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.'"

Comments

Terrible

[ender-]

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...

The question now is...

[Hannah E. Davis]

... 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.

Why wii? Confusion with Wifi?

[EmbeddedJanitor]

There was much confiusion between PCI and PCMCIA. What chance does Joe Average stand with Wii vs Wifi?

Re:Why wii? Confusion with Wifi?

[fm6]

Actually, the big problem with Radio Shack is that nobody who works there knows as much as they think they do. For example, my sister recently got her first cell phone. She emailed me asking if it was true that you had to run down the cell batteries on a regular basis or they'd stop working. I immediately asked, "You got that phone at Radio Shack, didn't you?" Sure enough, she had. I then explained to her electronic gadgets no longer come with ni-cad batteries, and that lithium batteries don't have "memory" issues.

My all time favorite is from many years ago, when TV sets still had mono earphone jacks. I wanted to plug in my Walkman headphones to the TV, so I went to the local mall to buy a signal splitter at Radio Shack. When I tried to explain what I wanted, the clerk kept insisting that it was impossible to convert a mono signal into a stereo signal. I kept trying to explain that wasn't what I was trying to do, but he was so sure of his "facts" that it was a waste of time. So I finally went next door to the record store where the clerk has no technogeek pretentions, and immediately got sold what I wanted.

Though now I hear that if you go into a record store, you have to be careful not to use the word "record". If you do, the clerks sneer at you and tell you they don't sell records, only CDs — even if the store has the word "record" in the name.

Bottom line: when you work in retail, your job is to help your customers, not show off how much you know — or don't know.

Perfect Name

[Metabolife]

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.

DVD "attachment"

[DrXym]

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.

wii = something good

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Oh Good Lord

[Physician]

It's WE, not WHY. At least get the jokes correct.

Wii will not rock you!

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/revo/
Help this guy change nintendos future...

Re:I think people have the wrong idea..

[Anonymous Coward]

They want something simple, sophisticated, intuitive, and a little artsy. "Wii" fits the bill for that type of goal.

Simple: Check
Sophisticated: Err, what? "Wii" does not communicate a sense of intelligence, glamour, or refinement. It communicates a slang word that every American kid knows after the age of 6.
Intuitive: WTF is intuitive about it? Non-Japanese people will look at the name and have no idea how it's pronounced.
Artsy: I suppose it might look pretty, in the right font. Maybe. But it also looks like it's missing a consonant.

Re:Oh Good Lord

[mgabrys_sf]

Playstation and XBox can be turned into jokes. Wii - IS - a joke. Difference!

The biggest anoyance is the lack of proper pronunciation. I don't have to imagine long the amount of times irk-ed Nintendo fanboys will be explaining it to non-gamers, or the people with the purse strings this holiday season.

Probably as many who scolded others on such great names like INXS, Sade, And Prince's former name / mark / doodle (whose best pronunciation was "pbbbbt" by a Denver radio station DJ who refused to play along with the stupidity).

My future console's name may not be as "different" but I won't be muttering it at my feet in mixed company either.