Xbox, Playstation, Gamecube, Wii... they are all good names actually
Vinnie
Why Wii?
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m0zart1
- Posts: 3117
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Why Wii?
[QUOTE=JustLikeHeaven]I read all this in an ign news article. I will do some digging to see if I can find it.[/QUOTE]
I think you are partly right. The problem with the term "Revolution" is that it actually has negative connotations attached to it in countries and cultures where revolutions have recently occured and which were not only abysmal failures, but led to many consequences which were unforeseen in the early plans. In some places, "revolution" as a term has strictly a political meaning. "Revolution" is largely a positive term in some Western countries, partly because we don't necessarily attach political meaning to it exclusively. In this case for us it was a term that meant "drastic innovation" or "disruptive marketing". I don't think it carries that same kind of implication everywhere.
Nintendo wanted something that could have a special meaning in almost any language, or at least be neutral in a given language. At the same time, it had to be something short and unique, following Apple's recent branding attempts. "Wii" in English sounds both like "We" and "I", so it has this word-merge characteristic of being both the system for the people at large, and the system for the individual. In French, the term sounds very positive, similar to "Yes". At least, this is the theory I've heard. I think that Nintendo's primarily Japanese-speaking marketing department probably didn't anticipate jokes about urination or tiny male genitalia, because they probably didn't know about those English colloquialisms. Still it's clear that they wanted the name to be something acceptible in any language or culture.
I think Nintendo did the smart thing by announcing the name long before it's actual release. It allowed the controversy to generate a lot of interest and talk, while it also allowed said controversy to dissipate. And since the name-change occured before E3, it also allowed them to demonstrate that the vision hadn't changed with the name. Everything that was good about the "Revolution" was still good about the "Wii".
I think you are partly right. The problem with the term "Revolution" is that it actually has negative connotations attached to it in countries and cultures where revolutions have recently occured and which were not only abysmal failures, but led to many consequences which were unforeseen in the early plans. In some places, "revolution" as a term has strictly a political meaning. "Revolution" is largely a positive term in some Western countries, partly because we don't necessarily attach political meaning to it exclusively. In this case for us it was a term that meant "drastic innovation" or "disruptive marketing". I don't think it carries that same kind of implication everywhere.
Nintendo wanted something that could have a special meaning in almost any language, or at least be neutral in a given language. At the same time, it had to be something short and unique, following Apple's recent branding attempts. "Wii" in English sounds both like "We" and "I", so it has this word-merge characteristic of being both the system for the people at large, and the system for the individual. In French, the term sounds very positive, similar to "Yes". At least, this is the theory I've heard. I think that Nintendo's primarily Japanese-speaking marketing department probably didn't anticipate jokes about urination or tiny male genitalia, because they probably didn't know about those English colloquialisms. Still it's clear that they wanted the name to be something acceptible in any language or culture.
I think Nintendo did the smart thing by announcing the name long before it's actual release. It allowed the controversy to generate a lot of interest and talk, while it also allowed said controversy to dissipate. And since the name-change occured before E3, it also allowed them to demonstrate that the vision hadn't changed with the name. Everything that was good about the "Revolution" was still good about the "Wii".
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Funkmaster V
Why Wii?
[QUOTE=m0zart] "Revolution" is largely a positive term in some Western countries, partly because we don't necessarily attach political meaning to it exclusively.[/QUOTE]
We also associate Revolution with Freedom, democracy, Red-White-Blue, we're number one, God bless America, the American Dream, the little guy defeating the evil empire, civil rights, good versus evil, etc. So yeah, Motzart, we may be one of the only cultures where we view that as a very positive term.
FUNK
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m0zart1
- Posts: 3117
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Why Wii?
[QUOTE=Funkmaster V]We also associate Revolution with Freedom, democracy, Red-White-Blue, we're number one, God bless America, the American Dream, the little guy defeating the evil empire, civil rights, good versus evil, etc. So yeah, Motzart, we may be one of the only cultures where we view that as a very positive term.[/QUOTE]
Although I agree with everything you said, I was trying not to turn this into another political response from yours truly.
I tried to dillute my point a little; "revolution" as terminology in this and other Western languages has a dual meaning: it can be political or it can be referring to conceptual corrolaries in another medium (in this case, technical innovation or a change in a way of doing things). That isn't the case with every language and certainly not every culture. Even some Western languages would have such a positive meaning overridden by political experiences in the past, depending on the country and culture it was used in. I mean, if the horror that was the French Revolution happened within the last 100 years, "révolution" wouldn't be a very positive term in France.
The change to "Wii" from "Revolution" was far less controversial in non-English-speaking countries. This could have been due to the lack of pee-jokes associated with "wee", but it could also have been that "Revolution" didn't inspire the same kind of idealistic vision in other cultures that it did here. We seemed to have a vested interest in the name.
Although I agree with everything you said, I was trying not to turn this into another political response from yours truly.
I tried to dillute my point a little; "revolution" as terminology in this and other Western languages has a dual meaning: it can be political or it can be referring to conceptual corrolaries in another medium (in this case, technical innovation or a change in a way of doing things). That isn't the case with every language and certainly not every culture. Even some Western languages would have such a positive meaning overridden by political experiences in the past, depending on the country and culture it was used in. I mean, if the horror that was the French Revolution happened within the last 100 years, "révolution" wouldn't be a very positive term in France.The change to "Wii" from "Revolution" was far less controversial in non-English-speaking countries. This could have been due to the lack of pee-jokes associated with "wee", but it could also have been that "Revolution" didn't inspire the same kind of idealistic vision in other cultures that it did here. We seemed to have a vested interest in the name.
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