SEATTLE TIMES INTERVIEW WITH SATORU IWATA

During E3, the Seattle Times got a chance to speak to Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. Surprisingly, It’s actually a pretty good read and not the usual clueless rambling you’d expect from a “normal” news outlet. As for Iwata’s thoughts on the Wii name;

“There were some criteria for us to come up with the name. It had to be short enough so that we didn’t need any other nicknames or abbreviation. What we are targeting with Wii is not only existing gamers, but also people who have shown no interest in other games. These non gamers, for example, really cannot understand what GBA means, if GBA is something different from Game Boy Advance. We wanted something with a strong impact that people will remember as soon as they hear it.

Finally, we wanted a name unlike any video-game machines” Satoru Iwata

You know, as much as I griped when the name was announced, following the whole E3 week, I’ve got to admit the Wii name is really beginning to click with me. I think it’s all the fun people are having with the name – I mean, if just saying the consoles name is that much fun, the thing itself must be a blast!

In fact, forget about all the stuff Nintendo officially has said about the name, that should be their answer. “We wanted a name that could at least begin to provide you with the fun our console will.” – Wiially.

Click here for the Seattle Times interview.