Just a few moments ago, Nintendo made an announcement that we’ve all been waiting for, for quite some months. While the public were clearly taken with the codename for Nintendo’s latest home console venture – Nintendo Revolution – Nintendo have been stating for some months that the name would change before the system’s release. The system debuted at E3 2005 publicly titled the Revolution. Since then, Nintendo’s instance that the system’s title would change led to the removal of the logo from all Press Releases and the system itself at the TGS 2005.

            Now we enter a new phase in the life of Nintendo’s fifth home console system. From more than twenty years experience and far in excess on one-billion games sales worldwide come the most innovative movement in the industry since the D-Pad. The Revolution is no more; enter the Wii.

            Yes, the Wii. While the gaming public are obviously going to draw their own conclusions as to why Nintendo choose to name their system after a passing from the urinary tract, Nintendo’s Press Release actually doesn’t offer to much more in the way of the marketing plan for the system:

NoE Wii STATEMENT – Apr. 27, 2006

“Introducing... Wii.

As in "we."
While the codename "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.
Wii will break down that wall that separates video game 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 this 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 gathering to play.
And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games 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.”

             Yeah, sure. The logo clearly has a distinct WalkMan-esque presentation about it, while trying to relate to the abstract nature of recent technology booms such as Apple’s iPod. While the videogames industry at large was becoming convinced that Nintendo have a chance of becoming an aggressive player in the European market once again, it’s clear the backlash that Nintendo will receive from the title at E3 2006 will not be slight. The questions raised will have to be answered, and the UK videogames market in particular will inherently be adverse to anything without a palatable tag-line. Hopes prevail that Nintendo are attempting little more than a marketing-coup, as they clearly have received far less attention from the mainstream press when it comes to entering the next-generation. Once we return from E3 2006, we shall be expecting a Press Release concerning the change of the system’s title, much like the recent retraction from SONY of that boomerang PlayStation3 Controller displayed at E3 2005, however, should we not receive this Press Release, the only opinion the writing team at Electronic Articles could establish was one in which Nintendo simply didn’t want to be part of the home console industry any more. Foreign languages may be more complimentary to the abstract title; English gamers will simply be anything but.

Electronic Theatre: Nintendo Wii Presentation

Kev J.

27/04/06

Return to the Articles Archive 2006 here.

 Each of these articles has been written either independently of Electronic Theatre or by an external viewer. The opinions discussed in these articles in no way reflects the opinions of Electronic Theatre.

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