Forum chatter: Japan responds to Wii

by Ross Miller { Apr 28th 2006 at 1:55PM }

We have seen the general response from English speakers on Nintendo's console renaming -- from Revolution to Wii -- but how about a foreign market where Wii does not evoke phallic imagery? A friend of ours fluent in Japanese took a gander at the Japanese news site News 19 to gauge the response in the Land of the Rising Sun. Here are the highlights of what he found:

post 39: "Wee is an english baby word for pee or penis according to foreign forums. This might be bad. May be this is why foreigner's response is pretty bad."
posts 47-49: "I think Revolution was a better name."
posts 60, 62: "It is better naming than Revolution."
post 116: "It looks good if you write it, but awkward if you say it."
post 122: "'Can I have Wii.' It's little bit embarrassing to say it."

The other posts are puns "with a drunk noise that Japanese people make (some people say something similar to 'wii' when they are drunk in Japan), associations with the wrestler Stan Hansen (he does not know why, and neither do we), and the "rest are mostly making fun of the fact that it is pronounced the same as 'wee,' or, in Japan when you say yes, you sometimes say 'ui-,' which is similar to 'wii.'" It's fascinating to have some insight as to how other languages are taking to the new name. Any bilingual Joystiq readers that can tell us how other parts of the world are reacting to the name?

[Thanks, Makoto]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Gonzo @ Apr 28th 2006 1:59PM

If it was planed to be like every other next gen machine, I'd pridict only good sales in France.

It's a good thing that it'll rock, provided the controllers actually work they way they they've been boasting.

meekzzz @ Apr 28th 2006 2:00PM

in korean a word pronounced "We" means up or top.

DG @ Apr 28th 2006 2:01PM

If the Japanese hate, Nintendo is so screwed.

My video-game hating girlfriend will occasionally play Puyo Pop with me, and can say that game's title with a straight face. However, she went on and on about just how stupid "Wii" is. I showed her the video on Nintendo's site, and she said "Well, it looks neat in the video."

Nintendo's got its work cut out for it.

SilverDogg @ Apr 28th 2006 2:04PM

well, the swedish gamers are taking it pretty much as the rest of the world.

"Revolution l?tuft, Wii l?r fjantigt..."
"Revolution sounded cool, Wii sounds dorky..."

"Kan inte Nintendo d?det till n?t seri?e namn? Det ?ju typ WIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!! Vad t?er dom med?"
"Can't Nintendo name it to something more serious? This is like WIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!! What are they thinking?"

"Det hade varit kaxigare av Nintendo att l? Revolution st?om namn. Just nu k?s Wii mer som ett d?gt aprilsk? ?n?t annat. o_O"
"Would have been more cocky by Nintendo to let Revolution be the name. Right now Wii feels more like an aprils joke than anything else. o_O"

but, there are people who like it too, i am one of those. i admit, its not the best name there could be, but come on? xbox360? playstation 3? phantom sounds cooler than all of these dammit!

logikil @ Apr 28th 2006 2:08PM

Can't think of anything off hand in Spanish that would be a problem, but that doesn't make the name any less stupid. I'll get one, but i will be calling it the Revolution.

Shoot even the stupid codename for the GameCube (The Dolphin if i recall correctly) is a better name then this.

SilverDogg @ Apr 28th 2006 2:13PM

oh, and no, wii doesnt sound like anything here in sweden really.

Jigster @ Apr 28th 2006 2:15PM

Well, ''wii'' or ''we'' doesn't have a meaning in Portuguese. Phonetically speaking, of course.

bv @ Apr 28th 2006 2:15PM

I ran a french gaming forum through google translate, doesn't seem like most of them care. They do point out however the similarity between oui and wii though:

http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamekult.com%2Ftout%2Fforum%2Flire_387386.html&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8

Here is an article on the wii from the same site:

"Without shouting station, without very seeking to make climb the suspense of a few degrees, Nintendo revealed the official name of its console "Revolution": Wii. Yes, Wii. Like Oui-oui, or rather "We", the English word, which means "Us". This small animation in Flash even comes to illustrate the concept: the controller in the form of remote control metamorphoses himself as a player, all that there is of more diagrammatic, to symbolize at the same time the convivial ambitions and multi of the next Nintendo console . No abbreviation, a comprehensible word by all, and will to exploit the minimalism tendency iPod: the name chosen by Nintendo is likely to make debate in the weeks come. "

source: http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamekult.com%2Ftout%2Factus%2Farticles%2FA0000048073.html&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8

Atso Puronen @ Apr 28th 2006 2:17PM

Her in Finland, Wii doesn't mean anything.

Dreizehnernuss @ Apr 28th 2006 2:17PM

Wii sounds similar to the german "Wie" which means "how".

Nothing spectacular. Nevertheless i personally think if a company has to explain the meaning and pronounciation of a name to their customers, something went wrong.

Will @ Apr 28th 2006 2:18PM

i have a feeling that Wii is gonna turn into a hate love deal.

looking at how DS was totally shunned when introduced.

jorge eremiev @ Apr 28th 2006 2:18PM

Im from Ecuador and my native languaje is spanish. Im a Nintendo's fan and even when i don't like how Wii sounds, the logo looks cool, altought i think it is a copy from Apple style (by the way i hate apple and microsoft too)... The fact is that i show this to my girlfriend and a friend of mine and both liked it (whose aren't gamers)... Does anyone else have reactions from someone that isn't a gamer?

Sorry any error with my english

AlloyNES @ Apr 28th 2006 2:19PM

Isn't it probable that most of the people making comments on forums are part of that niche gamers group?

Do we have any reactions from people who aren't already gamers? And don't play 360 games? And aren't 16yrs-25yrs?

calthaer @ Apr 28th 2006 2:19PM

Like the '80s song, it looks like Nintendo is trying to get us all to be "turning Japanese" as we hold our collective Wiis.

boots (former bd (former b)) @ Apr 28th 2006 2:23PM

Would Jennifer Aniston be any *less* attractive if she was called Grunthild Focker?

Cosmoo @ Apr 28th 2006 2:23PM

Strangely enough the French all seem to hate it too, but I suppose having it called the Nintendo Yes would sound pretty weird in English. Although as one guy said on Jeux-France.com:

"Strange name, but it's not that which makes a console good or bad."

henning @ Apr 28th 2006 2:33PM

My wife, a thirty-something non-gamer, said the name sounded "dumb" and "childish". She asked me if I mispronounced it and meant "vie". (I told her how it was spelled.)

Ninja Monkey Lover @ Apr 28th 2006 2:34PM

In Chile there is a pretty bad slang phrase "no me g?" (pronounced wā-ē�). It comes from the "big egg" huev?which means a lot of things there, kinda like mofo can mean a lot of things in the states. The phrase is a very vulgar way of saying "quit pulling my leg!" I know wee isn't exactly g?, but that's what it reminded me of.

I'm not sure that will matter, though, since the letter w isn't found in any native Spanish words and most people (that I've ever met) in Chile pronounce it with a "b" sound.

soco @ Apr 28th 2006 2:35PM

the german message site i occasionally read is mixed. it's similar to the english sites, but slightly more optimistic.

one of the most commonly expressed sentiments i've seen across all the boards has been "i didn't think a name worse than xbox 360 was possible", which i find interesting.

rudimentalist @ Apr 28th 2006 2:41PM

Imagine if Reggie opened the E3 2006 briefing like he did the 2004 one. I'm about kicking ass, taking names, and Wii are about making games. I don't understand the Nintendo mentality most of the time, they want to show their teeth and still be "for everybody".

Steve @ Apr 28th 2006 2:45PM

>A friend of ours fluent in Japanese took a gander
>at the Japanese news site News 19...

Not to be a stickler or anything, but I'm guessing what your friend there was looking at was actually not some "News 19" site, but rather the conglomerate of Japanese forums known as 2ch.net. Just trying to keep things accurate, as if you look around, you�ll see there�s no Japanese site called News 19. There ARE some prefixes to 2ch where you might see something like news19.2ch.net or something, but it�s still all just part of 2ch.

Spike @ Apr 28th 2006 2:48PM

Most Greeks love it. The "we" sound doesnt mean anything over here so that helps too.

As far as non-gamers go, i think it is much easier than revolution.
And the non-english speakers would have trouble saying 'revolution'. My parents could never pronounce most console names before. But they can say easily Wii. They even asked me when is out!!

Oliver @ Apr 28th 2006 2:51PM

For the not so widely spoken UK languages Wii sounds like "Fly" in Gaelic (the buzzing type) and simply "I" in Welsh.

Jirr @ Apr 28th 2006 2:52PM

well , wii in spanish dont have a equivalent word.

For us , here in the dominican republic , is easy to say Wii without problems at all....

meaby the problem is only with the " english speaker "

and for me, at first was little weird the name , but now is funky and catchy ... i cant leave alone

Wii will , wii will rock you !!!

^^

coalhalo @ Apr 28th 2006 2:57PM

I know this off topic but, in response to #12: Here's the reaction from the non-gamers in the mid-thirties that I brought this up to: they are confused; "Is it a new Ipod thingy?"..."World War Two?"..."That can't be a Universal Remote, not enough buttons."..."Why?". As stated above, if you have to explain how to pronounce your product and you still get blank stares, somebody screwed up. I have to think that Nintendo did focus groups in N. America and I would be suprised if the reactions did not mimic what we are seeing on the boards to some degree. Not the fanboys shock, but initial confusion, which in the world of retail can cause the consumers to seek out the comfort of pronouncable and known product like Playstation 3 or xbox 360. Nintendo has said they are seeking a different market than Sony/MS and naming the Revolution "Wii" proves it.

Tao68 @ Apr 28th 2006 2:59PM

I'm from Brussels, and english is my third language...

In my first language, french, DS sounds just beautiful, as "D?se" means "Goddess", and that's a great name for a console, i think most of you will agree... :)

But Wii... for us, french speaking and thinking people, that's not so great... at all...

"Oui" means "Yes" in french, and some may think that's cool fur us: they're wrong...

It's not a simple "Yes" in french...

Now, just think of it: would you like to call that console the "Nintendo Ye-es" all year long?

No, of course, but this is how it sounds for me, and believe me, that's not funny: the Nintendo Ye-es...

Even more: with the double i, it sounds a little bit like "Oui-Oui" (we-we), a silly character in little children books called "Noddy" in english, and created by Enid Blyton:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oui-Oui

Now, that's kiddie stuff... i'm 37, and it sucks...

Now, you understand that to my ears, Wii is not universal: it's not good in french, not good in english, it's a japanese ethnocentric fantasia !!!

What's the japanese name for wee?

What if we propose to accept using "Wii", only if japanese have to use their "word for wee" with a special double i instead of "Wii"?

Too bad, and really, i'm 100% down with that system, i'm sure Nintendo and many others will create incredible games for it, but marketing and Nintendo... wi? wi does it have to be like that?

They've learned about design, they've learned about third parties, they've learned about so many of their past problems...

Don't they have enough money to pay someone who's deeply creative about these things, giving a VERY cool and special name to a VERY cool and special console?

C'mon, Nintendo, some of us don't live in Japan or U.S. and you should know that by using a really universal name...

My deception is quite clear, as i thought Nintendo "Next" (from NES to Next Gen, u know) or Nintendo Immersion System ("NIS", or even "NiS", quite cool with its small single i) or Nintendo Immersion Unit ("NIU", like NEW generation, easily understood everywhere around the globe) were really the best choices...

Or even Nintendo Revolution, or Revolution System (RS, or Revolution Entertainment System (RES)...

But now, the console has to be outstanding and incredible, otherwise, it will be quite difficult to promote it, with a name sounding so "uncool" in my own language... and so many people joking and bitching, know what i mean?

All that said, i'll be an active part of the "Big Wii", whatever may happen...

Thank God, Nintendo knows at least how to make great consoles and great games...

Take names? Well, maybe too...

But creating these... :(

And when you know they've spent 22 billion yens in research and development, in 2005 only... it hurts!

Steve @ Apr 28th 2006 3:00PM

I'm kind of impartial to the name personally, but one thing for sure, Nintendo has really done a good job of stirring up a lot of commotion with their �wii� announcement. Pretty much everywhere you look there a thread discussing what people think about it, might not be getting the best responses, but you�ve got a lot of people from all over the world talking about it, which is what Nintendo wants.

If they would have just left things as Revolution, I doubt you would have seen 1/10th of the response compared to what we're seeing now. There�s no such thing as bad PR.

Jeff @ Apr 28th 2006 3:04PM

"but rather the conglomerate of Japanese forums known as 2ch.net."

And just to expand upon this a little bit, those guys are pretty much the hardest of the hardcore at everything. That forum's got a rep in Japan - it's sort of like Usenet here these days. It's popular, but not really among the general population, and they have a habit of organizing themselves to invade other, less hardcore discussion boards and start flame wars that eventually put them out of business, almost regardless of topic. It's a really weird scene.

Which is all by way of saying I wouldn't put much stock into random comments taken from there... really anymore than I'd put stock into random comments taken from here. It's just not representative of the average consumer that Nintendo's targeting.

Shenzou @ Apr 28th 2006 3:05PM

Wii means nothing in Swedish or Finnish. It is however pronounced as the Swedish word "vi", which means "we" so they got a match there :)

airpolgas @ Apr 28th 2006 3:06PM

If they had named it Revolution, it would have been called Rev or Revo by the general gaming community anyway, which would make it easier for non-gamers to grasp - then again, that's just my opinion.

Rocket Punch @ Apr 28th 2006 3:17PM

I know for a fact that the "Wii" sound in chinese (cantonese to be specific) means "two kung pow chincken with white rice and sauce on the side to go"

Yeah, its a bad name for "anything"

Sean DL @ Apr 28th 2006 3:17PM

This reminds me how people were "embarrass" to take there DS outside of there house because of how it looked compared to the PSP.

That, no one but "little kids" would be seen with it outside and no gamer would dare be seen with one.

Funny..non-gamers are now seen with DS outside....

Some guy @ Apr 28th 2006 3:18PM

Wii sounds like the arabic adjective used by some dialects, and it means "Faggot".

Good Luck marketing the product there :D

Matthew Rader @ Apr 28th 2006 3:21PM

When was the last time anyone talked about the PS3 or Xbox360? Their names are almost archaic now that we have a wii.

Now its time to see how this thing plays.

Steve @ Apr 28th 2006 3:39PM

Just some interesting tidbit I found out of this week�s Famitsu magazine. Not fore sure how many people they polled, or which software makers they talked with, but anyway, here you go�

Which system are you most looking forward to at E3?

Users:
Wii........45.3%
PS3........44.8%
XBOX360.....4.4%

Software Makers:
Wii........47.4%
PS3........36.8%
XBOX360....None

mike @ Apr 28th 2006 3:41PM

Wii sounds like the arabic adjective used by some dialects, and it means "Faggot".

Good Luck marketing the product there :D

---

Talk about niche markets.

benjamin @ Apr 28th 2006 3:49PM

Here are some comments from a Brazilian gaming site, forum.jogos.uol.com.br:

*Horr?l. Mas tudo bem, o que importa s?os jogos.
(horrible. But it's ok, what's important are the games)

*E pior ?ue parece ser pra valer isso
S?i dizer isso n?tem cara de nome de videogame...
(What's worse is it seems this is for real. All I can say is that it doesn't sound like a name for a videogame...)

*n podia ser logo Nintendo Weeeeeee? mas eu gostei,podia ser melhor mas gostei
(Couldn't it have just been Nintendo Weeeee? But I like it, it could be better but I like it)

*Nintendo Wii? iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Estranho mesmo. Ser?ue as caracteristicas Wi-Fi s?t?fortes assim?
(Truly weird. Do you think the wi-fi characteristics are really that strong?)

*se fosse WI-FI seria melhor
(it would be better if it were WI-FI)

*seria pior...
(it would be worse-- in response to the above)

*Eu gostei do nome, principalmente pelas justificativas acima...mas eu ainda prefiro o bom e velho REVOLUTION!
(I like the name, especially for the justifications given...but I still prefer good old REVOLUTION!)

For the most part it seems like the Brazilians are more accepting of the new name than the rest of us. I for one hate it.

Link @ Apr 28th 2006 4:04PM

A Spanish speaking forum Club Nintendo (the equivalent of Nintendo Power) has the fans unsurprisingly divided. Perhaps not as one-sided as it is, it's almost evenly split between those who love it, hate it, or don't think much of the name but will live with it.

It has no real negative connotations in Spanish. If it had been written "We" it'd be a derogatory term (used when reffering to someone). Wii, to some, sounds funny though I agree with those that say Wii sounds better than, say, DS in spanish as DS sounds like "diez" which means "10" (the Nintendo 10).

I can get used to the name, it goes with their newfound "disruptive" tendencies, and it was clever to let the name out early to let everyone vent, settle down and pay attention to what matters at E3: the games.

Momus @ Apr 28th 2006 4:26PM

Hahah, what about French reaction?

"Je dit oui ?e Nintendo Wii."

ROFFLE. French is funny. ( :

Levi @ Apr 28th 2006 4:30PM

Y'see, I thought maybe Wii in Japanese meant something really symbolic, something that ignites a feeling in the Japanese when they hear it, like names of sushi restaurants. Most sushi restaurants try use one word names that have deep meanings to the Japanese. From reading these responses from Japan, it seems I was wrong.

Fridtjof Olsen @ Apr 28th 2006 4:43PM

It's obvious what happened at Nintendo. The wireless internet component for the DS, Wifi, was accidentally spelt without a "f".
It's actually really enoying, cause now when see the logo, I only think of it as a typing error.

In Norwegian the word's also similar the we, or how we spell it "vi". Also we don't use the letter W in Norwegian, which can be difficult to pronounce for the younger audience. I personally hate name, since it sounds and feels weird, and reminds of other trivial words. Give me Revolution!!

Zed @ Apr 28th 2006 5:23PM

I heard some brazilians jokingly referring to Wii as "Nintendo Ui!" ("Nintendo Ouch!").

Jouten Za @ Apr 28th 2006 6:07PM

Nintendo will be sued. Just like the WWF, now WWE was. Wii is an actual name a government is using. Check it out yourselves.

http://www.wii.gov.in/

The WWF (World Wildlife Fund) had their way with the then known as WWF (known then as the World Wrestling Federation)and forced the WWF to change to WWE. Maybe this will happen to Nintendo as well.

And for good measure, here's their disclaimer from their website...

All efforts have been made to make the information as accurate as possible, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) will not be responsible for any loss to any person or organization caused by inaccuracy in the information available on this Website. Any discrepancy found may be brought to the notice of WII.

TMW @ Apr 28th 2006 6:36PM

Actually, someone mentioned that Wii was not trademarked in either Europe, the US, or Japan, so this WII organization has no grounds for a lawsuit.

Joe @ Apr 28th 2006 6:46PM

this is a love hate name you either love it or hate it i personally think its not that bad all those people who think its the english term for urine are obviously very childish

nigu @ Apr 28th 2006 8:45PM

well, I'm Italian and since you were looking for foreign gamer to see how the name sounds, here I am ^_^

In italin "Wii" have no sense, no meaning, not the sound or the word itself how it is written...the nearest sound to "Wii" is the one that pigs do...

btw I still don't know if I like it or not, but thinking of going in a gameshop and ask for "a wii", "wii", "the wii", it's quite strange...

jigzat @ Apr 28th 2006 11:50PM

Well at least in spanish sounds like "huy" wich is an expression of pain or surprise like a mix of "Ouch and Wow" but it doesnt sound cool like Playstation3 or Xbox 360 or Revolution....Revolution was cooler

Roshin @ Apr 29th 2006 1:01AM

In Sweden, "Wii" sounds mostly like "vi", which means "we" and is what Nintendo had in mind (according to the press release). That doesn't change the fact that it's an awkward and stupid choice, however.

Jarod @ Apr 29th 2006 2:39AM

Maybe _N Dub_ for short? How about _N-wii_? Get it? Ennui?! *sigh*

I'm still gonna buy one.

groze @ Apr 29th 2006 7:29AM

In Portugal, Wii actually sounds pretty cool. I really think the reactions to the name are being heavily influenced by English-speaking people/countries, because, in most countries, with most languages, Wii is actually not a bad name. Of course, after reading the comments of English native speakers, and being influenced by them as the world always is, Wii sounds bad, it's the slang for urination, and all, but (and may I add - fortunately) not all the world speaks English. I seriously doubt Japanese people reacted that way with an unbiased opinion, we're all already tainted by what English speaking people think, thank you very much. When the PSP was released in Portugal, no one asked us if we liked the name - I mean, our Police force uses the same name - "Pol?a de Seguran?P?ca" - and, despite the name being stupid in my country, no one seemed to care about it, the console sold and IS selling quite well... just let time be the judge of it.

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