Hey, go check it out for yourself.  (It's in Flash.)

To add to the increasing amount of cheap puns (German): Wii bitte?

I used up all my piss puns on another forum but yeah - Incredibly silly name to go with if it's true.

Interesting.  It's pronounced "we."

It's likely Engrish for "we" so Japanese probably will get the pun (as far as they are familiar with English, Edit: apparently it is a sound which has so far no meaning in Japanese). In German we pronounce it like they want, but it sounds like "wie?" (i.e. "how?" in English). In English most people unfamiliar with the "correct" pronunciation will most likely first ask for a "why" etc. I can't imagine such a simple non-word will have less issues in all the remaining languages there are.

Not that it really matters I guess, DS was a meaningless name as well, and I bet people will just call it a "Nintendo" wherever speaking out "Wii" is too confusing.

I like the logo, but I'm still coming to grips with exactly how this is going to fly in conversation.  "Excuse me sir, I'd like to purchase a Wii."  A Wii?  That just sounds weird.  "I'm going to go play some Wii now."  Hmmm...  And how will Nintendo and its licensees be naming games?  Wii Mario Bros.?  Castlevania Wii?  Rockman Wii?  Kirby's Wii Adventure?  Wii of Mana?  Wii Merry Metroids?  Wii Love Katamari?  Oh, never mind about that last one.

What's the big fuss anyway? It's just a name.

Hehe.. "Let's go play with my Wii."

Wow, it's an all-new low in names. I'm hoping it's an elaborate joke. But, at the end of the day, it's just a name. An awful, awful name.

A rose by any other name will smell as sweet? Well, a name is an identity...think about your own name and what you might have been or any other name you might have wanted to have. Think of the people who are stripped of names and given a number. Think of those you say "hey, you" instead of bothering to know them by name, because then that would be too "personal."

A name is a very important thing. As my Spanish teacher once said, the car Nova failed in Spain because "no va" translates to "no go," as in implying that the car won't move. That's why I had to laugh when I saw on Engadget what the Revolution was being called. Where in heaven's name did they get "Wii"??

Hehehehe...oh yeah....

Agreed. I had hoped they'd stick with Revolution. Too much to ask for, I guess. (Along with Dolphin and Ultra 64.)

Haha...got a genuine laugh out of "Wii Love Katamari."

Also..."remote" -> "wiimote" ... :\

Yeah, in a CNN article Perrin Kaplan (VP of Nintendo US marketing or something) says they released the name early to "let people vent" before E3. So...you knew this name would upset your fans and did it anyway? Great! It's clear this name must've come out of Japan, and will probably do well as a name there, but over here, it just sounds silly (in a very bad way) IMO.

Very good
I think Wii Merry Metroids was my favorite!  Still, I'm hoping Nintendo changes their mind and comes up with a new name...just about ANYTHING would beat this Wii crap!  I admit the DS was not exactly the most original or inspired name, but it made sense.  Dual screen = DS.  Wii = Wtf?  And now I'm wondering, do people actually get paid good money to come up with such lame names as Wii?? 

cheers,

-avatar!

A name is an identity, yes, but on the other hand there are many people with the same name.
A name is an important thing you say, and I agree. I think what Nintendo was aiming for was to create discussion and give the console a peculiar name, therefore to put "Wii" on everyone's lips and it seems they did well. Every gamer now knows what "Wii" is. And this *is* the first day after the revelation, and it does take time to get used to the name. And for Pete's sake, who would let a console's name affect the decision of buying or leaving it on the shelf? Xbox 360 isn't a fancy name either, you know.

And by the way.. they said that "a lot of thought was put in the name".

Yeah Xbox 360 isn't fancy, but it makes sense.  As for purchasing a product based on its name, well I think many people do.  I'm not sure I'd want a video game system that was called "Color Me Pink".  On the other hand, "Revolution" immediately brings to mind achievement and advancement.  Wii brings to mind...well nothing beforehand, but now a stupid name for a new system!

cheers,

-avatar!

I meant buying a video game systems based on its name, not a random product, but.. Color Me Pink? Where did that come from?

Personally, I really don't give a rat's ass what they name(d) it, I'm gonna buy it anyway. Why? Because of the "revolutionary" gameplay mechanics and because Wii's the cheapest. And interesting games, of course.

This is simply Nintendo putting its money where its ideology is.  They do it every so often, after all.  The concept of "we/Wii" is at least an interesting one (and damn if it's not getting people talking)...the proof, ultimately, is/will be in the pudding.

Now I'm going back to waiting patiently on Twilight Princess...

.

Does wee have the same slang meaning for Americans that it does for us Brits?

Nintendo are certainly setting themselves up for a laughing stock as far as the UK mainstream market goes - and let's face it, the entire philosophy behind the new machine is it's mass appeal, trying to reach people who would normally shy away from the sight of a modern joypad.

Yes, it is just a name, but a name is a powerful thing and crucial to a product's image. A relatively meaningless name like 360 brushes off people, but Wii will come in for a lot of flack. Today proves that enough.

.

Um...Erm....

I dunno...Wii makes "Gizmondo" sound like a stroke of marketing genius.

Almost counterproductive to the cause, since "Revolution" is a much more powerful and meaningful name. I understand it's not going to be as powerful as 360 or PS3, but calling it 'Wii' doesn't help the cause.

People, Nintendo is trying to reach a mass audience. They are likening the name to iPod, Prius, Google etc. I don't see what is so hard to understand about that. It's far better than playstation, xbox, or gamecube in that respect. The only people that won't be happy with this name are gaming nerds like us.

Ah, that's what it means over here too (except in Scotland, where I guess it predominantly means small). I just though that Americans used 'pee' more. That's what I get for learning all my world culture from movies.

I thought the UK mainstream market was already a laughinstock in and of itself.

You must have missed the bit where they called it "Wii"

What gets me is the headlines we'll inevitably see -  "Wii is/isn't meeting sales projections" and the like - while my inner grammarian gently weeps...

In France, "Wii" is just like "Oui" (yes). There are some funny puns...

"Let's play with the Wii!
- Ouiii !"

Seriously, this name is simply ridiculous...

Wow, what a complete and ridiculous waste...
I'm horrified by their (lack of) judgement.

Though the name sounds stupid, so is the overreaction to it.

They should've market-tested it first because, instead of referring to it as the Nintendo Wii, it can be shortened to N-Wii, as PGC pointed out.  That's a bit too close to 'ennui', not that most people would know what that means, and a gaming system 'ennui' is worse than any urination puns.

Interestingly enough it's officially referred to as just "Wii", there is no such thing as a "Nintendo Wii".

I seem to recall Sega saying the same thing when they announced the Dreamcast, that it would be just "Dreamcast" and not "Sega Dreamcast".  Coming off taking a whupping on Saturn, seems they weren't too eager to promote the Sega name.  (Any parallels here?)  Nevertheless everyone still knows it as Sega's Dreamcast.

BTW I agree with most everyone that the name is stupid.  Sure a name that gets people's attention is great but not if the initial reaction to it is perplexity or mocking disdain.  As a logo it works but not in conversation.

Some of the arguments in favor of "Wii" have less weight than the ones against it.  In particular these comments like "Revolution is hardly pronunciable in Japanese."  "Revolution" is completely pronunciable in Japanese, they just warp it a bit with katakana pronunciation the same as they do with words much more difficult to adapt that people here still have no problem with.  Certainly "Wii" in Japanese is no better.

It would work just fine as a name for their online service, but for the system itself it's pushing it.

Still, can't say that anything better comes to mind and even Revolution, while cool, doesn't quite push the full message of where Nintendo is going with the system.  We'll all get used to it and hopefully it's not quite dumb enough to give the third parties cold feet.

I just had a hilarious vision of how commercials will be like. Can you imagine the TV announcers saying, in their most stoic, announcer-like tones, "Exclusively for the WII." I gotta hear THAT. Either that or they'll just decide not to make anyone actually say the name and just settle for putting their logo at the end of the commercial.