Revolution's Final name

[Flint]

;D

I would like to say that I love the name! I’m having a great time reading all the people reactions all over the web; I am not a native English speaker (I’m from Mexico) so the first things that came to my mind after knowing the name were:

French word we = yes (by the way your splash image crack me up every time I see it)
Spanish wee=sound that people do when having a great time
English pronoun we= we

And finally now we not only say “Wii are the best“ but also that “Wii is the best“

[nocturnal YL]

My opinion to this name is ,,, well, quite against the name.

Reasons for hating "Wii" :
- It sounds like "we", which doesn't sound like a unique and special name.
- "I want a we"? Weirdo.
- Revolution is a much better name, seeing its strong meaning.
- It might cause confusion, you know



Fry: Its romanised JP is ui-, yes, but remember, kanas we and wi are cancelled a long time ago, so it's being called this and is still pronounced "we", anyway. Try typing "wi" using a Japanese IME and you'll know.

[Fryguy64]

coreywoods said:

I suppose a lot of you have also come across the conspiracy theory that it's all just viral marketing campaign. ("Wii" has not been trademarked, and www.wii.com has not been registered... yet.) It would not be Nintendo's first, but it would certainly be their most devious.

That is a strange set of events. Why would Nintendo have not trademarked it (despite the TM I had trouble cutting around when putting together the splash image)...

As much as I'd love to believe it was a big marketing thing, I fell into the same "conspiracy theory" trap last E3 when everyone thought Nintendo would show some games or the controller somehow - and all the weird events surrounding the show kinda suggested it might be a mind game.

But it wasn't. And I don't think I want to get my hopes up like that again. But I probably will anyway. After all, two days later and I STILL think it sounds stupid. I'm usually well into Nintendo's barmy decisions by now!

[flamedude]

There is no way for that name to become a household name like google or ipod without being associated with piss and being laughed at.

Even the big publications, who are objective for the most part, are having a hard time using the name. BBC;

"Only time will tell whether Nintendo can replicate that kind of success with its Wii."

[wanderingshadow]

Okay, rumors are going around that Wii isn't the real final name. The evidence is that Nintendo hasn't registered it as a trademark. Here's a link to my source:

www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3150098

So, don't dispair, it may not be final.

[Wildcat]

Well, I just got done changing all my Revolutions in my E3 article to Wii. Feh. We'll see once E3 rolls around. Interesting read there at 1up, too. Here's my take from my E3 feature - I'll refrain from any jokes, but I will be honest. I don't care for the name much. My friends at Nintendo Database, for the most part, hate the name. And two of Got-Next's members don't care for it much, either. Compared to Revolution, it doesn't impress. Depress is more like it. But, it's the name, the name doesn't truly measure the greatness of a system (although asking for a Wii game or "Do you have any Wiis in stock?" doesn't sound like much fun), and the Wii is an intriguing system either way you slice it. There, that's my speel. I still don't like it, but I'll cope with it. ^^

[Nester the Lark]

admin said:

That is a strange set of events. Why would Nintendo have not trademarked it (despite the TM I had trouble cutting around when putting together the splash image)...

As much as I'd love to believe it was a big marketing thing, I fell into the same "conspiracy theory" trap last E3 when everyone thought Nintendo would show some games or the controller somehow - and all the weird events surrounding the show kinda suggested it might be a mind game.

Actually, I was thinking of the one Nintendo did with Metroid Prime 2, when they parodied Microsoft's "I Love Bees" thing. But I've still been checking, and so far, there is no www.wii.com, wii.nintendo.com or nintendo.com/wii. The menu at nintendo.com still has the name "Revolution," and even the Wii video is still at revolution.nintendo.com. What's the hold up? Wasn't NOA prepared for it?

And here are a few more interesting news articles I came across. The first is an editorial at TG Daily:
www.tgdaily.com/2006/04/29/a_wii_bit_more_attention_for_nintendo/

Think of "Xbox," "PlayStation," "Dreamcast"...heck, think of "Revolution." Nobody had to explain these terms to anyone, even though technically the Xbox could just as easily have been a funny type of packaging. The moment you have to begin to explain your branding in pedantic detail - which Nintendo is doing through both its spokespeople and its promotional material - you're screwed. If you're going to make your customers stop and think, it should be for a clever reason. Sony, for instance, made waves with its PlayStation Portable advertising, with phrases like, "Your girlfriends white bits here;" and although it made everyone scratch their heads, that was half the point.

A somewhat inconclusive article from joystiq.com that speculates whether Nintendo intended as much backlash as it's getting:
www.joystiq.com/2006/04/28/was-nintendo-ready-for-wii-backlash/

But was the company ready for so much negativity? Forbes writes a blunt headline: "Iwata's Nintendo Lampooned For 'Wii'." The Financial Times is more gentle with "Wii aren’t too sure about this." The CNN story even manages to include the toilet humor right in the headline, with a head that reads: "Nintendo goes 'Wii' ... (not a typo)."

These are major publications that are taking note of the internet backlash that has accompanied Nintendo's latest announcement, and they're all taking care to mention the link between the name and the toilet humor that the name inspires.

And finally, another joystiq.com article that examines whether "Wii" really is a comperable name to "Google," "Yahoo!," "iPod," etc, as Nintendo has claimed.
www.joystiq.com/2006/04/29/nintendo-invokes-good-names-to-defend-a-bad-one/

iPod: The lowercase "i" was first introduced in 1998 with the iMac. The iPod was launched three years after. Three years is a long time, during which Apple built a brand around that little "i." They've got the iBook, the iMac, iPhoto, iWeb, iMovie, iDVD, iChat, iCal, iSync, iLife, iWork, iDisk, and so on. The "pod" part of the name works too. Pods are small containers that contain seeds of life and energy; seeds that can give birth to worlds. The "pod" can envelop its user, wrapping him in a safe womb where he can be alone with his thoughts and his music. Granted, there was a teensy bit of unfavorable reaction to the name, but not nearly as much as met the Wii.

There, I'm done. I think it's time for me to move on to other threads.

[Smashchu]

Anotehr reason Nintendo changed the name was because, in Japaness, Revolution is extrely hard to pronounce.
The Wii might not be nthe name. I read it takes min. to register a trademark electronicly and after 3 days it should have been done by now. Its also not trademark in Japan either. I doubt the name will be Revolution but it may be something eles. I would expect itmto be short but not Wii. If it dosn't get trademarked in the next 5 days then I would expect it would change.

Wait I have an idea. If someone could trademark Wii before Nintendo does then they'll have to change it. Could work.

[wanderingshadow]

Perhaps it will be the Wii in Japan (and France!) and the Revolution everywhere else. Nintendo changed the Famicom's name for America.

[Saim]

I never thought of "Wii" as "wee" until someone on IGNForums said it. I thought of it as "Wii".

[flamedude]

In terms of advertising this ploy has been very successful. Everyone is talking about the Re.. WIi again and hype is good. Hopefully the other half of this campaign is to announce (at E3) what the console's real name is.

Viral marketing is fairly new but I cant think of one campaign that had the audacity to put the brand name on the line in a negative way. Everyone is talking about Wii but in a negative light, Origen360 and I Love Bees were excellent because they were simply mysterious and there were no negative aspects to what they were doing.

This is of course assuming that nintendo are using viral marketing......

[Smashchu]

The Wii seems to be very mysterious. Sadly we can never trust Nintendo. When Lik-sang found out about the DS Lite they denined it and they say this is a final worldwide name. Very Interesting.

[wanderingshadow]

The least they could've done was changed the pronunciation to "Why". That's what I first thought when I saw it, but as I read further, I found out it how it was supposed to be announced. Asking for a why isn't nearly as bad and wouldn't be the target of nearly as many jokes.

[Nester the Lark]

Doh! I promised myself I wouldn't post in this thread again! Oh well.

I just wanted to say that when I first saw the promo video for "Wii," my very first thought was that it was a new name for Nintendo's online service. "Wii" looks like "Wi-fi" without the f, and the font is similar.

Then I realized it was the name of the whole console.

[Fryguy64]

As my first post in this topic suggested, I thought it was some kind of service for the Revolution.

So, how many nights have I slept on it now? Four? And it still sounds crap. I'm not angry at it any more, but I still hate it. Bring on E3!!