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"Gehzundheit. Wait, that's seriously what they're calling it?" When Nintendo announced the Revolution would officially be named Wii, many people weren't too hip to it. In fact, quite a few people were sure that it was just a joke. Let's take a look back, as we remember how the word 'Wii' came to be.

As hard as it may seem to believe, the Nintendo Wii launches less than a month from now. It’s been a long time since E3 2006 where Nintendo dropped a bomb on the collective gaming world when they announced that their next-gen console wouldn’t be called Revolution anymore. Oh, no, it’s definitely the Wii. Now, not to blow too many minds, but when the name change was originally announced, a good deal of people weren’t too hip to it. In fact, quite a few people were sure that it was just a joke on Nintendo’s part. Let’s have ourselves a flashback sequence, shall we?

"Oh, me? I haven’t really decided what console I’m going to buy this November, no. Why do you ask?"


As soon as Nintendo announced the name change on the morning of April 27th, their website was updated in an attempt to explain their motives with this little blurb: “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 two i’s in Wii were symbolic in themselves, representing both the console’s unique controllers and people gathering together to play with the Wii.

It’s great that Nintendo likes the name of it’s own product and all, but what about the common everyman, graduates of the school of hard knocks? Yes, the gaming world was eager to hear what the industry analysts had to say, as always. As it tends to be the case with these sorts of things, opinions on the name change were mixed. Many felt that by going with a new name, Nintendo was giving up recognition and awareness that the name Revolution had earned.

Only a made-up word has what it takes to describe the majesty of this glistening console of hope!


However, Colin Sebastian, Lazard Capital Markets’ senior research analyst for internet and interactive entertainment, had a refreshing insight into the methods of Nintendo’s mayhem: “The success of the console will have much more to do with the quality of the games and the gameplay. 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.” Huh, so a console’s success has more to do the games in its library than its name, eh? Intriguing.

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