Here's a different take on it, though:
Elaborate joke.
No, hear me out. Wii sounds absolutely stupid, and there is no way that at least some of Nintendo doesn't know that. Notice how we're about two weeks from E3?
Because of this news, everyone will be dying to see Nintendo's conferences and displays related to the Revolution, where the true name will be revealed and get enormous press coverage. Nintendo gets a ton of attention without having to do much of anything.
Joke, and marketing plan.
Wii
The name looks kinda cool...but I can't say
"I'm going to go play with my wii"
seriously.
here's the article from gamespot:
In a surprise announcement this morning, Nintendo revealed the new name of its forthcoming game system: Wii. "As in 'we'," the official statement adds. For the official announcement, visit the Revolution...err...Wii Web site.Nintendo Wii Behold! The Revolution renamed!
Watch | Download After a brief Flash introduction, the site explains Nintendo's move. "While the code-name 'Revolution' expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down that wall that separates game players from everybody else. Wii will put people more in touch with their games...and each other."The site goes on to say that Wii should be easy to remember for people around the world, no matter their language, and that it will avoid abbreviation. The "ii" spelling is intended to represent "both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play." It may also be worth noting that "ii" means "good" in Japanese.
Nintendo sums up the name change with the following comments. "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."
Game-industry analysts were swift with their responses. "Looks like a good solid name for Nintendo," said an optimistic Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director of Jupiter Research. "The key is making sure they follow up with a strong launch campaign to evangelize the new brand and help drive the message forward."
Michael Goodman, senior analyst of media and entertainment strategies at The Yankee Group, believes the name change is a mistake. "I thought Revolution had much more meaning," he told GameSpot. "It was an apt description for the console. It was a revolutionary design ... the controller is pretty revolutionary. Wii just doesn’t do it for me. How do we even pronounce this? WEEE? I'm not sure this is technically a word. What is a WEE, W-I-I? You're building everything from scratch in terms of awareness and in terms of building a brand. Verses Xbox 360--you're taking the core Xbox brand and leveraging it to a new product. With PlayStation 3, it still has all those great attributes of the PlayStation."
Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter was more mixed in his assessment. "My initial reaction, of course, is that the name is dumb," he bluntly stated. "However, upon reflection, I thought that the name Game Boy was dumb, REALLY thought that the name Xbox was dumb, and can't even recall my reaction to PlayStation. Let's face it, devices with cool names like Dreamcast and Gizmondo fail, and the lame names seem to do well."
Colin Sebastian, Lazard Capital Markets' senior research analyst for Internet and interactive entertainment, displayed Vulcan-like logic responding to the Wii revelation. "The success of the console will have much more to do with the quality of the games and the gameplay," he said. "Nintendo probably believes they've found a name that can stick with consumers. Revolution was catchy, but given similarities with the Xbox 360 name, perhaps Nintendo felt they had to make a change."
However, Nintendo is confident that, after the initial shock wears off, people will take to the Wii name. "The other systems have an extension of their current names--ours is a new leap to something different," Nintendo of America vice president Perrin Kaplan told CNN/Money. A rep for the company echoed similar sentiments, assuring GameSpot that "the name will grow on you."
The video I saw looked like it was an ad for apple or pixar or something..
Originally posted by Scorpion_Master
WTF why??? the name was perfect before... i cant see the name "Wii" on a Nintendo console is sounds so....hmmm lets see....DUMB!!! WTF where they thinking or where they drunk or something?? any way I'm still getting one...
Do you forget about these other names that originally sounded stupid?
Google
Yahoo
Virgin
eBay
Bluray
Bluetooth
etc, etc...
It'll grow on you.
Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
I don't like the name Spider-Man. Might start calling him Blue and Red Web-Man. He's not a spider, so it's dumb.
-AC
😆
Originally posted by Smodden
WiiThe name looks kinda cool...but I can't say
"I'm going to go play with my wii"
😆 Just mutter that under your breath near your parents.
"Ill just be in my room playing with my wii"
"Uhh...what?"
"My wii. Im playing with my wii.
"Your playing with....are you masturbating?" 😑
Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
That's the problem with gamers today, Xbox give you the 360 and churn out Devil May Cry 10 with an added...flip, you'll suck it up.Nintendo could produce the best console ever and people in this forum would hold a lower opinion of it because it's called "Wii".
-AC
Why do people always get so bitchy when discussing consoles? 🙄
Originally posted by Morgoths_Wrath
wiid
I was reading the ignb article before, and the name is kinda stuck on me now.
http://revolution.ign.com/articles/703/703593p1.html
The logo looks too apple ipod-ish though..