In a strong showing of confidence, UK Nintendo chief David Yarnton has declared the WiiGate controversy over and done with. The original furor over the renaming of the Revolution produced gales of laughter from the UK because of the new name sounding remarkably like the term the Brits use for urination, and screams of protest from the gaming community. Yarnton told Eurogamer TV that, "We haven’t had anyone talk about the name as such apart from in a positive manner now. That’s died and gone, and what people are talking about is a fantastic product.”
Yarnton further defended Nintendo,s selection of the Wii brand name by stating, "If you look at Nintendo, which has been around for over 100 years, there’s always been very much a philosophical approach to what we do, very much a holistic approach to gaming, and we’re looking to be all-encompassing for everyone,. When we started looking into the name ‘Wii’, that’s what we were talking about – everyone, rather than a single thing. It’s a very simple word that we’ve created to come across with that message to everyone."
Whether the selection of the name “Wii,” was a stroke of marketing genius or a case of extremely good luck, Nintendo, arguably, would not have attained the same degree of name recognition had it stayed with the original name of Revolution. In effect, the “Wii” has started the next-gen revolution for Nintendo with a bang.
