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OFFICIAL: Revolution renamed Nintendo Wii! *UPDATE 12*

by rawmeatcowboy
28 April 2006
GN 1.0 / 2.0

This story will stay at the top of the page today, for obvious reasons! You can find new news posted below.

revowii

Thanks Zoora!

Introducing… Wii.

As in “we.”

While the code-name Revolution expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down that wall that seperates videogame players from everybody else. Wii will put people more in touch with their games… and each other. But you’re probably asking: What does the name mean?

Wii sounds like “we,” which emphasizes the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.

Wii has a distinctive “ii” spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people playing it. And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of videogames that sets it apart from the crowd.

So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you. Because it’s really not about you or me. It’s about Wii. And together, Wii will change everything.

Click here for more

Huge thanks to EVERYONE who emailed me with the info while I was stuck in the no internet zone.

Direct link for YouTube movie here

Update 1 - The guys at 1up have formed an improptu roundtable where they let their feelings known about the new name. Click here to check it out.

Update 2 Joystiq has up a poll asking if you like the name Wii, and there are a few different options. Right now it seems like most people want the name Revolution back. Click HERE to vote for yourself.

Update 3 - Gamespot has up some industry insider’s reactions to the name, and CNN has some talk of the name too. Game Informer has an interview with Nintendo of America’s Public Relations Manager Matt Atwood about the name choice.

Huge thanks to Tiberus for all the links!

Update 4 - ABC & MTV
are offering up opinions on the new name. 1up has put up a new Wii Faq stating all we know about the system. One this is for sure, it has got people talking.

Update 5 - Well we all knew this was coming. A petition to kill the name Wii has started, and if you feel that strongly about it you can click HERE to sign. Also popping up are some images that I would say have a 99% chance of being fake, but they are interesting nonetheless. A different approach to the Wii logo. Click the thumbs to view. Thanks to Hunter, CrystalHawk, and Snuggle for the info.

wkmwic
wkmx3c

Update 6 - IGN has offered up a few opinions via a blog and a roundtable.

blog images 20060427113350216

IGN’s roundtable show that most of the IGN staff hate the name. I have only taken a few of the comments out of the article since it is an Insider article.

Chris Roper, IGN PlayStation: Nintendo is ******* retarded. That is all.

Juan Castro, IGN PSP: At this point, I’m not sure it matters if Nintendo’s new system has a cool name or not. They want to attract infants and the senile, not the PS3 crowd. At any rate, “Wii” is no more cracked-out than the “Revolution” concept itself.

Really, a wicked-cool name wouldn’t have made any sense. And in a way, “Wii” actually works. It’s a total, funkified gamble. Just like everything Nintendo is doing nowadays.

Erik Harte, IGN Video: Seriously, any last shred of cool that Nintendo had was just thrown out the window. I mean, the whole style, look, and feel of the Revolution, with it’s Mac-like color schemes, simplicity, and glowing blue light was very cool. But man, watch the Wii commercial. Not cool at all. Dammit Nintendo. You’re shooting yourself in the foot.

Daemon Hatfield, IGN News: …and just when i was starting to believe in Nintendo again…

(One of the two semi-nice ones…) Mark Nix, IGN Data: Nintendo needs to open up its E3 2006 press conference the same way PeeWee Herman opened up the MTV awards that one year … Heard any good jokes lately?

As ridiculous as it is hitting us now, however, I can feel the name growing on me in some small way already. Wii is at once a terrible name for a videogame console and a catchy name for a gaming sensation. How any of us will go into a store and ask for a game for the “Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”, I have no idea, but the casual gamers turned off by this generation’s complex and expensive Xbox and PlayStation game systems will hopefully find the charm in a console that literally screams fun. Meanwhile, the dedicated fan boys have already coined a new pronounciation (the term “Wiise” has been coined), and some are still die-hard to stick Revolution stickers over the Wii logo when it hits stores. Wii is simple like iPod. Wii is cute like Aibo. Wii is … well, it’s no name for a game system, but it’s all Nintendo, and to many, Nintendo is gaming.

Of course, no matter how much it catches on, the jokes will never die.

Update 7 - As you guys know, the word on the net today is Wii…and many are voicing their opinions. Here is a comic strip from British Gaming Blog. Click to see the full version. If anyone finds anything positive as far as comics or photoshopped images let me know, I will throw one of them up with this comic.

t3hpixel

Update 8 - IGN talks to Perrin Kaplan about Wii

IGN Wii: We’re now called IGN Wii. How could you do this to us?

Perrin Kaplan: Say that again.

IGN Wii: It is pronounced like “we,” right?

Perrin Kaplan: Yes, as in inclusive, you and me. So how could I do it to you?

IGN Wii: Yes. Don’t you guys think about us when you do these things?

Perrin Kaplan: I think about you pretty much 24/7.

IGN: Well, of course you do.

Perrin Kaplan: Let me just tell you that if you’re disrupted by it today, it’s obviously caught your attention. And at the show, you’re going to get to try out a lot of products that will make you happy.

IGN Wii: Revolution seemed to be a pretty cool code-name that a lot of our readers liked. Why abandon it?

Perrin Kaplan: You know, I thought it was a neat name, too, but it’s not as fitting for what we’re trying to do. You think about Google being an unusual name. You think about Virgin Airlines. Amazon. Napster. All those. I think it’s as unique as those. They aren’t just unique, but loved names for places that we all know. And I think this is more fitting and the two Is work on a bunch of different levels. It looks like two people with heads who can play, which is the inclusive nature of everybody. It looks like the controllers. So for us it looked like a couple of different levels.

IGN Wii: You have said that you’re going for a name that’s unique, like Google. But Wii is also used as “we” every day and therefore only unique in spelling. Do you think there is a risk of confusing potential buyers with a title like this?

Perrin Kaplan: I think it’s really fun to look at, the logo. I think people are going to see that on the box and our package art. I think people will get it straight after a while - it’s just something they’re going to have to get used to.

IGN Wii: Was the name decided on out of Japan or was it a global decision by Nintendo?

Perrin Kaplan: It’s a global name. As most things at Nintendo are done, it was not done by any individual. It was really a team effort.

IGN Wii: How long have you known about the new name?

Perrin Kaplan: Well, let me see. We’ve been working on a name for a good year and have had this one in mind for some time.

IGN Wii: Simplicity seems to be part of the reasoning behind the new name. Why not just spell it “We” then?

Perrin Kaplan: I think that there’s a really strong visual to it by having it symbolize the controllers and symbolize people. And, as you pronounce it, the Wii does stand for that whole worldwide inclusion of players. So you get both out of it.

IGN Wii:
The logo and the video teaser you put out seem to stress the plurality of the name. What message can we take away from that?

Perrin Kaplan:
I think it’s just a reminder that the system can be played individually or be played by a lot of people. It is for people of all sized and shapes. It’s really a system for everybody. It’s a system for the core gamers. It’s a system for the people who are just going to be re-entering gaming. I think that’s what people can get from it.

IGN Wii: Why announce the final name now and not at E3 2006?

Perrin Kaplan: Why are we doing it now? Well, let me just say that if you look at how much time people have spent online talking about it today and paying attention to it today, it really, I think, required that kind of attention and seeping in for people to let it settle a little bit. It would be really, really easy to lose that at the show. Also, I think it’s important for us to go into the show with people knowing what we’re talking about.

IGN Wii: Some overzealous readers have created some truly phallic Wii designs. We e-mailed you several of them, as you saw. Any plans to use any of these brilliant materials in your official marketing plans?

Perrin Kaplan:
What a nice way of asking that question! We actually have had a day of a lot of smiles around here with a variety of things that fans have created, let me just say that. It shows you that people are big fans of Nintendo.

IGN Wii:
Do you think it will come as a shock to some of the Nintendo leaders back in Japan to see some of these fan-created Wii graphics?

Perrin Kaplan:
Well, they might have to find those themselves.

IGN Wii:
Some fans have already started petitions in hopes of somehow convincing Nintendo to change the name. Any message for these people?

Perrin Kaplan: Live with it, sleep with it, eat with it, move along with it and hopefully they’ll arrive at the same place.

IGN: So will Wii be your focus at E3, or will DS have its place, too?

Perrin Kaplan: We’re going to be focusing on both, as you probably know. We know people are really interested in hearing about the new system so we will obviously be having a big portion of our focus on it.

OnDeathsDoorStep shows us a petition to KEEP the name Wii! Also, reader ERAze brings us a Wii wallpaper. Dig in!

bring19


Update 9
- GameSpot’s on the spot video feature has a bit about how their editors feel about the Wii name change. I haven’t gotten a chance to check it out for myself yet, but you guys can click HERE to watch.

Someone over at NeoGaf has made some pretty slick Wii avatars for those who are interested. Below is a sample, click HERE to see the thread.

wiiavatar1

Update 10 - Was Nintendo teasing us with the name all along, and we had no idea of it?! Black Pheonix raises a very interesting point. Perhaps there is some merit to the finding, perhaps not…and we will most likely never know. Check out the video piece below which first appeared in 05.

Direct link here

Also popping up, Chris Kohler (video game journalist/writer) has up a piece in defense of the name change to Wii. A great read, thanks to E for the info.


Update 11
- Andy Lurig emails me with this bit of information…(taken straight from email)

wii.com is taken by a private company since 1999. However, nintendowii.com forwards to nintendo.com
All other nintendowii. (everything else) is registered to random people.

This is the WHOIS information for: nintendowii.com NOTE IT WASN’T DONE TILL TODAY. Smart.

Querying whois.opensrs.net
]
[whois.opensrs.net]
Registrant:
Nintendo of America Inc.
4820 150th Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052
US

Domain name: NINTENDOWII.COM

Administrative Contact:
Melton, Scott webmaster@nintendo.com
4820 150th Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052
US
+1.4258822040 Fax: +1.4258823585

Technical Contact:
DNS Administration, Nintendo netadmin@noa.nintendo.com
4820 150th Avenue NE
Redmond, WA 98052
US
+1.4258822040 Fax: +1.4258823585

Registration Service Provider:
DBMS VeriSign, dbms-support@verisign.com
800-579-2848 x4
Please contact DBMS VeriSign for domain updates, DNS/Nameserver

changes, and general domain support questions.

Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
Record last updated on 27-Apr-2006.
Record expires on 27-Apr-2008.
Record created on 27-Apr-2006.

Domain servers in listed order:

NOA3DNS-W.NINTENDO.COM 205.166.76.8
NOA3DNS-E.NINTENDO.COM
192.195.204.8

Update 12 - Matt Casamassina has posted his thoughts on the name change in the comments section of his blog. Nice catch by TheOneKevin07!

Matt-IGN: Honestly, I don’t really mind the name. I admit, it’s a bit odd to name a system after a word that traditionally describes people in plural, but I do like that it uses the controllers in the font and I like the message behind it.

I was really hoping for Nintendo Phoenix. It’s so much cooler. The symbolism. Rising from the ashes anew. Etc. But what’re ya gonna do?

We also have a web comic about the Wii thanks to Following Revolution Click the thumb to check it out.

FRComic001sm