Wii.

The name has been resonating around the Internet for the past two days, and reaction to the name has been varied. To some, Wii is symbolic of Nintendo’s ritualistic suicide on the blade of their own sword due to failure in battle with the “poorly selling” Gamecube system. Others are of the opinion that Wii symbolises a brighter future, not only for Nintendo, but for gaming as a whole.

The question is, why did they do it? What marketing genius (or bonehead) devised a name like Wii? Was it truly successful in focus testing? Is Nintendo pulling our collective leg with such a name?

In order to know the truth, wii will just have to take a look at the pros and cons of the name.

And - for the record - I apologise for that awful wordplay.

After unveiling the new name in a short video, Nintendo went to work on explaining the symbolism of the name. Pronounced “we”, the new name is intended to signify the all-inclusiveness Nintendo is striving for in their revolution of the video game market. The repeating “i”’s in the name represent the two components of the innovative controller (the wand and nanchaku controls) as well as symbolising the gamer as an individual.

The name - however - is an extremely risky venture. There are positive points to be made in its defense, however, there is also a lot of backlash that could result.

On The One Hand

Wii seems so ludicrous. Many have doubted the marketability of the name. Some have pointed out that Nintendo’s justification and explanation of the name was a sign of failure. A name should speak for itself (as the name is required to speak for the product). Too many speakers, and the message is lost. So, why layer a new name with meaning if it is so unintuitive to your casual purchaser of a game?

More than that, gamers are wondering why Nintendo would - nay, how they could - abandon a name such as the Revolution. The Revolution was forceful, descriptive, edgy, and it made Nintendo sound like a force to be reckoned with. However, Wii - many feel - sounds foolish, immature, and - perhaps - even childish. As a result, most feel it is a terrible step for Nintendo to take.

On The Other Hand
Wii is a name that transcends language barriers. Whether you are in Europe, North America, or somewhere in the Orient, Wii is a simple name that fits. In many ways, it is already becoming iconic. The name has burned itself into the minds of the gaming hardcore, and will surely become more and more favourable amongst them as time goes by.

Moreover, the name is almost half picture, half text. The name serves as its own logo without aesthetic dressings, and it is a standalone testament to the future of gaming with Nintendo.

Proving that they mean business when they aim for mass appeal, Nintendo has branded their new console with a name that will be easy to remember, and will stick in the mind of the consumer. As someone who works in the retail sector, I have witnessed countless people looking for XBox’s with Mario on it, and a Gameboy Advance DS and all sorts of hybrid names. It is a result of modern systems having brand names that are too difficult to remember. Current-gen consoles all follow the generic name descriptors of [Game word]+[Shape or Unit]+[Numerical Descriptor]. XBox 360? Playstation 3? In the mind of the consumer, it is all jumbled up.

But Wii? It is monosyllabic. It is simple. It is elegant. It favours the consumer.

In a world of e-cultures, Wii almost has a trendy ring to it. Thanks - in no small part - to Apple Computers, “i” has quickly become one of the trendiest letters ever. iPod, iMac, iTunes - even now, I’m typing this post on my iBook G4. The “i” is edgy, and makes the system sound cool. Even those who find it repulsive now will grow accustomed to it. Wii will somehow work its way into the consciousness of gamers and become a natural name, just as Gameboy, Playstation, Dreamcast and XBox did before it.

The Announcement
It seems that Nintendo is truly a strategic master. The announcement of the renamed Revoluton becoming Wii arrives two weeks before the dawn of E3 2006. As a result from this, Nintendo has given the online community, and the gaming community at large, substantial time to vent and rant about the name of the system before it eventually settles in and becomes commonplace.

By not making the announcement at E3, Nintendo can ensure that the focus of E3 remains solely on the gameplay mechanics of the Wii system, and not on the name. It was a clever ploy, and when the name Wii begins to appear on everything Nintendo related at E3, it will not be a shock. Instead, it will act as positive reinforcement of the brand name.

Take it or leave it, the Revolution is now Wii.

Personally, I am not a fan of the name. However, I can see what Nintendo is aiming for. They are - essentially - working towards a reinvention of the companies image. How? I will explain it in my next “Wii-related” post.

After almost a full year of obsessive Dire Straits listening, I’ve decided to sample some other artists out there in the vast wasteland that is music.

The first is an artist I had begun listening to in Grade 10. His music style had entered my library when I finally began to delve into more exciting styles and flavours of music that could not be readily found in the mediocre pop/rock sampling of 90’s and 00’s music.

The artist was Tom Petty.

I had only been exposed to him through an old “Greatest Hits” album that my father owned, but I’ve been acquiring a lot of his stuff from an entirely legitimate source and it is pretty good. Tom Petty’s music is written with a very poetic flare to the lyrics, and I quite enjoy it. As for the sound, it is just classic, easy to listen to rock and roll, and I can appreciate that.

He also has a really good singing voice. It is kind of gritty, with a tinge of country in it. Definitely makes for good music, especially Girl on LSD and Mary Jane’s Last Dance.

Beyond Petty, I’ve also been listening to a bit of Bruce Springsteen. I’ve never really been a fan of The Boss until “Born To Run” was featured as a title in my favourite television series, Lost. After that, I tracked down the name to the Springsteen song, and began listening. This is similar to the method in which I found Dire Straits (credit to that goes to Brian I., who - through the second season of The West Wing - exposed me to the song Brothers in Arms, which was featured in the season finale).

Springsteen’s stuff is quite varied, and - from what I’ve heard - it is generally pretty good. Born to Run has become one of my favourite tracks, but it is still to early to call it “my absolute favourite” as I have not listened to everything Springsteen has to offer. Some of his music is difficult to acquire…and I’m not sure if I have the patience to get it all. I collected Dire Straits songs for 2 months solid, and I’m still missing some tracks here and there.

Due to the request of Sam, I’ve commenced listening to Neutral Milk Hotel. I’ve got the entirety of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea added to my iTunes playlist, and I thoroughly enjoy most tracks (except King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2 and 3, which weirds me out.)

They are a good band. Their indie style reminds me of two or three years ago, when Blake got me listening to Sunny Day Real Estate. It’s good music that I enjoy listen to while reading, but I don’t know if indie rock will ever weasel into my all-time favourites, but it certainly has a bit of potential.

The final artist I’ve been listening to has been Eric Clapton or Slowhand. I’ve been taking some music from various points in his career, with Derek and the Dominoes, The Yardbirds, Cream and his solo career. A lot of his stuff is really good, and I can see where the “Clapton is God” statement originated. In pure fact.

His dabbling in all sorts of music, although generally being rooted in a blues-rock hybrid is pretty cool. From his experimentation, you get the idea that Clapton is a musical scientist, who thoroughly enjoys sampling everything that the art has to offer. And I admire that.

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And thus concludes my first - and poorly written - music related post. It has been in the pipeline for a while, and I finished the bulk of it early in the morning. So, it kind of sucks. But, oh well…here it is. Take it or leave it.

And apparently it is not worth getting.

The review on IGN DS was remarkably unfavourable, citing the only really interesting part of the whole Lostmagic experience as the online component. The single-player is reportedly riddled with flaws and poor production values, and is a sub-par experience in all. Moreover, it is apparently not an RPG at all, but a full blown RTS game without all the RTS features.

Despite my previous zealousness in regards to this game, I think I am going to pass on it. I was given the impression that it was an RPG with some RTS tendencies. That is to say, I assumed Binkle’s “Gotta catch’em all!” comment was a tad over-exagerated. However, it seems he was correct, as IGN draws the comparison between Lostmagic and Pokemon.

Since I am not a fan of RTS games, I feel the compulsive need to strike this from my wish list and move on, as I did with another game that shamed my DS.

There is a benefit to this, however. Now that I have abstained from purchasing Lostmagic, I can funnel the money into a “Children of Mana/Tales of Tempest” fund, for when either of those two clearly amazing games rockets into this country. I hope to see some Children of Mana stuff at E3. Tales of the Tempest is one I’m not so sure about.

Someone seriously needs to lose their job over in the Nintendo Department of Product Naming, because Wii is the most retarded name for a system ever. I don’t think anyone can even stomach walking into a shop and asking for the Nintendo “Wii”.

As Fraser said in the comments to my previous post, it does - indeed - sound as if the system is taking a piss. Or telling the story of the “Little Piggies” (through use of the toes). This little console is going to go “Wii, wii, wii, wii, all the way home.”

Now - though - I have an interesting post topic in regards to Nintendo’s most recent hardware and software initiatives.

I’ll get to it when I get home from work.

The gaming portion of my blog has become a little shrivelled and husklike on account of the information vaccuum that exists before E3. Game developers are usually tight-lipped regarding any exciting new releases, but they occasionally throw a scrap to the press so that these companies do not fade entirely out of the public eye.

So, I’m sitting here, with a blog that is growing tired and unbathed due to uselessness, and I don’t know what to do.

I suppose I could deliver on that “life” post that I promised Caleb.

Or, I could play Blockland with Binkle.

It seems the people at Konami have decided to pilfer more money from my wallet in November of this year, as they have just announced a second Nintendo DS Castlevania title, Portrait of Ruin. The news was not exactly a surprise, on account of Nintendo Power’s less than cryptic remarks in their last issue, which utilized some of the worst wordplay ever.

They have not announced an official release date (I mean, when do Nintendo DS games ever release on time) but it is expected to hit stores in November, at the dawn of the early Christmas rush.

This Castlevania title - according to the description found everywhere - will apparently play in a similar fashion to Julius’ Mode from Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrows. That is to say, there are two main characters - Jonathan Morris, a vampire hunter who uses a whip (the Belmont clan) and Charlotte Orlean, a magic user (the Belnades clan) - and the player can freely switch between the two during gameplay.

The game takes place during World War II, where Morris and Orlean are battling two vampiric sisters who are attempting to bring Dracula back to life because, well, it seems to be the “happening” thing to do. Both characters - apparently - have the ability to use summons, and the game makes a note of pointing out there are 100 different adversaries.

Due to this number being cited, I’m inclined to assume that the next Castlevania installment will have the characters operate in a similar fashion to Soma Cruz - lead character of Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow - who could kill enemies and take their souls for future usage. While Soma could use souls in different ways (offensive, defensive, tactical and ability), it is unclear if Portrait of Ruin will offer the same opportunities or if the main characters can merely “acquire” all 100 enemies as offensive summons (think every modern RPG-style summoning).

Personally, I was quite partial to the Soma-method, and I would like to see it return with a few more useful creatures to use. There were some that were pathetically useless in Dawn of Sorrow, and it made gathering the more useless ones to be a tedious task.

Now that we’ve heard a bit more information on this title, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is going up on my game wishlist (which presently consists of mostly DS games). I’m beginning to hate the temptation of that foul little device…