Nintendo renames the Revolution

John Falcone Senior Editorial Director, Shopping

John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content at CNET, where he coordinates coverage of the site's buying recommendations alongside the CNET Advice team (where he previously headed the consumer electronics reviews section). He's been a CNET editor since 2003.

Expertise Over 20 years experience in electronics and gadget reviews and analysis, and consumer shopping advice Credentials

Self-taught tinkerer, informal IT and gadget consultant to friends and family (with several self-built gaming PCs under his belt)

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John Falcone

April 27, 2006 9:38 a.m. PT

The Nintendo Revolution is now known as the Nintendo Wii (pronounced we).

No, we're not making that up. A quick trip to the Nintendo Web site confirms that this is not some sort of practical joke.

It was widely known that Revolution was merely a developmental code name for the company's follow-up to the GameCube, and most observers were expecting Nintendo to announce the new, official name at May's E3 industry trade show. The Web site outlines the company's reasoning behind the name--which is a good start, considering the company will be on the defensive about it from this day forward.

We'll have more reaction to the name change as the day progresses, but the jokes are already flying ("Did they misspell Wi-Fi or Viiv?"). My initial thought: The name change reminds me of Sega's Dreamcast, which was seen as a step backward from that console's earlier, cooler code name, Katana. But Dreamcast is light-years better than Wii, to be sure. The question is, will it actually detract from sales, or will gamers grit their teeth and just slap a homemade Revolution sticker over the label?

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