money or ask you to buy me things (not bloody likely) then I can be just as nit-picky as I want about my capitalist consumption. *smiles*

Fair enough. You're well within your rights to choose what system you buy and what system is overall better. Thanks for clearing up your reasons. However, I think that if you like games like GTA and the like then your decision to not purchase the "Wii" was made a while ago, right? Nintendo did say that they're not trying to compete with the likes of Sony and Microsoft in reference to those types of games and the said systems' abilities. Note also that a few or more established franchises like Tony Hawk will make use of the special controller. If you haven't read, Madden is getting totally re-done for the Wii. Who knows what kind of momentum that will cause? I have admitted that the name is silly, but that won't stop me from buying an innovative system like the Wii. I'm not some crazed fanboy, either. Personally, I think the Dreamcast was the greatest of all time...

I just listened to the penny-arcade podcast from last week or whenever the announcement was made about 'wii' and have to agree with their sentiments that it simply makes you think Nintendo has gone insane. I mean, 'whats in a name' is true but does that mean to just rape the name? I dunno, saying the name shouldn't matter is like saying the design shouldn't matter. Sure it SHOULDN'T, but it DOES, because it shows an aspect of the console that the creators are dropping the ball.
Frankly the extraneous factors in a console ARE important from a consumer standpoint, not necessarily on software quality but on console creator effort and desire to put out a superior product.

This is true. However, is the name being "raped". The name itself is an acronym (is that spelled right?) for something and the actually font means something to. The name "Wii" has more meaning in it then any other game system name before it, don't you think? Sure the average gamer is not hardcore. Hopefully, Nintendo will a better marketing job compared to it's Gamecube strategy. After seeing the teaser for the name change as well as the press it's generating in magazines, websites, etc. it'll be alright.

[Darktide 0]

Pricewise it will dominate

[OoC_Wolf 0]

But everyone who plays it will forever be known as Wiiners :DIn all seriousness, it's a great concept with a horrible name. Everybody loved the Revolution. Why did they change it? I've never heard any good reason as to why they changed from the Revolution to the Wii. Really I think that the older generation of gamers (grins) will snap this right up though. Those old games are hard to find, and it's even harder to find the hardware to play it - or at least hardware that still works. Emulators work sometimes, but they aren't exactly legal. In short, the older gamers now have something reliable andlegal that they can use to play their old favorites, which I think is a great thing. ALso, they will in turn introduce the old classics to their children, who will then carry on the legacy of Mario and Zelda to their posterity. Truly, a great idea by Nintendo. Now if they would just rename it again!!!

[MetalEd 0]

I read this quote somewhere and I just thought I'd share it."I just heard Nintendo's new system is gonna be called the Wii, pronounced Wee. That's great. Now every day after school kids will be running home to play with their Wee."I think I'll just be pronouncing it as the Why. There are less possible jokes that way.