I don't think anyone's forgotten about the massive uproar that occured online and around the world when Nintendo gave their code-named Revolution console its official name, the Wii. Some thought it was such an awful name that they said it must be just a "joke" so that they could announce the "real" name at E3.

But of course, that turned out not to be the case. But the ol' rumor mill is flying again with an alleged quote from a Nintendo marketing rep. The people at Game For Wii have posted first-hand accounts from "Mike", who says the name "Wii" has potential negative implications for the console's success.
Here is the full quote: "We have received over 200,000 e-mails with complaints about the Wii, and the console name has been commonly associated with urine. We have been the target of many jokes, and we strongly believe that it's a bad thing for the company's reputation."

Also cited by "Mike" are statistics showing negative response to the name (62% say the name is childish; nearly 50% say they would not buy one based on its name alone).

Given that "Games For Wii" is not exactly a long-standing reputable site, and that they say the other potential names are "Nintendo GameZone, Nintendo FutureNation and Nintendo GlobalBOX", I have to think that this is a bogus rumor. Plus, it would be way too late to change the name now. Perhaps people didn't like the name Wii when it was first announced, but to change the name at this point, no matter how cool the new name, would just be annoying.

Games For Wii via QJ

Report Published by: Mark Raby