Nintendo's Wii a Global Decision

The name might make you think that Nintendo's Japan office stopped listening to its Western arms, but the company says that's not the case.

Nintendo has built a lot of goodwill among gamers over the past year. Its next-gen console checks many of the right boxes, including supporting games all the way back to the NES and its use of a motion-sensing controller. The system's new name, however, is pushing that allegiance to its limits.

The company renamed the Revolution the Wii on Thursday and within minutes fans across the world were venting their disappointment. Message boards were ablaze as fans expressed their rage or made juvenile jokes about the console's new moniker.

Nearly two-thirds of responders to an informal poll on MSNBC turned their noses at the name. Some people have even speculated that this is all a publicity stunt and that the real name will only be revealed at Nintendo's briefing next week ahead of the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

Nintendo has denied the speculation. "Wii is the final name," Nintendo's Robert Saunders told Kikizo. "The name was chosen by a group of people at Nintendo across the global territories and has been final for some time now."

Despite the unfortunate alternative connotations to its name, the Wii has brought attention back to Nintendo. Nearly three-quarters of responders to another informal poll, at popular games blog Joystiq, said they were most interested in seeing what Nintendo would bring to E3.

The company is expected to show off not only the final hardware but also working versions of games it's preparing for the console's launch.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games