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Nintendo Revolution Renamed 'Wii'
Retroneous writes "The Nintendo Revolution has had its name changed to the Nintendo Wii." Confirmation on the official Revolution site. Update: 04/27 16:32 GMT by Z : More information available from a Gamasutra article: "New details on the disc format have also been revealed: 'Instead of a tray, a single, innovative, self-loading media bay will play both 12-centimeter optical discs used for the new system as well as Nintendo GameCube discs. Owners will have the option of equipping a small, self-contained attachment to play movies and other DVD content.'"
"Because, it's really not about you or me. It's about Wii."
To quote Irwin Mahatma Fletcher: I R pissed.
Someone must have forgotten that today isn't April 1st, because this must be a joke.
I mean... Wii. Um. Okay. It just doesn't have the same ring.
picpix image polls. create - share - vote. fun!
Please tell me it's April 1st in Japan. Nintendo Revolution was the perfect name. "Wii" (pronounced "wheeeeee!") sounds too stupid.
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
The Nintendo Willy?!
Worst. Name. Ever.
Wii not?!
Why?
...crappiest name changes in the world...i'll still get it though...but damn, "Yes, I'm looking to buy a Nintendo Wii"? wtf
Only Japanese marketing would try and make a pun based on the way the letters look...
Wii Nintendo, Wii? Gotta say that's a very bad name. It doesn't make me think of video games at all, and opens itself to too many easy jokes (Wii Bother?). Maybe it sounds clever in Japanese, but I think the Revolution was a much better name for the console. But what do I know, I don't have a marketing degree or anything.
Very clever idea, but I'm not sure that it's the best choice of name, exactly. Wii is just a strange name, and has homonyms with bad connotations. Plus, get ready to cue the british pisstakes "Hey, that smells of wii!"
Seriously, do people read statements like this aloud before putting them out? I fully expect this console, should this change be true, to become the biggest joke among the six-year-old crowd there ever was. The jokes write themselves.
Queue the jokes about the wee-wee's and wii-wii's.
There's some deep, dark, American GI Joe watching Transformer fan race car noise making gun fanatic within the murky depths of my soul that can't help but laugh at this stupid, childish marketing scheme.
I think the Wii looks fun as a videogame platform, but the marketing is nearly to the point where it requires you to not have a penis.
Man that's just terrible. The name "Revolution" had a powerful feel behind it, which I think would have been useful in its marketing against the Xbox360 and the PS3. "Wii" sounds diminutive and powerless. I hope they reconsider. Somehow, saying 'Hey I'm going to go out and buy a Wii [we]' just doesn't have the ring of 'I'm going out to buy a Revolution!'.
Maybe it's just mii though...
Nothing to see here
It looks like it's pronounced "Why". And "why" is pretty much all I have to say about it.
Revolution wasn't like Dolphin, the stupid codename for the Gamecube that no one heard about. Revolution is a cool name that's been all over the game media. Everyone knows it as the Revolution, and all the Nintendo fanboys have been drooling over getting a Revolution forever. Now it's Wii? WTF.
"What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
Wuuuuh?
This guy's the limit!
I'll still be calling it the Revolution, or Rev, for short. Do they expect "Wii" to catch on in the West? OK, i'll give them credit for something more innovative than a just a number, but does "Wii" actually mean something really clever in japanese and we're all just missing the point?
Peace, Love, Unity, Respect
Are they fucking serious?
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
but I have a feeling a few others could be used
- We
- Why
- W2
just doesn't seem like a catchy nameUrine!
No, I think you mean Wii.
But I'm a big boy now...
Seriously, this is possibley the stupidest name in console history, and that includes the Gizmondo.
(Reference: This Flash animation)
10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
20 GOTO 10
Is it pronunced like...
Why
Wii did they name it this?
or...
We
Wii don't understand...?
My initial reaction: let the namecalling begin. Wii Nintendo Revolution becomes too easy an acronym. I can't be the only one to think of this.
Congratulations, Nintendo.
You've been building hype. New downloading. Twenty years of backwards compatibility. Brand new interface. Small. Sleek.
This is one gigantic step backwards. One, huge, gigantic step backwards.
I could go on a rant about this for a few paragraphs, but I'm too dismayed. Instead, I think I can some up everything I'm thinking in one sentence:
This is going to be known, gargonly, in America as "Nintendo Piss".
Fucking dammit.
You've got to be kidding me.
Maybe Wii has some deep meaning in Japanese, but it is a fucking stupid name for the English market. Wii sounds like a word a child uses for piss or a comment on someone's penis size; either way it isn't good. This almost reminds me of a story I heard years back about how an American car company put out a car under the American name in South America that name sound like "junk", "broken" or something like that in spanish.
Whatever the case, this is just a stupid move. It would be nice to think that people would pick a product on merit alone, but there is a reality that perception is influenced by advertising. Part of advertising is the name you give to your product. Dumb move Nintendo.
Seriously? Wii? I think we're looking at a huge console bust (insert DOA Beach Volleyball joke). After the initial curiosity and interest in the novelty of the wand-like controller I can't see them sustaining very good sales. The Revolution/Wii seems like a very inconvenient gaming experience; who really wants that much macro-movement to control a video game? And when you consider it's hitting the market after the Xbox360 and the PS3, does it really have any shot at making a splash?
I can't start my day like this.....
... can we, as gamers, keep the name "Revolution" in use? I mean, Nintendo can officially change the name of the system, but they can't force people to actually call it that. I'd feel embarrassed asking for a Nintendo "Wii", but I have no problem buying a "Revolution"... so certainly hope that stores continue to recognize the previous name.
This goes a long way to putting to rest all that crap about Nintendos only being made for kids...
This guy's the limit!
They want people to hear "Nintendo" and think, "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"
Trout's epitaph: Life is no way to treat an animal.
Is it pronounced Yo mutha fucka weeee! or Wheee! (nyeh nyeh nyeh)?
The first thing I though of upon hearing this name was the Gonads and Strife flash animation.
I personally wouldn't vote for this name. It's too odd sounding for a video game system. Their explanation for why they choose this name makes a lot of sense, but they shouldn't have to explain the name to convince people about anything. The system's capabilities should speak for itself, not a name. I guess in the same way I got used to "DS" I'll get used to "Wii".
I've been hyping the Revolution since the introduced the control but Wii?! Why don't they call it the 3DO and be done with it.
"It's clearly going to piss all over the competition" is clearly a better joke than my first attempt.
10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
20 GOTO 10
Gonads and strife, gonads and strife!!
Just because you are not paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you.
There was much confiusion between PCI and PCMCIA. What chance does Joe Average stand with Wii vs Wifi?
Engineering is the art of compromise.
That's the most creative way to spell "stupid" I've seen.
What's with tech product names recently? Viiv? MacBook Pro? Wii?
With Sony's poor financial health (go look it up; the PS3 will have to be a blockbuster in order for the company to remain profitable during the next FOUR years), and Nintendo looking more and more like a dying Sega, I suspected that MS will be the last man standing in the console arena.
By the time PS3 and Nintendo's Wii have established some degree of market penetration (1 year after release?) we'll see an Xbox 360-2.
The sad truth of the matter is that MS has the financial resources to manhandle Sony (especially given Sony's miscalculations regarding the PS3's costs and schedule), and the financial resources to bury Nintendo.
I'm not happy about it, but the console market today is starting to looking like the OS market right around the time Windows 95's release. I'm scared that after huge financial outlays Sony's going to have to sell it's console division, and MS is going to be sitting there with a huge pile of cash....
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
If you look at the video, you can see that there is good marketing potential for this, using the double i. I'm down with it, even if Revolution was a 'cool' name, it doesn't exactly appeal to the crowd Nintendo is gunning for.
Bring on the Wii box!
I wonder if the offical name for Europe and North America will be different? Much like NES and SNES was the Famicom and SuperFamicon (respectively) in Japan.
Of course, back then, those systems were released in Japan first and the original Japanese names were never used as part of the marketing campaign in other parts of the world.
Snakes on a Plane was going to be renamed Pacific Flight 121, but a huge uproar from internet fan sites caused the studio to keep the orginal (and much cooler) name.
I'm not optimistic that Nintendo will reverse its decision on this one, but I'm sure the online petition sites are starting up right now.
Wii. Not so Wii. and FREAKIN HUGE.
Just like the marketing guy who coined the "Touching is good..." slogan for the NDS, the guy who came up with this and thought it was clever needs to be a bit more in-touch (pun intended) with American culture.
Just like parents thought twice about buying a product for their child that kept telling you how good it was to "touch", it's going to be hard for self-respecting gamers to ask for a "Wii". And God-help us when the 16-year-old behind the counter at Wal-Mart explains to the nervous parents how the NDS will interface with the Wii, so the product with the catch-phrase "Touching is good" can be used to interface with your..."Wii."
I love Nintendo, and I think the new console is going to rock - but naming it "Wii" is like naming your kid Richard when your last name is Head; you're just gimping them unnecessarily from the start.
AE
Did I hear someone say... "Wiiaboo"?
*pulls out the spanking paddle*
"And this little piggy went Wii Wii Wii, all the way home."
So does this mean that all the games are going to be appended with Wii? Super Mario Wii, Zelda Wii, Metroid Wii? Or even worse Madden Wii? This has got to be the worst product name since the Kia Smegma.
The days of the digital watch are numbered.
This is the biggest marketing blunder since "Coca-Cola" in China.
If I put two of them next to each other, do I get a WiiWii?
Colonel Cranium this is Rectal Reconnaissance, we are on a collision course sir, Abort Abort!
A: "Wow..."
B: "Aye"
A: "Aye"
Nintendo executive: "What do we call this Nintendo?"
French employee (I don't know why he's in Japan either) that interpreted the question wrong: "Nintendo, oui."
Or is it just missing an 'f'?
At least, that's what Queen Victoria would say.
This name embodies exactly what Nintendo was aiming for with this console. It's not a futuristic power name like Xbox360 or Playstation3, it's simple and thought provoking Wii. Nintendo's next system isn't aiming to kill you with eye candy, it's aiming to entertain you in new ways. It may seem weird at first, but that is what happens when you change something people have become used to. The name Wii represents the console better than some big powerful name. It's not about the name, it's about the experience.
Wii!
Join the anonymous, help develop the network: http://www.i2p2.de
For all you whiners ...
...
Who fucking cares what it is called?!
just you losers
Was it something I said?
Cheers,
Ian
Just reading the statement on why they chose this as the name shows that it was massively overthought. Just look at the reasons: doesn't need to be abbreviated, double 'i' represents "people coming together to play" (yeah, now if only they release some good multiplayer games that aren't sports of Smash Bros. because my girlfriend and I would actually love to play something together other than X-Men Legends and Mario Kart), it has a lame hominym with "we" which sounds like a lame attempt to build trust and togetherness, distinctive (showing that they can't tell the difference between different-good and different-stupid), pronounced the same in Japanese and English (I'm guessing here, but it fits a bit with what they said).
Seriously, this is a terrible name. It sounds like a committee sat down with a list of high-minded bullet points about what they want to communicate and didn't leave until they had something that fit them. Of course, they completely failed to consider that matching a list of specifications doesn't matter if the damn thing sounds stupid.
They could call it the Nintendo crap bucket, doesn't matter. I'm still getting one so I can play all those old Nintendo games.
stuff |
I like revolution better...
The gates in my computer are AND, OR and NOT; they are not Bill.
Cute. So now everyone will have to stop calling the controller a "RevMote" (kinda awkward sounding anyway) and call it the "WiiMote"
With a name like this, Nintendo is going to have a harder time shaking off the "kiddie" image.
Still, I don't mind the official name too much.
"Owners will have the option of equipping a small, self-contained attachment to play movies and other DVD content."
If they can attatch a DVD player, they can attatch a hard drive.
To Wii or Not To Wii that is the question!
I thought Revolution was a great name.
Since program storage and DVDs can be used independently, I wonder if Nintendo can make any neat games using DVD content. Mario Film Editor!
It's pronounced "We" or "Weee" or "Whee" as in "us" or "fun".
Mod down -1 Old Apocalyptic Scenario
People are overreacting to this. It may be a dumb name, but the majority of the population isn't going to instantly think "wee" and giggle, or worry about jokes on a playground. If anything, it'll get kids talking about it, and all publicity is good publicity. But the whining about the loss of the revolution name is a bit silly, people alternately saying that the masses are sheep for buying marketing while simultaneously talking about how they won't buy it because the name is so silly.
Actual reaction will doubtlessly be in between.
Stupid name change aside... self loading media bay? no tray?
While I couldn't find more information on this, I expect this to be a "you slide the disk in a slot" sort of loading...
great, just what I need.. mandatory contact with my disc surfaces. Scratched surfaces here I come!
ugh.
Clones are people two.
...
I fully approve of this name, even if it is one 'i' short.
It's hard to believe that lousy press release.
Although the name Wii probably doesn't appeal to most American (and almost any other non-Japanese nation) customers, I feel this is a step in the right direction. In all honesty, calling their system "Revolution" is a pretty risky act because it implies a drastic change, indicating their system will blow everyone out of the water. Although Nintendo has stated that they are going against the grain in their design decisions regarding the Wii, I believe keeping the name Revolution would be foolish at best. What happens if their system isn't so revolutionary? What happens if it's a flop? Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo DS, etc..etc.. - Do these names conjure up any specific images or ideas? They do now that they have been out for a while. But the word playstation doesn't express any grand plans or ideas, but on the other hand, the word Revolution does have an explicit meaning. To cut things short, I think this is a good move.
I think "Nintendo Wtf" would have much more universal recognicion than "Nintendo Wii", because "Wtf" is what I think when I see that name.
WTF?
Does it make you happy you're so strange?
It's not that bad. Really.
They clearly state that they intend to bring the video game system from "gamers" to "everyone else." "Everyone else" doesn't want an "X-Box" or a "Playstation" or a "Revolution" or a "Super Whiz-Bang Toy 2010." They want something simple, sophisticated, intuitive, and a little artsy. "Wii" fits the bill for that type of goal.
I don't think the name is going to appeal to the gamer sect at all, but then again the gamer sect doesn't really give a shit about the name - they care about how cool the games are.
Actually the gamers would probably buy any console if it said "Bad Ass Motherfucker" on it, but, barring that...
Why it's Wii? I don't see anything wrong with it... In the end it's just a name. I just hope that they will release good games...
Wii as in We, not why. RTFA
Yes I get the name and it's sort of neat. No, it doesn't work when you have to explain the concept to people (especially in 'merica). I think you all are missing the point that this name is not aimed at teenage boys who are self-conscious about their size and lack of female companionship. Sure, they could have named it the GameCube720wtfbbqpwnedhax0rb0x3n but his isn't aimed at teen to 20 something males. This is aimed at my friends who now have children.
Think about some of the DS titles that have gotten major attention. Brain Teaser and Nintendogs?! Guys don't admit to playing them but women are snapping them up like crazy. This name is aimed squarely over our heads at at the remaining 90% of the market that don't call themselves gamers.
Is the name kind of ghey. Yup. Especially compared to Revolution. Is this a potentially brilliant marketing move, probably. Are all of you who wanted a "Revolution" still going to buy one anyways. Yes, you just won't tell your friends about it quite yet.
I think "Revolution" would actually be a better name for the released product. Maybe Wii whould have been the pre-release code name. I think they got it all backwards.
Now not only will Wii have worse pronunciation issues than Intel's Viiv has (according to the Nintendo site, it's pronounced "we"), but it will have negative connotations attached to the as yet unsuccesful Viiv. Who approved this name? Maybe the President of Nintendo was on a roller coaster when someone asked him what the name should be and he just happened to be saying "weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
nintendo has always had very americanized names for their products, at least the american versions. i'm surprised that this system is so, "out there"
-- lol pwned
This is the worst name for a console ever. And what makes it even worse is that Revolution would have been the best name fr a console ever. I' just going to keep calling it the Revolution.
Seems kind of stupid. Aside from being a way to fleece people for the attachment, there is no reason it shouldn't be able to play DVDs out of the box.
My college roommate's name was Richard Chute. No joke.
That's so stupid. It sounds like they're giving us crippleware. Why make it difficult for your customers to use it in a way that you know they're going to use it?
Thinking of the general populace, I can imagine many potential customers seeing that and heading straight to the PS3 or 360. I could be elitist and say "who needs 'em?" but the problem is that the Wii needs people buying the games, or there won't be much of a future for it. And this is just another deterrent.
My Greasemonkey scripts for Digg &
http://eb.cx/1vz
I'm not so sure about the Wii name either... but as long as the console rocks I doubt I will complain.. Sorry for all those who bought revolution style domain names... 8-(
This is a prime example of the cultural divide between the West and East, which characterizes the long, entire conversation of video games. Xbox doesn't work in Japan because it doesn't translate. It is so American, from its ascetic design to its games, that the Japanese could care less. The ascetic of the Xbox, the first especially, is American, in its side mack truck grills to the failed controller-as-big-as-your head. Nintendo has declined in popularity and influence for the same reason, only in reverse. The company is too Japanese, has never really diversified into the West and "Wii" demonstrates that complete lack of understanding. When they have diversified, they have generally done well (Rare, Silicon Knights, the people behind Metroid whose name escapes me). The corresponding launch video for Wii looks ipod-y, and Wii sounds too like a Japanese attempt to capitalize on the short semantic simplicty and wordplay of "ipod." The GameCube looks too "cute," and I imagine that Wii will, like the xbox 360, capitalize on the ipod design wave to moderate the cuteness - but like the 360, with little success.
Playstation has worked so well because even though it is a Japanese company, there is a strong enough American component than there are checks and balances to prevent untranslatable things like the Xbox and Wii from getting out. Playstation, PS2, and PS3 aren't imaginative, but that's precisely their appeal as names. They're utilitarian.
I'm not saying that Wii will fail. But if this is representative of the Nintendo strategy, Wii as a name just demonstrates that it the system will more likely occupy a niche in gaming, a novelty, and probably nothing more, just as the Xbox does and will in Japan.
Microsoft and Nintendo are probably better off naming something "GameMachine," making it stylistically nondescript, and then hiring devs in each country to create specific - and f***ing good games.
There can now be no doubt that Nintendo has jumped the shark.
How can they still think that marketing and a weird controller will sell a system? Good games sell systems!
I agree the name change is pretty weird, but it does make much more sense in Japanese and probably when done as a logo.
ii in Japanese means "good"
I'm guessing that in the logo, the ii will be made to look like two people side by side.
Still, I think they were better off leaving it as Revolution in America and Europe, especially considering all of the previously mentioned homonym problems. With all of the uproar on the web already in the last few hours I'm sure they'll change their minds within a week or two.
"I can't wait to get home and play with my Wii!"
"Want to come over and play with my Wii?"
"Will this run on my Wii?"
I'm sorry, but I can't find the right way to incorprate the Wii into conversation.
I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it.
Kudos to Nintendo for getting their stupidity out of their sytem early, and in a manner which won't affect the machines performance.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
Maybe in Japan, but there's no way they'll market it with a name like that in the U.S. First, nobody will know how to pronounce it: why-eye? why? whee? Hell, my mom still says "Intendo" instead of "Nintendo".
Second, it's not catchy. In fact, "Nintendo Why" sounds like a rhetorical question that is trying to talk people OUT of buying one.
I had no interest in buying one (I'm not a console gamer) but I don't see what was so bad about "Nintendo Revolution".
Arguing about vi versus Emacs is like arguing whether it's better to make fire by rubbing sticks or banging rocks.
Oh man, the Wildlife Institute of India is going to be livid!
http://www.google.com/search?q=wii&num=10&hl=en
org.slashdot.post.SignatureNotFoundException: ewg
the Pii Wii.
So who wanna bet Nintendo got a cold reception from the chinese government while trying to sell the "Revolution" to the chinese market...?
Haha
The actual name of the system is the Nintedo 'WWII' and while the whole time the media kept calling it mistakenly the 'Revolution', at Nintendo the name of the project was called the Nintendo 'Hiroshima'. This joke was brought to you in: 'Bad Taste' Directed by Peter Jackson
wii are not amused. It's going to cause all sorts of havoc asking for it.
Me: Can I have a 'wii' please?
Irish counter guy: A wee bit of what lad?
Me: No, a wii. 'Wii you've heard of it, right?
Irish guy: There'll be no sort of that behavior in this store sonny!
Seriously, that's the dumbest product name EVER.
I have a feeling that it's not going to last. In Japan, maybe "Wii" doesn't sound ridiculous, but in English-speaking countries, it sounds stupid. I'm sure Nintendo of America is having a nice long talk with Nintendo of Japan right now.
Nintendo: You bloody idiots .
The most innovative, unusual, interesting console of this generation, and you've called it the Nintendo Wii.
What the fuck are you thinking?! Naming your console after urine?! Years from now, Snopes going to have to put up a page decrying this as not an urban legend because no-one will believe you were really this stupid. They will be quoting this one in future generation's PR textbooks, as a wonderful example of what not to call your products; it can replace the apocryphal Vauxhall Nova.
That's it. The Revolution is dead, killed in the mother of all rebranding fuckups. And damn, it's a shame. I wanted one, but not if it's going to be called the Wee^H^Hii.
Is this some kind of corporate sabotage from Sony or Microsoft, I wonder?
Wii (pronounced like a long "we") is what girls say in French when they.....
Oups.
That's of course totally bizarre, but from Japanese folks you can only expect totally bizarre and nothing less.
I makes an impression as if they wanted to sound like Viiv? That brand from Intel for home entertainment device? That means nothing and fell flat last time?
Let's hope Nintendo Wii is better.. Huhu.. god damn it I can't write it, read it or say it without chucking.
But did anyone even bother to notice this part?
Easy Expansion: A bay for an SD memory card will let players expand the internal flash memory.
All WII coming from a Japaneese company reminds me of is WWII in the US. I can see the mushroom cloud now when this system fails miserably.
Seriously, Revolution was an aweseome name for a console. Much better than xbox (has no real meaning). However, Wii is the stupidest name I've ever heard. It's even much worse than the false rumor "Go".
In one move nintendo went from a possible first to a most likely last place. Alot of gamers are conceited (alienware, etc). The name isn't going to affect my chance of getting one, but it sure is going to be embarassing to tell my friends "hey, I just got a Wii!".
We are the Knights who say "Wii"!
...who did the Intel "ViiV" thing.
Then they decided to name the console after pee-pee.
Brilliant idea, Nintendo. Brilliant.
Many Bothans died to bring you this sig.
The Nintendo Puu.
% mkdir
% ls -dF
Thinking about "xbox", "playstation", "dreamcast", "gamecube", etc., it strikes is incredibly odd that this is a major console name with absolutely no attached meaning. "Wii" simply has no real meaning AND its pronunciation is ambiguous.
Maybe Nintendo is just showing their support for the Wildlife Institute of India? (First hit on Google for Wii)
The exquisite Nintendo Play-Yan cartridge which allows for MP3/MP4 playback on the GBA essentially means "Mr. Play" in the Osaka dialect which in turn is regarded as humorous and entertaining.
Could be worse, they could call it the Nintendo Bukkake (Splash).
Hey now. I told you my first name was Frank, not Richard.
Does God treat us as servants or friends? Check my homepage.
Please? I don't care if you have to lie.
heh, that's the first thing I thought of too
"Why I." As in, "Why I outta...nyuk, nyuk nyuk!"
This reminds me of a television channel over here in the Netherlands, that decided to change their name to something more catchier, and after a long time ended up with 'Yorin'. They saw 'You're in', we saw 'Urine' :)
Does one have to have a mental disability to work at Nintendo these days?
You American guys should just learn a thing or two about languages before immediately thinking this sounds like 'wee'. Do you also feel ashamed when you say 'we'? I can't think of a single reason why the double i should be announced as a single vocal. Can you give any example in any language where it isn't spoken as two i's in a row? Like i[pause]i.
They must be...
... and each other. But you're probably asking: What does the name mean?
Please let them be...
On another note, the PR release is significantly improved with a subtle replacement of 'ii' with 'ee'
Introducing Wee.
As in "wee."
While the code-name "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wee represents the answer.
Wee will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else.
Wee will put people more in touch with their games
Wee sounds like "wee," which emphasizes this console is for everyone.
Wee can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wee.
Wee has a distinctive "ee" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.
And Wee, 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 Wee. But now Nintendo needs you.
Because, it's really not about you or me.
It's about Wee.
And together, Wee will change everything.
Apparently it means "Revolution"...
(you seid you did not care!!)
\m/
that a little Wii came out.
Now we'll get to play such wonderful games as "Mario Wii."
This is bad on Nintendo. "Revolution" fit perfectly... it fit their plan for the console, it sounded cool, it was just right. I'm really surprised (and, obviously, disappointed) with the name change. I was hoping they'd follow the precedent they set with the DS and keep the development name intact since it worked so well. Anyway, I suppose we'll all get used to it, but I don't think anyone's going to like it as well as "Revolution."
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -- Groucho Marx
Actually, I think the new name is brilliant. All you whiners and fanboys are not their target market, you clowns are going to buy PS3s and Xbox 360s and bitch about Nintendo no matter what they do.
;)
I think they've decided to _not_ compete directly with MS and Sony for the same market, they've decided to try to expand the existing market into people who either do not play videogames or haven't in a long time.
I think it's great.
(hope it sells!)
I can hear it now.
Dude, what you up to?
Playin with my Wii.
Excuse me, while I take a Wii break.
This has all the marketing disasters of the Chevy Nova in Mexico. Way to go Nintendo, you just lost most of your US market for this thing. Bravo.
Has anyone else interpreted this as a parody of Intel's "VIIV" brand? :)
-- Sig down
Dancing squirrel goes weeeeeeee!!!!!
OT, I know, but when I RTFA and saw the name of the new console is pronounced "we" was that silly flash animation from a couple years ago was the first thing that instantly popped into my head. I wonder how many other people will associate the new console with that inane flash animation.
Why, oh why, Nintendo couldn't you have just kept the name "Revolution"?
For anyone who hasn't seen it:
http://funny.fluky.org/pages/squirrel.htm
I went to high school with that guy. Poor Richard.
Nintendo is targeting a different demographic than the Playstion and Xbox crowd, and Revolution sounds too intense to differentiate itself. Whereas Wii (prounced "we") will incorperate a sleeker, simpler logo design (reflecting product design and resulting in simplified ad campaigns [similar to those of Apple]) and refer to what they intend to be a big part of the gaming experience. ("We" will be a big part of that experience.)
I see this as doing what Nintendo wanted to do with this console, and target an entire new audience.
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
Wiiiiiiiii!
This might've been funny for an April Fool's joke, but it's still kind of hard to believe that Nintendo could screw up the name this badly.
(Seriously, though: we have Viiv - rhymes with 'five' - and now Wii - rhymes with 'we'. Can't the marketing morons at least be consistent?)
You must think in Russian.
The media will go crazy with puns! On a more serious note I thought the XBox 360 was a stupid name but grew to like it so maybe the same will happen here
Did you get that thing I sent ya?
the revolution will not be televised
We are the systems that say "Wii!" Now I demand you bring me.....a mushroom!
I don't know... I can deal with Vista.. I can without embarrasement say I'm going to pick up a copy of Microsoft Vista. Saying your picking up a Nintendo Wii on the other hand sounds like you just got some virus..
Doesn't Nintendo know that doing something like this can literally make the unit flop? Nintendo Revolution was such a great name for their new console... to not only rename it so close to the launch date, but to rename it "Nintendo Wii" is just ridiculous. Who ever Nintendo hired as a marketing firm, I can only hope they have signed paperwork saying they aren't responsible if this thing flops.
and call it "Wii" or whatever the fuck you want in Japan. Wouldn't be the first time as the NES was called Famicom in Japan.
Did they ask anyone outside of Japan what they thought of the name? Do they even care? The rest of the world is going to scratch their heads and wonder what the hell "Wii" is.
Brilliant Nintendo, brilliant.
"Wii" for the sound people make playing it, swinging those controllers around mid-air, smacking each other in the face - I smell lawsuits due to Nintendo not putting warnings on the controllers that people could get smacked by each other...
Hello, I am an executive at a large Japanese gaming corporation. The marketing programs in Japanese universities are not good. I note that you do not have a marketing degree, but I would like to hire you. You have shown your skill in marketing, and you are better than marketing graduates in Japan. call me.
Jeez I know. Nintendo always has to be on the cutting edge of innovation. Not graphics but innovation, so you get amazing breakthroughs (n64 controller) or complete flops (virtual boy). Its like ninendo insists on being the retarded stepchild of the gaming industry.
Most people aren't thought about after they're gone. "I wonder where Rob got the plutonium" is better than most get.
Nintendo seems to have a tradition of cool-sounding codenames changed to dumb release names. But this one is the worst ever.
Ultra 64 == amazingly powerful
Nintendo 64 == bland and meaningless
Dolphin == agile and ellegant
Gamecube == bland and meaningless
Revolution == something completely new and really awesome
Wii == DUMBEST NAME FOR A GAME SYSTEM, EVER. Really, I just checked the list of consoles at GameFAQs, and none had a name THAT stupid. Congratulations, Nintendo, you have just commited suicide!
Circumcision is child abuse.
Call it the 'N Wii' instead of the 'Nintendo Wii' and it doesn't sound so bad.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
No seriously. Just as quickly as the hard core gamers abondoned the "revolutionary" thinking by nintendo because of this name (I guess even ye mighty are slaves to marketing flashy names and pretty packages), they will come back as soon as the N licenses queen for a MTV/itunes style commercial. It's all about marketing folks, this will acutlaly turn out to be a really smart move on thier part. They aren't aiming for the 13 year old, I must laugh when you say duty or we we, crowd!
Ves
Nintendo Revolution has had its name changed? OMG wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The Nintendo Revolution seems like a system that has finally found a target on not just the "tween" crowd, and I am thinking about getting one when it comes out.
So why did they have to give it a name that would make people embarassed to admit playing it? "I play on Wii!" "I own a Wii!" "I need to go Wii wii!"
I need to get a Revolution sticker and slap it on it when I buy one.
Nintendo "Wii"??? Are they serious??? God, that sucks! As much as I know how silly that is, my desire to buy this thing diminished instantly as I learned of the new name.
Gee, I don't know about how it sounds in English, but it definitely sounds awful for portuguese-spearkes.
(8-DCS)
I'm going to go contrary here and point out something about product names.
If you are trying to sell a completely new kind of product, you usually want some kind of nonsense name without prior connotations that becomes exclusively associated with your item.
The two best examples I can think of:
"iPod": Says nothing about music or portability. A pod can hold anything, the only thing that tells you this relates to the computer is the "i" prefix.
Now imagine the alternative name "Portable Jukebox". It sure is descriptive. Is it as catchy?
"TiVo": says nothing about what it is or what it does. The letters "T" and "V" are in there, but not together.
Now imagine the alternative name "Television Assistant". Is it as catchy?
Now you want to sell a whole new kind of home game machine, to people who have never, ever considered buying one before.
As a buyer, your choices are:
Wii
X-Box 360
Playstation 3
Clear your mind of anything you may know about price points or manufacturers. Just look at the name. 'X-Box 360' looks pretty obsessed with specs and power. Whatever an X-Box is, this one is the 360 model. 'Playstation 3' is obviously a sequel to Playstations 1 and 2. So if you don't like those, I guess you won't like the third one.
The "Whee"? What's that? That could be interesting, I should at least look at the ads to see what it is. What a silly name, whatever could it be?
You already know you don't like X-Box or Playstation since you never considered buying one before. Which looks like a more fun name? Which looks like the new/different option? Which looks more like a high-tech appliance- like an iPod, iMac, or TiVo?
Nintendo is clearly going after the Apple strategy of, for lack of a better term, "selling to girls". Women purchase a colossal number of iPods- conveniently available in clean, fun Apple stores (not just at Game Stop or Best Buy!) in fun colors and smaller sizes- like for a purse or to go jogging with.
The average 14-year-old power gamer/HALO addict is going to vomit with rage over this name and call it the "Nintendo Pee". Too bad for him the MOM usually makes most purchasing decisions in a typical household. Mom is going to be very interested in something that looks good, is cheap, and conveys fun.
This name could not telegraph more clearly Nintendo's 'Blue Ocean' strategy. Sony and Microsoft are going to beat each other to death with their unlimited checkbooks over a dwindling market of adolescent fraggers while every senior in the country buys a DS for Brain Age and suburban housewives have Wii Parties to play party games.
"Wii" conjures up memories of my childhood and my mother pointing out my "wee wee" or taking a "wee wee" in woods while camping. "Revolution" is far more descriptive and edgy than "Wii", isn't too "industry" and doesn't have the penis connotations with it either.
There was nothing wrong with "Revolution".
Please someone tell me this is a joke. Nintendo can't really be going from a memorable name like Revolution to something as stupid and ambiguous as "Wii". Do they not have a single English speaking person on their staff who could tell them how stupid that sounds?
Did someone hack Nintendo's website?
There is no way this is for real. No way. I mean whoever pitched this idea must be holding their sides wondering how the hell people actually took his joke seriously.
unzip ; strip ; touch ; grep ; find ; finger ; mount ; fsck ; more ; yes ; fsck ; umount ; sleep
There is actually someone on the UK electoral role with a surname File and, oh dear, first name Peter.
All you whiners and fanboys are not their target market, you clowns are going to buy PS3s and Xbox 360s and bitch about Nintendo no matter what they do.
It's mostly a problem for the 29 year old Mario-obsesed Nintendo Zealots who are in denial about the their products being marketed to 8 year olds.
I wish I could filter out the annoying Pickens articles...
The "wii" sound is uncommon in Japanese; it doesn't mean anything.
How come I cannot type katakana into slashdot comments? It just deletes it.
Wii hates it, wii hates it, wii hates it for ever!
Circumcision is child abuse.
I really, really hope I'm reading this wrong, but my understanding of this statement is that the Revolution will have an external DVD player?
No chip I just pop in the back to enable DVD functionality. No special remote to use DVD functionality. No, it's an entirely seperate unit that you plug into the Revoltuion.
Why the fuck even bother with that? You can get small-as-hell DVD players now for about $40 at your local Target (which will probably be cheaper than the Revolution add on.)
Did Nintendo just take one huge shit of bad ideas and release them all on one day, or did they take small shits progressively and just hold off on flushing them all?
Nintendo, you're working backwards! PLEASE STOP!
Something tells me this is going to get ugly. Just off the top of my head:
1) Shopper: "Hi. I see these are on sale. I would like to take a Wii."
2) Son, you've been playing with your Wii all day on that tiny monitor -- give it a rest or you'll go blind.
3) Headline: Wii usage linked to possible repetitive stress injury?
BTW, Is a cluster of these called a Wii-Wii?
Surely there are more jokes to be had... your turn, Slashdotters.
Most of the code names from Nintendo's consoles come from whatever the competition currently has, made to either sound better or just make fun of them.
Ultra 64 -> 32X
Star Cube -> XBox
Revolution -> XBox360
As for this new name, I think I'll just call it W2.
Yo I went up to a thug gangster and he was like "Yo, motherfucker, wii!"
And now, after we all figure out how to mod it, I can just hear the guys from Brainiac announcing "1001 uses for a Wii" . . .
OK, good, had to get that out of my system . . .
Whenever a new product comes out the first thing I do is check if a domain has been registered... well... I got myself this doozie: http://playwithyourwii.com/
I'm sure there will be many jokes about this new name and the style of controller... It's good to be on the bandwagon.
But it's quite an interesting play the marketing dept came up with. Wii will have to take one for the team.
Based on the horriblly contrived masterpiece of convoluted naming, I think the folks at nintendo have contracted George Lucas Syndrome.
What will wii do now?
Wii will change the world! Wii will rock you! etc..
Nobody messes with Nintendo Wii...
-FL
...that this new console is going to be a big steaming pile of wii wii. Who would want to play with someone else's wii wii anyway?
Is there someplace I can file a complaint... maybe I should just copyright "Wii" quickly... maybe then they'll switch back...
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SWITCH BACK!
I just don't get... eh, ugh... never mind. This post wasn't worth the research I put into it.
If you thought Dubya's presidency was fun, just wait for WII!
Actually, when I first read it, I thought the japanese were just trying to dredge up old conflicts between Japan and the US, to remind the nationalists why not to support Microsoft.
What, you mean having to buy an add-on device to play DVDs isn't dumb too? :(
Greak leaping jeebus on a fucking pogo stick... "Wii" We... from Revolution to Wii!!!!! Double-u Tee Eff?!?
Come freakin on. Major hit in the nads with that name change, at least the rumors of it being changed to "RS" or "Go" made some fucking sense. RS and GO both are short and universal names too, who in the bloody hell came up with "Wii." At best it conjurs up instant thoughts of piss, or worse yet French people.
Arrghh... Nintendo can manage to screw up the smallest shit. I have a ton of hope and faith in this system too... so I can imagine what the haters are thinking.
Doh!
http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
Aside from the name being stupid and destined to be the most often mispronounced name in videogame history since "Ys: Ark of Napishtim", I can't believe it won't have DVD playback capabilities out of the box. I think not being able to play DVDs hurt the Gamecube's sales, even though neither the PS2 or Xbox were ever especially good DVD players. DVD playback is more of a perk in a game system, and it can't be that hard to implement...
Anyway, back to the name issue, I think the real mistake was coming up with a cool development name this time around. Nobody was really that disappointed when they didn't end up buying a Dolphin or an Ultra64.
Maybe they decided "Revolution" was idealogically too close to "360"?
"This guy writes like a young me."
"Please. yung mi was a hack compared to this guy."
what? fortune cookies are san fransisco-ian and not japanese, you say? pshaww.
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
1) This is a stupid name
2) Oh boy, I can play DVD movies on a console! Oh wait, that feature's already been included with the previous iteration of the Sony Playstation and the X-Box from Microsoft(TM). So fucking what, Nintendo.
3) WILL I BE ABLE TO BUY AN EXTRA ATTACHMENT TO PLAY GBA GAMES ON MY N64 AND PASS THAT TO THE WII?? BECAUSE HOLY SHIT THAT WILL BE PHENOMENAL HURRRAY
4) This thing is going to go over like a zeppelin made of lead, or a Jimmy Page solo album.
5) They might as well call it the Nintendo Dreamcast because my god Nintendo's lost its grip.
6) Counterpoint that I'm sure will be raised: OMG YOU CAN PLAY ZELDA WITH A REAL SWORD that will make your arm so tired of holding it that you'll be saying "screw you, shitty videogame" after the first half hour
7) First a console that gives you headaches, now a console that gives you armaches. I think Nintendo's just pissed they were hit with all those lawsuits back in the 80s and are now trying to extract a revenge on humanity
8) This turned out a lot more bitter and hateful than even I intended, so I'm posting anonymously. If you want my real name, it's "CmdrTaco"
Clearly this wasn't well thought out and may just be a hoax since the web address is still revolution.nintendo.com and wii.nintendo.com doesn't even resolve. Isn't that like the first thing that people do with a new product? Get the domain set up?
Wii are not amused.
Since "Billy and the Cloneosaurus"
I am the maverick of Slashdot
"Wii are not amused"
Did you get that thing I sent ya?
Oh, I fully accept the kiddy aspects of my Magical Purple Lunchbox of Joy (aka GameCube). Real adults actually like being kids again. The denial aspect is instead for the competition, which is actually marketed to teenagers, i. e. mental juveniles that are trying hard to look more "mature" and "adult."
If you're buying video games to support your personal image, aside from being a lost cause, it suggests you're not all that interested in games to begin with.
My contribution
I think the appropriate translation of "wii" should be "chin".
In Japanese, chin-chin means basically the same thing as wee-wee in English.
Any way, I for one can't wait to see what the big E3 announcements will be... Maybe the last secret of the controller will be force feedback? That would be SWEET, but INCREDIBLY unlikely...
Read my blog posts on usability.
Well, initially they thought about unveiling the new WWII from Japan. They were planning on having it debut at Pearl Harbor. But for reasons they couldn't understand, it caused an outcry among certain elderly Americans.
After all, only Men can have a Wii standing up.
~The TwoTailedFox posts again....
Why did they have to go and rename it? This has to be one of the strangest console names I've heard of.
Nintendo "Wii" will find it difficult to be taken seriously as a game machine for the masses when the console's name looks like you're asking a question (though I know that's not how you're supposed to pronounce it). "Revolution" was a much more fitting title for the device they hoped to "revolutionize" gaming with and it had decent mindshare as well.
But then again, who would have thought that "Playstation" would be an extremely successful videogame console when the name sounds a bit like it could be an Fisher-Price toy. If the games are there, the name shouldn't matter much.
In the UK, it will be released as the Nintendo Loo.
There are 0x40000000 types of people: those who understand 32-bit IEEE 754 floating point, and those who don't.
Remember the Nintendo "Ultra 64"?
Right, nobody does. "Wii" could be teh same thing. Lets just hope this moniker dies sooner, rather than later.
I bet Will Wright has a launch title for the Nintendo wii.
The short answer is no.
The longer answer is that Japanese obsoleted the "wi" sound many years ago, and the most common way of making similar sounds in loan words and sound effects is to use the two characters "u-i" instead. As there are no suriving Japanese words that start with "wi," unless there's some ancient meaning that only a classical language scholar would recognize, this is just nothing but a sound effect word, like "Wheee!"
Oh. I just saw the bit about asking us to lie. Hmmm....
Yes, "wii" is the way that nobles in the Sendai region used to say "ii" or "good." The use of ancient Sendai dialect evokes images of both the area's Tanabata festival and the legendary samurai Date Masamune. It is the spirit of big, brightly pastel colored floats and badass, one-eyed, moon-helmetted warlords that Nintendo seeks to evoke.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
WHAT
I didn't even know that Revolution wasn't its final name until a week or so ago, and my theory was they'll call it the Nintendo GameWand or something, except they'll probably come up with something even more shitty
And my god they did. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Please tell me this is a joke. Can you imagine an ad for a game saying "Now available for the Nintendo weewee?"
Words fail me..
umm have you forgot the mistakes they have already made? 1> let's not support HD. not every game needs to be HD. not everyone has a HDTV. it woudl sure be nice if the wii could support thm in the future though. 2> let's make it underpowered to make it harder for 3rd parties to port next gen games to revolution. I know ports of splinter cell games are not really the target of wii, but still making it hard to port them because of weak hardware is a sure fire way to make sure they are axed. now we have what is possible the most stupid name for a consumer electronics device ever imagined. lets also make it kiddie sounding and sound like a potty word for the trifecta. gg nintendo. dumbasses.
Rolls Royce Silver Mist, Silver Shadow
Rolls Royce changed the name of its car the Silver Mist to the Silver Shadow before entering Germany. In German, "Mist" means manure (to put it nicely).
Salem Cigarettes
The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, "Salem - Feeling Free," got translated in the Japanese market into "When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty."
Samarin
Lars Bergquist tells us: Samarin is a Swedish over-the-counter remedy for upset stomachs. (Like Alka-Seltzer.) A few years back they used ads that looked like comic strips with no text. There were three pictures. The first was a man looking sick, grasping his tummy. On the second picture he drank a glass of Samarin and on the third picture he was smiling again. The ad campaign was a success in Europe. However, when the company ran the ad in Arabic-speaking newspapers they did not do too well. I guess that they didn't know that in those countries people read from right to left.... (See the I18nGuy page on User Interfaces For Right-To-Left Languages.)
Schweppes Tonic Water
In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.
Toyota MR2
Marcel Rigadin reports that Toyota makes the MR2, which in France is pronounced "merdé" or spelled 'merdeux', means "crappy". (Mentioned in Dave Taylor's Global Software.)
Chevy Nova, Vauxhall Nova, Opel Corsa
When General Motors introduced the Chevrolet (aka Chevy) Nova in South America, it was apparently unaware that "no va" means "it won't go". After the company figured out why it wasn't selling any cars, it renamed the car in its Spanish markets to the Caribe.
Wang Cares
In the late '70s, the American computer company Wang was puzzled why its British branch refused to use its latest motto "Wang Cares". However, to British ears the motto sounds too close to "wankers". (masturbaters)
Thanks to Malcolm Howlett!
It draw unanimous scorn from slashdotters. Now I _know_ it's doomed.
(8-DCS)
This thread is like the reaction to the name of Tom Cruise's new baby.
The name of a console will not harm our precious little sensibilities everyone!!!
Wiitarded.
...and I like how Nintendo is getting weirder by the day. The fact that gamers everywhere are having a fit over this is great, and makes me think that the Nintendo Wii will really "break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else."
I must admit I was a bit attached to Revolution, but the new game is really growing on me quickly. The Big N brought up a good point about the new name : Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii. Considering most people called the Revolution "Rev", and that Revolution in Japan is something close to "??" (or German: Umdrehung), I can see that point. That and Wii just sounds fun. As in Wheee.
Judging by the price of consoles, they'll demand a little more than a shrubbery...
The Knights who say Wii demand... a sacrifice!
Windows isn't the answer... it's the question. NO is the answer!
You're absolutely right! It's just like when Microsoft renamed the hip, gritty-sounding "Chicago" to the totally gay Windows 95. Utterly lame, people refused to buy it, and Microsoft went out of business just two years later.
Try the head.
Obligatory Soundbite Catchphrase
Can't wait to read the newstory about the kid that gets into trouble at school when he says he's going home to play with his wii.
Seriously?
N-Wii?
Ennui?
Talk about picking the name most likely to give the fanboys a field day...
This is just flat dumb. IMO.
This just in! 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population.
At the video game championships in California: What are you gonna do? Wii-z on me.
really bored? My blog
A bunch of mindless jerks who'll be the first against the wall when the Revolution comes.
This will make a killer Penny Arcade comic. Can't wait till tomorrow.
TANSTAAFL
...and I mean people like Bill Gates and Ken Kutaragi. Hey, it's not every day that a rival commits suicide!
Circumcision is child abuse.
Maybe they're just hoping that consumers will aggro their console, even if other consoles are closer to the consumer and thus should be the ones getting attacked.
And then, after a few years of denying any such Wii-flag, Nintendo will admit that yes, there was some shenanigans with their design, and it did cause consumers to behave in strange ways contrary to what would have been expected.
... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about.
Why doesn't someone who can speak more eloquent than I start up a petition?
Nintendo Whyy?
It's when a ninja is wailing on his guitar really hard.
They call me the wookie man, I guess that's what I am
Can I take a Wii standing up, or does it have to sit down like a GameCube?
Slashdot's iso-8859-01 based and doesn't like doing html entities. If you want kana/kanji, stick to /.JP
Im Baba Wawa pwaying with my WiiWii over Wifi.
Wha???
http://revolution.nintendo.com/
yes, wait for the animation.
Here, so you don't have to:
I'm just going to stop there.
Read the rest of the paragraph though, you'll see further reinforcements.
Clones are people two.
Man that's just terrible. The name "Revolution" had a powerful feel behind it, which I think would have been useful in its marketing against the Xbox360 and the PS3. "Wii" sounds diminutive and powerless. I hope they reconsider. Somehow, saying 'Hey I'm going to go out and buy a Wii [we]' just doesn't have the ring of 'I'm going out to buy a Revolution!'.
Not to metion, revolution made sense with the new controller. Wii, as others have mentioned sounds like 'why?' which is what some people first thought when they saw the controller.
Your point about "wii" sounding weak is valid as well. Also, didn't any of their developers realize that 'wee' can also mean 'pee' in American english? As in, I'm going to take a 'wii'? How do these people get their jobs?
Did anyone else get that?
Besides, I would love to be able to control my music, videos and games through one interface so I have one less damn thing to hook up to the montior/stereo. I'm not talking hackability for hax sake, I'm just interested in playing files in open, well documented formats through my stereo without having to mess with yet another set top box or physical interconnect. Lord knows Sony isn't going to let you do that, and it's not like my TV is going to magically grow another video input.
And I agree, hackability certainly doesn't sell consoles. (At least, not so far.) But it doesn't change the fact that I can't put a harddrive in my ps2 and use it as an mp3 jukebox, even though the hardware to do so is sitting right there in my living room mocking me. Curse you o IDE interface! Blast you o molex connector! A pox be on you, o empty hard-drive shaped space collecting dust!
Hyperbole aside, I'd like a litte convergence please.
One of the problems the Gamecube faced was that many gamers perceived it to be a kid's console.
Now they have this console with promises of innovation in gameplay and gave it a potent codename. But then Nintendo goes and calls it the Wii which beyond sounding ridiculous, sounds very child-like and insignificant.
Try to visualize playing some of the more adult-oriented games out there on a console called the Wii. It just doesn't seem right.
The name doesn't seem to represent anything other beyond the marketing crap I've read that it stands for "we". The name that had come up in rumors, "Go", is a lot better than this. It actually stood for something and is energetic. "Wee" is what a 5-year-old does before going to bed.
I guess someone at Nintendo seems to think this name is unassuming and will attract non-gamers. The problem is that I don't think even non-gamers will be able to take it seriously. At least not anyone other than parents looking for a safe, kid-friendly console to give their children.
Given the fact that the PS3 is supposed to go for $399 when it's released doesn't particularly bode well. It looks like in the end we might end up in a situation very similar to the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube generation.
The games for the Wii will really need to be phenomenal on a level like we haven't seen before for a lot of consumers to get past that name.
WWII was the first thing I thought of when I saw that name.
In any case, add my vote to a bad name, not necessarily due to the WWII, but just in general
Is it pronounced with a long I or an ee sound? Maybe Nintendo will go wee wee all the way home after coming up with this name.
--
Q
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/weeee.php
I remember, not so long ago, i was longing to buy a Dolphin. Man than console looked cool. But some day, some dream breaker told me "Hey, its not a Dolphin, its a GAME CUBE". I said " WTF?!?!?!", game cube looked stupid, blah blah blah...
But hey! who knows! When you buy a car, you still buy an Echo, a Ferrari or a wathever. You don't buy a "Box who has Wheels", or a "TheNewCar". (PlayStation, GameCube, Revolution, etc...)
anyway...
I wouldn't mind you in my head, if you weren't so clearly mad -Lews Therin Telamon
Oh, I fully accept the kiddy aspects of my Magical Purple Lunchbox of Joy (aka GameCube). Real adults actually like being kids again. The denial aspect is instead for the competition, which is actually marketed to teenagers, i. e. mental juveniles that are trying hard to look more "mature" and "adult." If you're buying video games to support your personal image, aside from being a lost cause, it suggests you're not all that interested in games to begin with.
I just had to quote this again, to reiterate how true it is. People should just learn to have fun, instead of worrying so much about what people think of them.
To me consoles have always been about gaming with your friends, and by that I mean in the same room, on the same TV screen, shoulder to shoulder. Video games were never as memorable as the people I've played them with.
So, to me "Wii" (we) is just what I'm looking for in a console game system.
BTW, Is a cluster of these called a Wii-Wii?
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of Wii-wiis!
That said, I'm not sure how I feel about the name, I like Revolution better, but Wii might turn out good/fun too. (And I'm looking forward to getting my hands on that Wii.)
Oh, a million puns and only so little time.
"Live free or don't."
Are probably freaking out right about now. Last night they were all calling Nintendo stupid and saying "I'll teach them how to build a server" because the WiFi was experiencing problems.
/.ed will cause them all to say.
I wonder what getting
Note: I have an NSider account, but I'm talking about the obvious 12 year old morons that make up 90% of the NSiders.
Starmen.net
Wii.
Wii..
Now all Nintendo needs to do is officially name the controller the Power Wand. Think of it.
Guess what I'm doing when I get home today? That's right... I'm gonna pick up my Power Wand and play with my Wii. I'm gonna wave my Power Wand all over the place. It'll be so much fun. Jealous?
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to visit the restroom.
You can't win, Darth. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
Pshitt Cola! It was supposed to sound like a can being opened...
While I didn't know Mr. Head, I did go to school with a Michael Hunt. Went by Mike, naturally.
You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
At orders of the fiancee, no less. Any way to reduce the number of electronic boxes cluttering up the living room is fine by her.
So, pending me finishing the basement, I use a console to play DVDs.
I'd be happy to pay extra, but I don't see why there needs to be a goofy hardware add-on. Can't I just pay Nintendo $5 to cover the CSS license and download the tiny software to the flash memory?
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Nintendo should take things one step further with their butchering of sales because of its name. They should rename it to the Nintendo WiiNii
"hey guys, who's down for some 4 player action back at my place on the WiiNii?"
Yeah, I was dumbfounded at first, too. Then I went to YouTube and watched this video (still with the Revolution name) and realized that something truly innovative is going on at Nintendo. I'm already used to the name "Wii" . . . it's got that element of WTF? to it, but it does genuinely differentiate itself. It's cute and unique. If it succeeds, it will create an entirely new niche (partygame/lifestyle toy) and leave the other consoles in the dust.
it's a pretty cute explanation, and something very Nintendo-like. So I like the name, no matter how much people may make "wiiwii" jokes about it. I think though that somewhere down the road people will make up a better name for it by using acronyms or something. Until then, I want a "Wii"...
Ii suspect if ii walk into a store and say ii want one ViiV and one Wii ii am more likey to get slapped than get new toys :(
;)
:(
If thats the best they can do just add a 2 or 3 to another name or maybe the year, ugh.
Incidently, if i don't know how to pronounce the name i am that much less likely to go ask for it so they better be easy to find
Furthermore, marketing campaigns that need to explain how to pronounce the products name first just don't seem like a good idea. There should be better things to advertise.....kind of a scary thought there
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/revo/
Help this guy change nintendos future...
Wii?! WII?! MOTHER****ING WII?! I... I just... I need to slap someone. Someone needs to be slapped for that.
Or, as they say in France, Oui!
"When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
I can't speak to the others, but for the Nova comment, let's see what Snopes has to say, shall we? In part:
...
...
First of all, the phrase "no va" (literally "doesn't go") and the word "nova" are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word "nova" as equivalent to the phrase "no va" and think "Hey, this car doesn't go!" is akin to assuming that English speakers woud spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn't include a table.
The truth is that the Chevrolet Nova's name didn't significantly affect its sales: it sold well in both its primary Spanish-language markets, Mexico and Venezuela. (Its Venezuelan sales figures actually surpassed GM's expectations.)
The one bit of supporting evidence offered to back up this legend is spurious as well. General Motors, we're told, finally wised up and changed the model name of their automobile from Nova to Caribe, after which sales of the car "took off." One small problem with this claim: the Caribe sold in Mexico was manufactured by Volkswagen, not General Motors. (The Caribe was the model name used by VW in Mexico for the car more commonly known in the USA as the Volkswagen Golf.) The Nova's model name was never changed for the Spanish-speaking market.
So, I'd say that pretty much does it for that story. I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of the ones you listed were accurate, but I wouldn't be surprised if none of them were either, all things considered.
The "Wii" is still a stupid name, though.
You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
I've been wanting them to give that an actual name. The "New Super Mario Bros. Movie Revealed" email they sent out made me hate the name more. Now I see why they didn't change it. Nintendo needs to hire people who are good at coming up with names. Perhaps the "Wii" name came from the same people who made the clean is better than dirty commercial for Nintendo?
let's just hope we don't have people talking about how 3rd party peripherals don't have the right amount of 'wiiness' in their designs.
there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
Is this any dumber then what Microsoft came up with? I mean, Xbox360? Microsoft blatantly didn't want to call it the Xbox2 because they felt that when people heard of the PlayStation 3, they would think 3 is better then 2. So, some genius in Microsoft's marketing department, with a basic understanding of math, decided that 360 was way bigger then 3, so Xbox360 became its name.
I thinks its more like the Xbox360 is a boomerang, always returning back to its origin (i.e. defective units returned back to Microsoft).
And, lets not forget the complete inventiveness of Sony for just appending an incremental number after the PlayStation trademark.
So, Wii. Yeah, it sounds silly. But if you watch the cute little video on Nintendo.com, at least it makes a little sense.
Is this going to make or break the system? If your the type of person that won't buy something because of its name, well, your sad, period. Buying something on the merit of its quality or innovation is what you should be focusing on.
So, whats in a name? Nintendo just scored a big hit because all you people that can't stand the name won't leave it alone. Your going to go to your friends, family and co-workers and say things like "Hey, guess what Nintendo just called their new game console?" thus promoting the new console and giving Nintendo all the hype and publicity they could hope for, just by using 3 little characters. They could have kept it the revolution, or named it Go or RS or whatever, but that would have generated little hype or buzz or commentary.
Wii is brilliant. Like Google, its a stupid, dumb enough name that nobody will ever forget it. Its saved Nintendo millions in advertising simply because all you geeks, dweebs and nerds won't drop it and will keep obsessing about the name for months.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
I don't care if they call it the Nintendo Ebola, so long as it plays oldskool and new-and-fun games. I'M BUYING ONE!
Wii vs. Emacs 360
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
>>>Shareholders will eventually get upset with all the money being pissed away.
So it should have been named the Xbox Wii?
I think the shareholders will agree...
Rule of the open mind
People who are resistant to change cannot resist change for the worst.
Wii... as in "It hurts when I Wii." ?! I can't really get over how bad this is. All I can think of are dumb puns off the new name. It's really the worst name for any real product I've ever seen. Wii are not amused. See what I mean!?
I see tons of posts (actually, just about all of them) explaining what a stupid name "Wii" is. You're right, it is stupid, but it's perfect for what Nintendo intends to do. Remember, this is supposed to be the console that everyone can play. Your mom probably doesn't want to play with an "Xbox" or a "PlayStation" or a "Megadrive" or whatever other hardcore gamer name the two remaining console manufacturers come up.
But they will play with a "We".
It's a name that has no real meaning. Nintendo can fill it with whatever meaning they want to. It's just like the iPod. "iPod" is a really, really stupid name, but Apple was able to give it meaning, and now it stands for something. Soon, Wii will stand for something, too, and it won't be "hardcore teenie fanboy weapon pr0n".
The P stands for the person that thought this name up and the double U (UU) represents the ass that this name was extruded from. What is the name of the branding company that thought this up? Someone please tell me so that my company won't suffer the same fate that Nintendo will over this one. From now till release people won't be able to mention Revolution without making reference to that galactically stupid name.
There's an online petition to change the name back at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/wii_sucks that will be sent to nintendo's customer feedback in three days.
I'll have you know that I've never even matured to THAT level, sir!
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
I will just call it "Nintendo V". It's the fifth generation anyway, after NES, SNES, N64 and GC.
Wii? As in "Why?" Why would you change the name from Revolution to something so...
What is the word I am looking for? Oh, lehm, as in "lame".
I will still get one, and I am sure that I will love it as I have all of Nintendo's previous consoles. I just don't like this name, just more fodder for Ninendo haters.
I swear PowerPoint is going to be the downfall of higher education in western society.
At least in France it will sound exactly like "Oui" (Yes)
Oh oui!
. . . . . . .
may u!sh 2 sm!le at dz!z bad nn.!m!tat!ion
In English, wii is most likely to be pronounced like wee. The definition of which is:
1) small,
2) the sound, associated with infants, made when having fun
3) the need to use the toilet, also associated with infants.
Therefore I suggest this new marketing slogan:
Nintendo Wii: Small infants having fun urinating!!
"A key feature of the Wii is its one-handed controller that looks like a television remote control and uses motion-detection sensors that allow players to control the game by wielding it like a sword, waving it like a conductor's baton, or swinging it like a baseball bat." Nintendo Wii" Riiightt... I'm gonna wave me Wii stick around and play games... sounds like a fun time.
King of All Cosmos: Wii broke it. Yes, Wii were naughty. Completely naughty. So, so very sorry. But just between you and us, it felt quite good.
King of All Cosmos: Wii felt the beauty of all things, and felt love for all. That's how it was. Did you see? Wii smiled a genuine smile.
King of All Cosmos: Wii are moved to tears by the size of this stupidity.
King of All Cosmos: Maybe Wii'll invent a Cosmic Esperanto.
Check this out... Take the brand ViiV from Intel, a brand for a home entertainment unit..
Now...
Take that V in the end and make one "Revolution" around the text so that it ends at the start: VVii.
GET IT? VV = W, VVii = Wii...
Fuck it, I'm so smart and insightfull, I gotta work in CIA or something...
I have a GBA, a Gamecube, and a DS, and you know what? Wii is the most retarded name for a console I have ever heard in my entire life. Nice job, guys.
I think it is a pretty clever choice actually.
- Pronounced as in Japanese, "Wii" sounds like the English word "We"; Nintendo is splitting the world between "Them" with their PlayBox or X-Station 630 and their outdated gaming concepts, and "We", who are part of the Revolution. It also plays on a "more humane view" of the gaming concept - "We" is a word that subconsciously associates with concepts like family, friends, partnership and cooperation;
- Pronounced as in English "Wii" is similar to "Why"; there are strong marketing opportunities behind such a word. I wouldn't be surprized to see at some point ads like "Wii ? Because of its controller"; "Wii ? Because Mario likes it", and so on. And that it opens itself to a lot of easy jokes can actually be a very positive point, as it will quickly make the name very popular;
- In a lot of languages, something as simple as "Wii" can be read and used in a way or another. Take French for example: "Wii" sounds exactly like "Oui" ("Yes"), which is definitely a pretty starting point for an advertisement campaign;
- The whole logo echoes to the trend of the i(insert-mac-related-word-here). Same kind of color scheme, same importance of the "i" in the logo presentation. I don't think the success of the "iPod" name is completely unrelated to the design of the "Wii" logo. Maybe I'm wrong - but "looks like an Apple ad" is one of the first things I thought after seeing the Flash introduction, and I definitely think that a lot of people will react the same;
To summarize, I think it is a very good choice because not only it is easy to remember and pronounce (whatever the language), but it is also a completely abstract term. I think that alone should make it popular, whatever the marketing campaign used to support it.
That's what I'd say too if I felt the urge to leap off a cliff. Whee!!!
I was looking forward to the Revolution too, but now it just seems like someone is trying to run Nintendo into the ground.
Name changes like this always go over like a wet fart in a space suit, at first. The bottom line is that if it's a cool system them people will happily call it by whatever its name is.
On paper, names like Pac Man and Donkey Kong (Where are the donkeys? Show me the donkeys!) are ridiculous and awkward Japanese mistranslations, but no one would suggest their names negatively affected the games' popularity. If anything, the weirdness kind of helps, if the game itself is cool.
Nonetheless, right now I'm not looking forward to walking into EB and asking if they've got any new Wiis. Fortunately, one can always use "The New Nintendo" and people will know what you're talking about.
ENDUT! HOCH HECH!
I remember there was once a company that made consoles called Sega. They had a cool sounding console coming out called the Katana. Then they decided to gay it up a notch and call it the Dreamcast. Now Sega doesn't make consoles any more. Back then I was actually pretty sure my next console would be a Katana. But then they changed the name, and I bought a Playstation instead.
Quick translation of the contents of the next page (index2):
http://www.poolife.com/
That's pretty dumb.
Then of course there's this one
http://www.heebmagazine.com/
WTF?
Then there's this one
http://www.nads.com/
Yikes!
"The government grants you rights, not the other way around."-- beav007. Yes, these people really exist...
I hope nintendo decides to flush the name "Wii" down the toilet!!
I don't understand, is it supposed to be pronouned like "wee" or "why"?
My dad's college roommate was Richard Rash. I kid you not.
Seems pretty redundant to me that I should have to pay the DVD playback royalty (we past costs on the the consumer, we're a business) to Nintendo regardless of whether or not I have 0 or 5 things that already play DVDs.
If the PS2 didn't play DVD out of the box, it'd be cheaper to make. The Xbox didn't play DVD out of the box because it was cheaper to do it that way.
Seriously, I can buy a progressive scan DVD player at Wal-mart better than the Nintendo Wii's will probably be for less than the price of a universal remote. Including it would be stupid.
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
This is just the start.
Nintendo of Japan originally named the gamecube the Nintendo Starcube. It was only after Nintendo of America had a long, friendly chat with their Japanese counterpart that they compromised on the Gamecube.
Personally, whenever I think about the Japanese culture that supports quasi-English names like Starcube, Doki Doki Panic, and Super Mario Sunshine (SHINE GET!), I start cracking up...
DVD video requires CSS keys, licences, region management, DRM, etc.
Not including DRM in a device and not requiring to rebuy features I have is not a gaff. You are a troll.
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
First "Touching is good" for the DS and now this perversion?
They really are trying to court the PS2/XBox 'adult gamer' crowd!
I wasn't consider buying nintendo game console. But just for its great name I may end up buying it.
en wii meee!!!!!!!!!!
Emacs is good operating system, but it has one flaw: Its text editor could be better.
I think it goes without saying that Wii liked "Revolution" better.
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
I'm sure *somebody* will start calling it the "W-2" (Roman numerals are fun!), and once that happens, it'll remind parents of taxes and end up in the closet. :)
Well, I can't speak officially, but I think an American company named 'Wang' has bigger problems than a slogan meaning something else in Britain.. Because really, and slogan involving Wang is going to be problematic.
What are the 3 things the word "wee" (spelling ignored) bring to mind?
1. Small
2. Urinate
3. Penis
Nintendo just announced the name of this potentially revolutionary console (pun intended) is "small urinating penis"
This is, without question, the worst case I have ever seen of clueless marketing trying to be clever and plowing over the integrity of the product they were assigned to.
"You're under arrest!"
At this point who doesn't have a DVD player that is going to purchase a Revolution? You know anyone that is going to hold out on DVD players and just use the Revolution instead? I'm sure someone at Nintendo realized that those who want a DVD player already have one, and it's doubtful the console will even be markatable as a DVD player. By cutting out something most will never use they can cut the cost of the machine even farther as opposed to embeding a BluRay player and raise the cost $150+ .
I think the addon is the best choice. If you want to dump your DVD player and save space, then an addon seems okay. I've already got 6 (count'em SIX) devices in my apartment that can play DVD's, so I'd rather have a cheaper Revolution without that ability.
I was thinking maybe it would be an ace in the hole if you could also get an addon for extending with BluRay or HD-DVD - fence sitting until there is a winner, but I doubt the optics would jive with that.
The only drawback is that in school, all the bullys will call it "four Is"
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Well, officially support FreeBSD and I will.
'Go for the eyes, Boo, go for the eyes, aaarrrrrrrr!' -- Minsc
All your base is belong to wii
WIIABOO
WIIABOO
It's so crazy it might work. For every person who got angry or turned off by the name, there will be 10 people who are curious about what it means.
In the end, the acceptance of the name will depend on the success of the console, not the other way around.
OT, but I saw some posts regarding the financial strength of Sony and Nintendo. Here is the hard data. Sony is barely scraping by, Nintendo is very strong.
Sony
Operating Income/Loss per Segment (Q4 Ended March 31, 2006) (in millions)
Electronics: ($785) loss
Games: ($525) loss
Pictures: $258
Financial Services: $678
Other: ($88) loss
Detailed reports here.
Vivi
Vvii
Wii
??
"Do you want me to get naked and start the revolution?" I was really looking forward to saying that.
The other proposed name was the Power Nintendo Entertainment System. But then Nintendo realized they would have millions of children saying "Mommy, can I get a PNES for christmas?"
seriously though.. Wii?? :)) Wiiii :)
Nintendo Iphantom...
Except in Paris where they pronounce "oui" as "whey"
I kind of agree with Nintendo, although most of those things mentioned would be on my wish list. Wii is really the first major plunder in the whole console.
1. Lack of HD, official reason was to keep loading times reasonable. I kind of believe that, although I haven't seen XBOX360 working to see how long it actually takes to load those games or levels. This is questionable decisision anyway and I would like to see HD support.
2. Underpower really doesn't mean that much for porting. In current games most of the power is used for shading, effects, etc that are relatively easy to remove. Besides there is still few "old" consoles out there that need game support and all the games are ported for those no matter what.
3. Lack of DVD mentioned in other posts is not really an issue. If there is no DVD player around then most likely Wii won't be finding its way to that home either.
This might possibly be the worst marketing failure in the history of games..or anything. All the hype surrounding the Revolution's features have been instantly wasted on a name that no one wants to say, irrespective of what language they speak. Nintendo really likes to give itself a good challenge.
Nintendo as a company don't seem to understand "cool" AT ALL. They can hire talented designers all they want to create sleek, Apple-esque products, nice logos and motion graphics to sell them, but then they sabotage all that with a really forced, amateuristic name. Yes, I GET THAT THE TWO I's REPRESENT YOUR CONTROLLER. YOU'RE SO CLEVER, BIG N. And please spare us the phony manifesto. You insult our intelligence.
Nintendo had better dump their ad/marketing agency PRONTO, or all of their innovation will mean nothing in most gamers' eyes. And that would be truly tragic, because I respect a company that has the cajones to innovate so fearlessly.
Just like the marketing guy who coined the "Touching is good..." slogan for the NDS, the guy who came up with this and thought it was clever needs to be a bit more in-touch (pun intended) with American culture.
I saw the commercials in Japan. In just about all of them Utada Hikaru asks, "Can I touch it?" and then there's a clever cleavage shot when she bends over (there were similar posters featuring her all over the cities). No, I think the innuendo there was an intentional global strategy, not a misunderstanding. Why the hell they thought that was a good idea, I do not know. Maybe they were trying to tap that mainstream market, and they were like "Hey, mainstream people like sex!"... Or something...
Sendou Wave Kick!!
Does it read "we" or "why"?
Wii!!??!!!one!
http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/27/commentary/game_ov er/nintendo/
:(
CNN got this wonderful quote from Perrin Kaplan, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs for Nintendo of America.
"By letting the gaming community vent now about the name, they will be less distracted as launch titles for the system are announced and initial reports about what it's like to play the games begin to come in."
HAHA. So they know its bad, but feel that people will get over it..
Check this - http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Wii
EpiAdv - if you like Pokey the Penguin, try this comic!
it could just be the wiid talking, but i think the new name is totally fantastic.
It's simply a difference in culture. The Japanese are a bit...off...by Puritanical U.S. standards. Raise you're hand if you haven't seen a salaryman grope a woman on a train in your prefecture.
Centralization breaks the internet.
naming it "Wii" is like naming your kid Richard when your last name is Head; you're just gimping them unnecessarily from the start.
Well, Harry Richie's Jewelers Seems to be doing pretty well for itself.
"Finally, according to Nintendo, "the introduction of a number of new franchise properties will add to the world's richest stable of stars, including Mario, Zelda, Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong and Metroid."
new franchise properties? What? Do they mean, like leasing out characters? Did they buy something?
Maybe it's just the name "Wii" getting to me, but I smell a merger...
Demented But Determined.
EA Reveals Madden For Wii
"Electronic Arts has officially revealed that it's working on a standalone version of its Madden football franchise for Nintendo Wii"
Nintendo Promises 3rd Party Support
"Eurogamer reports on claims by George Harrison (NoA's Senior VP for Marketing) that the Wii will feature extensive third-party support in the coming..."
(Look it's Elmer Fudd!)
20 Titles At Wii Launch
Next Generation reports that NOA's George Harrison expects there to be 20 titles for the system at the Wii launch. From the article: "The other thing we...
(Sounds like a tiny release party, eh?)
You Say You Want A Wii?
"Looks like the first hard info on a Wii game has hit the internet. The game, from Ubisoft, is called Red Steel. It's a FPS where the..."
(Bathroom is the second door on your left...)
And so on and so on.
it's translitterated differently in this case, and it's not a parisian thing.
yes = oui
yeah = ouais
. . . . . . .
may u!sh 2 sm!le at dz!z bad nn.!m!tat!ion
It'll be called the Wii Ni!
By reading this you acknowledge that you have read it.
So if you connect two together are you going to have a Wii Wii?
Find coupons in Greeley
But then, I also hate the name MacBook Pro with a passion. My favorite companies just aren't giving me the cool names this year for some reason. Hopefully the idiots coming up with the naming schemes aren't involved in any other aspects of product creation.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
I knew a woman in college who was in the Army Reserves and once mentioned that her CO was a Major by the name of Richard Head. And, yes, he did prefer to be addressed as "Major Dick Head", thankyouverymuch.
the load times on the 360 are longer than I would like them to be, but not bad enough to bitch about (actually the only one I bitch about is PGR3), but that is not the point. The point is that out of the box N made the wii unable to do HD. having a longer load time is not an option. having a HD game is not an option by design. That is BS in today's day and age. When the NES was released there were a lot of B&W tvs out still, but they did it in color anyway.
And the underpowered comment. Using nintendo's own words, the thing is not much more powerful than a gamecube. Comparing the leaked specs on IGN pegged it a little better than a Xbox 1 (albeit a stupid comparison probably). Again this is not an older system. This is a new system that is being released at least a year after the 360. The wii is a _new_ system, not an old one that companies are trying to sqeeze a few more bucks out of. They are hamstringing the 3rd party developers, the same 3rd party developers who they are trying to lure back, the same developers that abandoned the cube and left it for dead.
and as for the DVD player, why not. They have the drive there, they are using standard DVDs for games, why not let it play movies? thats cheesy on the level of the Xbox 1 making you buy a $30 remote.
poor Nintendo fanboys. I really feel for you.
... XBOX ... PlayStaton ... Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!
"Yeah, I can't wait for the Wii"
"Wii is gonna kick the XBOX"
I mean come on
What a stupid concept.
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
and all the fanboys (Including me) go Wii Wii Wii all the way home...
I can't believe this... They should have just went with the "Leak" that was at least a semi-pun... Nintendo Go... there was som much more that they could have played on with it...
Lets see the progression here though...
Revolution: Code Name, Powerful, Descriptive...
Go: "Leaked" Name, not real but a play on words.. sounds like Go, is Japanese for 5 symbolizing that it was Nintendo's 5th system, but giving it a different way of naming than the PS or XBox crowd by still using words and no numbers...
Wii... Wii...: well what can I say... it's atrocious, and is prolly going to hold the Kiddie notion of the system together so hey... I say a grassroots movement, we all just call it and ask for a Revolution/Go system and or games when referring to the Wii...
Where's that cap to the Decanter of Endless water???
"Nintendo Entertainment System" "Super Nintendo" "Nintendo 64" "GameCube" and now "Wii"
Well, if there is a next system from them, can we count on the name to get even shorter? Perhaps an un-pronouncable symbol or something?
"The system formally known as Nintendo"
Lil' Johnny: I wanna wii for Christmas.
Dad: A we?
Lil' Johnny: So we can play our wii together, as a family. And Robby is getting a wii, so we need a wii.
Dad: I don't understand what Robby has to do with us.
Lil' Johnny: It's not us Dad, it's wii.
On second thought the wii name might work with casual people if advertised enough. Especially with the two i's representing people. But they seriously need to advertise it right.
Picture the hard-core commercial(on G4, Sci-Fi, Cartoon Network, MTV, etc.): "Wii will rock you!" booming while people play Metroid, Madden, Zelda, and Smash Brothers.
Picture the casual commercial (on CBS, HGTV, History Channel, Halmark): Kids fighting, mom cries "Can't we all just get along." Dad says, "Wii can handle it." Then we see kids having a fun time together. Hear "Wii can work it out" playing in the background.
and "we not" is not a pun afaik
DreamCubeStation360
The secret is that they want everyone to hate the official name. That way, people will just call it a "Nintendo".
Gamertag: WyleType
It's the only way I can justify their explanation:
http://revolution.nintendo.com/
It's like a goofy choice for english wording in the middle of japanese anime, except in the real world.
Hmmm... Pie...
AFAIK the main use for slot loading drives is automated kiosks. Suppose you have a machine that can make prints from photo CDs. If it has an external tray, then eventually it will be broken off by some juvenile delinquent, or even just by a clumsy person. But if the user just sticks the CD into a slot, then people are somewhat less likely to break the mechanism. Yeah, their CDs may get a few scratches, especially if there is some kind of dust or grit in there, but it's no skin off your nose.
Now, consider the Wii. (I'm never going to be able to say that name without laughing.) If the target user is a reckless little kid, then the internal loading mechanism is the way to go. The kid won't easily break any parts off. And the media may get some scratches or other damage, but it'll probably get scratched anyway. So for some people this actually is a good feature.
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/webform.jsp
Give them some negetive feedback, maybe, just maybe, we wont be able to get revolution back, but Maybe they will try to get another.. less absolutely horid name.
(hell, we got farscape back on the air)
Web Developers: Celebrate to our roots! Animated Gifs and Tiled Backgrounds, dont let our history die!
I don't see how Nintendo Wii is that much better than the other two. When they go into the store the choice is between 'Made Up Name' 360, 'Made Up Name' 3, and 'Made Up Name'. At least the Playstation gives some indication of what it might do.
It's all about branding. Yes "Xbox" and "Playstation" are all made-up names, but those brands have been around for a while now. Those names might have been silly sounding when they first came out, but so did Google, Yahoo, and eBay. I've heard of too many moms talking about their kids playing Xbox when it's really a Playstation (or vice versa).
What Nintendo really has going for them is the "Nintendo" name itself. They've been associated with games far longer than Microsoft or Sony. My mom still refers to everything video-game related as Nintendo, since I grew up on the NES and SNES. So while "Wii" itself may be a crappy name, most folks (and store clerks) will refer to it as the next video game machine from Nintendo, and that will click with most consumers.
The biggest problem I have with "Wii" is that it has too many negative connotations with existing English words/slang. Reading all of the Slashdot comments makes that obvious. You didn't really have that problem with Xbox or PlayStation or GameCube. It reminds me of the urban legend of the Chevy Nova not selling well in Spanish-speaking countries, since "no va" means "doesn't go". (And yes, I know it's a false urban legend) Still, you would have thought that there were many other names Nintendo could have chosen that didn't have such negative connotations. "Wii" may be fine in Japan and other non-English speaking countries, but the US/UK/Australian populations are huge and it just seems to risky to do.
-- jchenx
Original name was Lee a common last name in asian world, it just the nintendo of america team misunderstood the name on the conference call due in inability of japanese to prounce the letter l.
Now I can finally say, "Let's go home and play weeeeee" without people looking weird at me.
Did anyone else get the distinct feeling that the "i"s in the video desparately want to be Luxo Jr (http://www.pixar.com/shorts/ljr/theater/short_320 .html) but couldn't quite pull it off? Also, what's up with the hollow/empty sound effects track? And the "logo" is nothing more than "Wii" in the most boring san serif font imaginable? This is just a pathetic showing from Nintendo.
maybe like their ancestors (the knights who say ni) these nights too will change their name to something more easy on the ears like
l y-zhiv
Ecky-ecky-ecky-ecky-p'tang-zoo-boing-goodem-zu-ow
or have their heads bitten off by a rabbit.
either is fine with me
"Ask Wii"
Now my friends will think I got some action when I tell them, "my girlfriend was playing with my Wii all night until she beat it." who am I kidding, no they won't.
I can't believe the idiots on here rattling on like they know better than the good folks at Nintendo when it comes to deciding what the damn console is called. Yes, I was shocked, but the name screams future.
Even the logo movie is cool - just using the two little i's with basic audio to convey a general idea of 'play'. The message is - on this console, we're going to get back to the essence of games.
I'm in.
But I'm starting to think these guys are right.
I'm going to be embarrassed to even ask for this thing at the counter.
A . It's a euphemism for "big, american, penis" ala the South Park episode (in which american men basically swallowed any bullshit when someone complimented their collective johnsons).
or
B. If you take the letter N from Nintendo, turn it into lines and add a line (\/|/) it becomes a W. Add that to WII and you have WWII, which of course, is world war 2. Now because they know we won WWII, they could be saying:
I'm not really sure but I'm sure, but I do know one thing...the stylus for the Gameboy is WAY too easy to lose. They need to add some kind of homing device or spider-tracer that the gameboy picks up in order to prevent loss.
I was going to get one, but "That's it man, game over man, game over, man! Game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?"
Slashdot = -1 Redundant, Asperger, kdawson FUD, Libertarian, and Linux
George Mason University?
my blog
Nintendo is hoping to get us all hooked, high and hungry for snacks!
Perhaps the new name is so that Queen can be the offical band of the system.
BOOM BOOM CHHH - BOOM BOOM CHHH!
SR
we are the knights who say Wiiii!
No, that's NOT what the TFA is trying to say (albeit badly). The Revolution has a single, built in drive that can handle both regular sized discs and the smaller ones from the Gamecube. The fact that the single drive can do both sizes without using a tray is probably what they're calling innovative. This is nothing new though, any of us following Nintendo have known this for months.
As for the external bit, I'm sure it's just going to be a dongle that enables the DVD playback license, just like on the Xbox. The dongle probably plugs into the USB port or something (the fact the Rev-er, Wii has USB ports and flash card ports to me is incredibly awesome, by the way).
Anyone who has heard the hilarious stand up comedy of John Pinette would get what I mean.
For those who don't know... he does an impression of a Japanese owner of a buffet who tells John that he eats like Free Weeee.... (Free Willy)
I disagree. It's a common problem on American subways too. I'm pretty sure I read a Wired article about some sort of electric jacket being developed to counter the problem.
What is more likely is that this name is the representation or altered abbreviation of the actual name. Similar to the Nintendo DS (Dual Screen) - This could very well be the Nintendo Wii (Wireless Interactive) and the two lower-case i's bring the interactive point home more so than just Wi or WI.
In the recent past, Nintendo has named recent products with simple, or informative names. Micro because its small, DS for two screens, and the Game Boy has had similar names for all its models and upgrades. Even the gamecube was simple and self informative - Taking the name Wii at face value right now is probably not the smartest thing ever.
Invexi - a Phoenix, AZ based web design and web development company.
Revolution could never work on the same shelves as the XBOX 360, the confusion would be greater than any phonetical "wii" problems. Moreover, as has already been discussed, the name reminds users of both "wifi" and of the innovative control scheme.
This wont be so bad if they swapped the 'W' for 'N'
Oh yes. I would SO buy a Nintendo 'Nii'
Ni.
Surely a top-loading CD drive like the Jaguar toilet seat would be more appropriate?
Congratulations, Nintendo. You're up against stiff competition, and we weren't sure you could pull it off; but with a branding decision like this, urine the running for sure. The guy who came up with this name must be a real whizz.
No doubt there will be a shower of solid gold hit software--a veritable golden shower of games. You'll be flush with cash in no time.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
Google says it means "up" in the Okinawan dialect... But their press release says it's from English.
Sendou Wave Kick!!
ii, (pronounced "ee", as in eagle) means 'good' in Japanese. Whether they had that in mind at all is unclear.
Ocama GameSphere!
XML - A clever joke would be here if
...is "Playstation," not "Wii." Think of the first time you heard the word "Playstation." Did it conjure up images of when you where a toddler playing with brightly-colored blocks? When I first heard "Playstation" I was immediately turned off. I thought it was name that should be given to some preschooler's toy set.
Even though you may hate the name "Wii" right now, you might (i.e. will) change your mind by time the console's released. Shame on Nintendo for using creativity in naming their console! I personally prefer my consoles to have lame names like "Xbox."
Ohh noo.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. . . . . . . .
"Stop saying Wii! NOBODY says Wii!!"
Would it be called the WiiWii?
If you have enough of them, would it be the WiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWii all the way \home ?
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
Geez, first we had the "i" prefix invade everything Internet/tech related (such as iPod and iMac). Now we have the "double i" in the middle, such as "Wii" and Intel's "Viiv".
And I still don't know how to pronouce it...
Macintosh humor! MacComedy.com
This dude that goes to my church is named Harry Wood. His wife's name is Anita. Seriously.
As much as I'd love to watch Microsoft get beaten by a wee Wii, I don't think that name is gonna get Nintendo anywhere in the argument that their products aren't geared towards kids.
Wat a horrible letdown.
Where the hell is Reggie when you need him? He can kick ass and take back the name.
And the underpowered comment. Using nintendo's own words, the thing is not much more powerful than a gamecube
Actually the only comments that have been made by Nintendo through official channels (that is if you consider Reggie, Iwata, and Shiggy to be official channes [rather than Matt from IGN]) was that you wouldn't be able to see the difference between the systems (PS3, XBox 360 and Revolution(Wii)) on a standard definition TV. Believe it or not, one of the main reasons the XBox 360 can (reasonably accurately) be called the XBox 1.5 is that Microsot forced developers to produce games in HD; when you're generating 6 times as many pixels, you require 6 times the processing power of your pixel pipeline to maintain the same pixel effects.
what the ??
MORTAR COMBAT!
Yes; I DO NOT want built in dvd playing abilities in my game consoles.
On IGN.
Other unusual, and silly names, such as Google, Yahoo, and Ipod have all ended up being attached to very succesful companies/services/products. You'll have to admit Wii is very similar to Yahoo.
Wii wii!
. . . welcome our new Wiinie overlords.
Several points must be made here:
1. In America at least, "wee" is rarely used to talk about going to the bathroom. It's generally "pee."
2. "Wee" is not a term referring to a part of the male anatomy. If your joke requires doubling the name to be funny, then try a different joke.
3. If you think that "wee"is funny, you must have difficulty when people use the first-person-plural pronoun, or when people speak French.
4. Honestly, even grade-schoolers are too old to think that "wee"is funny.
Eight-year-old: "Hee hee...he said 'wee'!"
Another eight-year-old: "Grow up, Billy."
I always thought Revolution was the coolest name you could give something. It encompasses with a single word everything that the console is trying to accomplish. It's pretty stupid to replace that meaningful, cool-sounding name with, well... three letters you aren't sure how to pronounce.
I just wasted your mod points! HA!
I'm sure others have already answered this but....NO. Technically, you can't even say "wi" in Japanese. There is no such sound in Japanese. You can't even write it, unless you use Katakana and make up your own version by placing U and I next to each other or some such thing. I believe there may be an obsolete Hiragana character for "wi" but it is not in modern use.
And yes, this is a very stupid name. I had no idea that "Revolution" wasn't the final name for the console. Honestly, it seems to me that they are going to have to change it because otherwise it will be a marketing disaster in the states.
I think they're missing the trailing W... I mean, ViiV worked for Intel right?
Insert Sig Here
Yeah. They can't really be that stupid. Oh, wait, N64, right.
what are you? Pun police?
"wii" can also be pronounced as "why"...
try getting some humour, might lighten up your life a little.
Other unusual, and silly names, such as Google, Yahoo, and Ipod have all ended up being attached to very succesful companies/services/products. You'll have to admit Wii is very similar to Yahoo.
Except google and Yahoo are not synonimous to "Penis" and "Urine". not that Im aware of.
Lets just admit it, they took the name decission without giving a shit on American markets. If that was the case they should have named it "Whee!" not "Wii" (Wee)
Go ahead! touch my Wii!
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
Telfort (dutch mobile phone daughter of British Telecom) to O2, as in oxygen was especially sickening. So succesfull they now are back to telfort again.
When the real revolution comes can we line up the marketting people behind the lawyers and safe some bullets?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
And one of the Exchange admins from my last company was named Harry Bush. I kid you not. I guess that's why he worked remote all the time.
also, may I say, i'm the proud owner of wii.org.uk blimmin web hosting is playing up tho mind you, wii should sell well in scotland, noo?
Judging a book by its cover is old-fashioned. Judging a book by its title is where it's at nowadays.
Don't you have someone you'd die for?
I guess I don't understand the pun...
The terms "wee", "wee wee", "weiner" and to a lesser extent "ding dong" and "ding-a-ling" all refer to the same part of a boy that has not yet reached puberty. Little boys are fascinated with the subject, and they even make songs about them. Maybe you remember a few from when you were a kid? If not, here's an oldie but goodie that we sang on a fieldtrip in 2nd grade when the boys and girls were separated: "Does your weiner hang low? does it wobble to and fro? Can you tie it in a not? Can you tie it in a bow? Can you throw it over your shoulder like a continental soldier? does your weiner hang low?"
Clearly Nintendo did their research. I'm absolutely convinced that "wii" will be a smash hit in the 6-10 market, but I think they could have done better with the name "buubee" because it would have given them the entire 6-24 heterosexual male population.
Plus I really like how the logo looks. The symbolism of dual remotes is strong. I find the concept of playing with two of those controllers very appealing.
Either Nintendo's site got slashdotted, or the whole "Wii" thing was a hack/defacing in the first place, and Nintendo has brought it down for repairs. The whole name-change sounds pretty fishy to me.
I think that it is safe to say that the Gizmondo has been dethroned. This makes me think that it is some new addon for an ipod so that the ipod will be able to flick you off. If I purchase one (now that there is some doubt), its name will be Terrance McWackles.
Neither PS2 nor Xbox could play DVDs directly out of the box either.
The first run of PS2 consoles had the DVD playing software on a memory card. Later versions put it in the PS2 firmware. So yes, a PStwo can play DVDs out of the box, as long as they match in region and TV system. (Unlike my $60 Apex player, the PS2 isn't capable of transcoding all-region PAL DVDs such as Wobbl and Bob to NTSC.)
But for most of the history of the GameCube, it has been possible to walk into a Wal-Mart store and buy a GameCube and a stand-alone DVD player for the price of a PS2. A separate player has the advantage that one family member can use the DVD on one TV and another can use the GameCube on another TV at the same time, so you don't lose out when someone else in the house wants to watch a Meg Ryan marathon. Likewise, a DS and a portable DVD player add up to about the same price as a PSP.
Wii know what Wii are getting for Christmas, precious...
It's a wee bit silly.
(Sorry. Feel free to groan.)
You can get small-as-hell DVD players now for about $40 at your local Target (which will probably be cheaper than the Revolution add on.)
That's exactly why it's an addon. If you can get a DVD player for $40 (and probably have), why do you even want another one? Just save the cost of having a DVD player in a console.
Besides, I wouldn't feel as well buying a console with a DVD player if I already had one, because of the overlap.
Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
This will make a killer Penny Arcade comic. Can't wait till tomorrow.
You don't need to wait.
VVii. Viiv. iivv...
The terms "wee", "wee wee", "weiner" and to a lesser extent "ding dong" and "ding-a-ling" all refer to the same part of a boy that has not yet reached puberty.
You are right on all counts, except for "wee."If I may partake in some etymology, "wee wee" is short for "weiner"; "wee" is another word for "pee,"and does not mean the same thing as "wee wee." If you can come up with a song that uses "wee"to use "weiner,"then you might have a point. However, I doubt you'll find one.
I mean, this is just plain stupid. It's like someone names a linux distribution Ubuntu or something, that would never be succe-
Oh, wait...
A name is just that....a name. Stop jumping to consequences until you've seen the console in action.
*Giggle* *giggle* *snort*
It's funny because it sounds like taking a pee-pee.
No, really. Oh, right.
Classics:
Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play - with your wii.
No need to abbreviate. Just Wii. - Ok.
Wii will break down the wall that separates video game players from everyone else. - That's one strong wii.
While the code-name "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. - Go figure!
Humbly announcing: The Death of Nintendo. I'm so sorry, were you close? If it means anything, they were put down for their own goof... erm, good.
They should add a W... I can't believe any Japanese company would name a product one letter short of WWII.
Nintendo FUCKASS! I want to walk into a store and proudly ask "where are the FUCKASS games at?"
It means nothing in Japanese, but if put into kana (Japanese phoenetic spelling) it will have the same spelling as the french word "Oui". Japanese people know that word, just like americans do, and that may be part of Nintendo's reasoning for the name.
Maybe renaming it was a prerequisite for Konami to make a version of DDR for the console.
:)
They probably didn't like "Dance Dance Revolution Revolution" too much, thinking that repetition is nice, but it's best not to take it too far.
"Dance Dance Revolution Weeeee!", on the other hand, is sure to be a hit!
Yes, "wii" is the way that nobles in the Sendai region used to say "ii" or "good."
That's clever and all, but "ii" used to be "yi", which itself is long obsoleted. So... nevermind, I guess. Run with people in Sendai saying "wi". That sounds cool.
Is it just me? Am I the ONLY person who never said he was going to play "NES" or "SNES" or "Famicom" or "N64" or "Gamecube" or so?
I always said "I'm gonna chill out and play Nintendo". I'm gonna play some Nintendo DS. A lot of people worldwide are going to call it "the Nintendo". Forget the name. Nintendo don't need Playstation style branding like Sony does, because they don't have a billion products like Sony does.
Can we have a time-out for a while. I've laughed so hard from your posts, I can barely breath (and I'm not asthmatic either).
Right, that's better, time-in!
English is the only language I know where "i" has somehow come to be pronounced "ay"
Blame the Great Vowel Shift.
You could also say "Double You Double I".
The sounds Wii (We) are illogicaly difficult in Japanese as well.
The character for wi existed in hiragana and katakana until after WWII when the Ministry of Education obsoleted wi and we because they had come to be pronounced [i] and [e]. The same thing is happening to wo (it's becoming pronounced [o] in running speech), but they keep it because it's useful as a particle.
Wii would almost certainly be changed to Rii(Ree).
Uh, no. I'm not sure where you'd get that.
I guess it could be a katakana Wa with mini kakatakana i.
The accepted way to make "wi" in Japanese (since the post-WWII language reforms) is "ui", or rather an 'u' with a subscript 'i'.
To Wii or not to Wii... that is the question
Maybe they were afraid that it would bomb.
You are the 10,000th person to use that fucking joke on slashdot since the Revolution was announced.
Read Pynchon.
New details on the disc format have also been revealed: 'Instead of a tray, a single, innovative, self-loading media bay will play both 12-centimeter optical discs used for the new system as well as Nintendo GameCube discs. Owners will have the option of equipping a small, self-contained attachment to play movies and other DVD content.'
1. this information is not new.
2. it has been said many times by nintendo that the DVD attatchement was internal.
if there's one thing slashdot is bad at it's game coverage.
weeee!
In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, however, there is.
Repeat after me... WII WII!
While I can't say that I'm thrilled with the new name... Is it really that bad?
Lets look at the names of its main competitors:
Xbox 360 - Am i the only person that laughed out loud when i first read that name? It sounds like they gathered a bunch of 12 year old boys and told them to come up with the coolest name possible...
Playstation 3 - Wow... What a clever name "Playstation"... And its the third one... atleast it gets its point across quite effectively.
Now the name Revolution was nice as a codename, but really wouldnt work as the final name for a console, imo. And atleast they tried to be creative with the name.
Finaly, this is Slashdot... isnt everyone here supposed to love Open Source Software? And isnt the entire point of Open Source Software development to make an application just so you can have fun coming up with the most random, unrelated, silly name for it? I would have though you guys would love the Wii name!
My hand touched her hand. Her hand touched her boob. By the transitive property, I got some boob! Algebra is awesome!
ahem, let's try that again....
& resource=wii.jpg
http://friday.iblog.com/index.php?op=ViewResource
/. is made by racist Americans.
in other news, the following sites were registered recently:
www.wiitarded.com
www.wiidiculous.com
Everything thusfar about the revolution has generated a ton of publicity. To the new controller to the new name. The dealbreaker will be how the games turn out.
Hmmm... Pie...
Or, instead of guessing wildly and missing completely, you could just go to www.nintendo.co.jp and watch the Japanese version of the same flash animation. It's written (nyuuryokusiki) as uxi-, or wi-. (katakana "u", small katakana "i", enlongation mark).
Just as with the English version, it's based on the English word "we". "wi-" is also the same way that the English word "we" is transliterated into katakana. There is literally no Japanese person who does not recognize this very simple English word, which seems to be the rationale for considering the name to be globally recognizable.
You could also go to www.nintendo.fr and see from the French version that it has nothing to do with "oui". From the French site:
My name is ... Wii
Like the pronunciation of "nous" in English
En English, Wii resembles "we" (nous), and emphasises that this console is intended for the entire world.
... poo was unavailable.
(Wii is supposed to be pronounced we)
meh
I don't think that's such a bad name, it's kind of cute too.
Anyway, isn't "xbox" a sillier name? Actually most console names are silly..."game boy" "genesis"...only NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) and by inheritance Super NES, too, Playstation, Gamecube...
Interestingly, the Japanese version isn't nearly as verbose as the English one. I guess they probably didn't feel much need to justify the oddball faux-English to the reader, since most Japanese products (and all of Nintendo's game consoles) use English-derived names.
There's none of the cockamamy rationale that "the whole world will understand the name" which is present in the English or French versions. However, there is a focus on the "family gaming" concept (and by association casual gaming -- games that even your mom or grandpa would play) which is missing from the English version. With Nintendo's recent incredible success in casual gaming with the DS, this marketing angle shouldn't come as much of a surprise. One could say that the Wii is basically the extension of the DS's pen-like interface into 3-d space: the living room.
One other interesting cultural reference is the way that the "ii" bows to the viewer at the end of the animation. That would be the standard body language to use in Japan, after introducing yourself to an audience.
>>3. If you think that "wee"is funny, you must have difficulty when people use the first-person-plural pronoun, or when people speak French.
True, but for some reason "Nintendo Cock" doesn't have that je ne sais quoi.
And that's not such a bad thing. Back in the days of the NES & SNES everyone wanted a Nintendo. Nintendo was synonymous with video games. Then you had the Nintendo 64, and now...the gamecube? And everyone calls it the gamecube, the Nintendo name was diluted. Microsoft's brand is 'Xbox', Sony's brand is 'Playstation', but Nintendo's brand has always just been 'Nintendo'.
Anyway, the more I hear and read about the name, the funnier it gets. NoJ marketing might take it seriously, but if NoA tries to do that, they're doomed. But if they have a sense of humor about the name, they'll attract lots of buyers, especially their casual gamer demographic. Immature humor outsells mature drama consistently, and Nintendo has a chance to capitlize on that.
just some guy
If they're going for the short-and-catchy, they should call it the Nintendo Unf.
Can you imagine the possibilities?
"My girlfriend came over, and we played unf for 3 hours!"
"What'll it be, then? 360, PS3, or unf?" "Unf me." "Surely, but pick out your game system first."
The list goes on and on...
Help protect civil rights from abuse by the TSA - visit TSA News Blog.
http://www.tsanewsblog.com
Hey, I live in Sendai, you insensitive clod! (Really.)
Here's mine:
This November 17th I'm going to be playing with dual Nintendo Wiimotes.
wii wii
The console is full of excellent ideas and truly revolutionary implementation, which is why the ORIGNAL name would have suited it fine, even if it was just like a codename.
Judging from there PR Departments current antics, the console is liable to be coloured Neon Yellow/Green/Pink. As well as the fact that we know that the GameCube wasn't the most marketed of consoles.
"Google says it means "up" in the Okinawan dialect... But their press release says it's from English." I don't think putting "wee-wee" and "up" together in one meaning is the way to go to make him feel better here... That taken aside, it is only natural that the online fanboy community would reveal it's 7 year old humour and poke fun of this. They have to poke fun of something... it's the same thing as the vibrator boomerang PS3 controllers, or the george foreman grill back when Xbox came out... Ignore the little voice in your head that makes you giggle like when someone makes you say "under where" (Hehe... get it?... underw...) and consider the practical uses. After thinking about it for a bit Nintendo We would be a pretty cool name, and Nintendo Wii is basically the same, except for a bit more weird and more playful, which is exactly what they're trying to go for with their console. If you don't like it then shmeh, you're not really in their target audience... but if you're like most people, you giggled a bit when you heard it (for whatever reason) and you remember it, and you're anxiously waiting for more news, even though you have your doubts.
"Hawk, we're going to die." "Never say die... and certainly never say we." -- M*A*S*H
just go here: http://revolution.nintendo.com/ for the explanation.
though the explanation is good, i don't seem to like the name.
honestly, i wouldn't want to buy the product anymore as it sounds bad. there is no more coolness from the "revolution." it's like buying a device that is small, crappy, puny, unreliable, cheap, and underpowered. maybe they associate it with "weeeeeeee" where at the end, the product crashes to the wall as there is no brakes.
they could have named it like family entertainment or universal entertainment but not as cheesy as wii. i'd rather buy the ps3 and xbox 360 where there is a coolness factor to the name. i couldn't really keep the scenario out of my mind where kids who have wii will get teased and bullied by those with ps and xbox.
Live your life each day as if it was your last.
Considering the english spelling inconsistencies, that's pretty hard anyway if you don't use existing words :-)
It's pronounced "We".
I think the reason it's stupid isn't because it sounds like urine or some sort of other taboo innuendo. The reason it's dumb is because there is no easy way to say it in an english sentence that makes grammatical sense.
"Let's go play we."
"There's a new game out for we."
"We is going to have all of the back games for a low monthly fee."
"Have you see the controller for we."
"We like to play we."
"We has all the games I could possibly want."
vs.
"Hey wanna come over and play xbox?"
"The best place to find it is on yahoo."
"Amazon has all the stuff I could ever want."
"Snickerdoodapnameathingymadumb is the my favorite console."
It's almost like some sort of Japaneses conspiracy to spread engrish world wide. If they had named it something like "wanginator", it still would have been a better name because wanginator is usable as a noun in the English language. The new name is hijacking a common English word, not some uncommon, off t he beaten path vocabulary. What are they going to name the next console "him"? "Have you see the new him game?" It just sounds wrong to every slightly educated English speaking individual.
You should seek professional help, you freak!
Don't see enough daas quotes around here...
Since it is good for Linux, why can't we have two pronunciations ?
I keep says Why instead of Wee.
Nintendo Why sounds okay to me..
Just like I say Liinux, and everyone else says Leenux.. Why is the way to go..
And the animated i's are cool.. lots of great ad's for them..
And my last point. It is just a NAME!! We will get used to it and it does make the damnest bit of differnece to how much fun the final system and games are..
Cannot wait for Sadness and Red steel. And will buy the nintendo launch games tooo..
Pablo
onewordlame
Sign the petition to change it back to Revolution at http://www.wiihatethename.com/
At least they didn't think of some stupid name like "Dolphin" ...
Oh wait, they already threw that one out the window.
What else can happen when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object?
Here's my theory:
"Wii" isn't the real new name of the console. It's all a marketing stunt by Nintendo to steal the spotlight before E3. They come up with the stupidest yet believable name to get everybody going "WTF?" and to get them talking about it.
When E3 comes around, Nintendo yells surprise, and reveals that the name of the console is completely different, and again they steal the spotlight. It's a double whammy, they can't lose!
That's clever and all, but "ii" used to be "yi", which itself is long obsoleted
Are you sure you're not thinking of "yoi," which is the root of yoku, yokatta, etc.? I'm pretty sure there's never been kana for "yi."
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Cool. It's a great city. I spent my three weeks in Sendai as part of the final immersion classes offered at my college. I stayed with a host family in the Yaotome region, and commuted every day to Touhoku University for classes. I'd love to go back someday, but who has the time, you know?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
I guess it shows my age when my first reaction was to notice how close "Wii" is to "WWII", and wonder why a JAPANESE company would want to make allusions to THAT. A few years ago no Japanese company would have gone near that kind of marketing.
I often don't like the choices people make, but I like the fact that people make choices. That's why I'm a conservative.
Touching your Wii is good
There are thousands of users talking about "Wii" here, job done for the Nintendo marketing team....
Are you sure you're not thinking of "yoi," which is the root of yoku, yokatta, etc.? I'm pretty sure there's never been kana for "yi."
Hmm. Wikipedia agrees with you that there has never been a kana for "yi". Somewhere along the line someone told me that in Classical Japanese "yi" did exist and that the irregular conjugation of "ii" involves an old paradigm that's no longer productive, where the final mora of an adjective was Ci for present affirmative and Co for past and some other vowel changes I don't remember. (with C standing in for any consonant.) I have no means of substantiating that, so for all I know I could've just been fed a story. Man, I wish I took enough Japanese that I could've taken Classical Japanese.
The name will still be Revolution in the states, Wii it's just some brillant marketing idea to overload blogs and sites like this.
Wait until E3 and you will see...
Also, The DVD peripherical will be similar in size and shape to the broadband adapter for Gamecube, it will be connected under the unit and the included remote will be using tech similar to Wavebird. It will cost around $30