Miyamoto talks Wiinaming, caricatures
In talking with CNN Money's Chris Morris, omnipotent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto expresses what just about everyone has been thinking, at least until recently: "Revolution" is a much better name than "Wii." Miyamoto notes that a large part of the decision to change to the shorter and much easier to mock name came from the belief that non-gamers would feel threatened by a term normally used for violent uprisings and/or anti-parasitic pet medications.
"When we first thought about it, myself and others felt that the name Revolution was very appropriate to what we were doing, but [Revolution] is a name that was almost threatening to non-gamers. It wasn't acceptable. So we thought this was more friendly and inviting."
In the same article, Miyamoto also hints that the Iwata and Reggie caricatures seen in Wii Sports: Tennis aren't just an in-joke, but a customizable feature of the game. The thought of playing as (more) deformed versions of ourselves has us amused and intrigued--could there be another Wii secret in store, such as a camera attachment or the ability to read photos from a USB storage device? Nah, it's most likely just an avatar creation utility like those found in Animal Crossing: Wild World or Mario Kart DS, albeit a much more advanced one thanks to the Wiimote's abilities.
[Via Joystiq]
