Nintendo: Why Ask Wii? [Apr 27, 2006, 3:09 pm ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Nintendo names
new video game console Wii. Why Wii? Because It's pronounced "we." Why? Who
knows, though
CNN
Money has a Q&A on the topic. Here's the announcement:
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nintendo Co. Ltd (7974.OS) on Thursday said it has named its new video game console "Wii, which it said is pronounced "we" to emphasize that the console is for everyone.
The console up until now has been known by its code-name "Revolution."
"While the code-name Revolution expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer," spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan told Reuters.
Nintendo, best known for its Game Boy portable video players, aims to gain share in the $25 billion global video game market now dominated by Sony Corp. (6758.T)
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) launched its next-generation Xbox 360 console late last year and Sony's new PlayStation 3 is due in November. Wii also is expected to hit store shelves later this year.
While the new consoles from Microsoft and Sony boast more power and high-definition graphics, Nintendo's goal is to roll out a machine that appeals to a broader audience than the young males who make up the traditional console gaming market.
A key feature of the Wii is its one-handed controller that looks like a television remote control and uses motion-detection sensors that allow players to control the game by wielding it like a sword, waving it like a conductor's baton, or swinging it like a baseball bat.
Also, the bit about the GameCube X2 specs is highly suspect to say the least. If you are basing that information off an IGN article that came out recently, there were a number of factors such as architecture in that article that the author chose to ignore. He based his comparisons purely off Mhz numbers which as we all know from Intel/AMD, is no longer a relevant way to measure it. Will the system be nearly as powerful as Xbox 360 or PS3? I highly doubt it, but that's not what they're going for.
I'm basing my knowledge on those specs, yes, but I'd say that if the numbers are correct, the assessment that it is a GCx2 is pretty close. You can't ignore that there are no new shaders being added. The architecture is supposedly very similar to the GC, and it's not a far stretch to think that it's basically a GC that can pump twice as many polygons with twice as much texture memory. Also, looking at the screenshots of that new Ubi game in the latest Game Informer does seem to support that assessment. But, is that really a bad thing? Am I the only one who thinks the GC still looks freaking awesome?
But again, I'm only basing my judgment off of what I know about game design and my experience working with hardware. And that's all any of us can really do at this point.
This comment was edited on Apr 28, 15:28.
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