Nintendo announces Revolution's real name

Nintendo has ended speculation about the name of its next-generation console - code-named Revolution. The company today announced it will be called "Nintendo Wii", pronounced as "We".

"While the code-name 'Revolution' expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else," Nintendo said in a statement on the Flash website it launched today revealing the name.

"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 emphasises 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 symbolises 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 not really about you or me. It's about Wii. And together, Wii will change everything."

Marketing-speak aside, the name clearly symbolises Nintendo's intent to break the new console away from the traditional games market, with the company opting for a moniker which is more like a consumer-friendly home electronics name than a game console name.

However, the name is unlikely to go down well across the large swathes of the English-speaking world - including the United Kingdom - where "wee" is a very common children's slang phrase for the act of urination. In Scotland and Ireland, however, the diminutive console will at least be appropriately named, as "wee" is a word meaning "small" in the vernacular of those regions.

Nintendo Wii will form a significant part of the company's pre-E3 conference, and playable demos of software are expected to draw thousands to the LA Convention Centre during the trade event itself.

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