Play the game

I’ve been wondering about brand names, or rather, one specific brand name – Nintendo’s Wii. The Wii is, of course, a now well-established gaming system. Apparently, according to a bubble cash review, the name is supposed to indicate the inclusiveness of playing together and the fact that the system is designed for everyone. The two lower case ‘i‘s though, make it an oddity in English, and always make me want to pronounce it weeeeee (sad, I know).

And of course, there’s the unfortunate double meaning that catches me every time I hear my niece and nephew arguing about ‘who’s lost the Wii?’. It makes me wonder how Nintendo ever got away with the name – surely it should have been laughed off the high street on its first outing? Yet it wasn’t, and the system is now hugely popular. I guess you can get away with the strangest of names if the product is right.