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What's in the name "video game"
Stephen Totilo's recent hour-long interview with Sony Computer Entertainment Studio Head Phil Harrison focused mainly on the past, present and future of the PlayStation systems and brand. But possibly the most interesting quote in the whole piece came at a point where Harrison waxed philosophical about the branding of the industry as a whole."I fervently believe that the biggest challenge we face is that our industry is referred to as 'video games,'" Harrison told Totilo, echoing concerns aired last month by former ESA head Doug Lowenstein about the image of the term. With two industry luminaries bringing up the same issue in such a short time, we had to wonder: Is our industry being held back by its name?It's true that the word "game" in video game automatically makes some people think that our industry is devoted to nothing more than child's play, a claim that is pretty demonstrably false. Still, terms like "interactive entertainment" and "entertainment software" always struck us as a little too clunky and snobby-sounding for everyday use. Then again, terms like "graphic novel" and "cinema" probably sounded a little clunky before they came into common usage to describe the serious side of comics and movies, respectively.So we put the question to you, dear readers. Do video games need to be re-branded to erase their childish image? If so, what new term would you use to describe the industry?
You name the iPhone
According to the Inquirer, Comwave, a Canadian company, has been using the name iPhone in the US and Canada for the last two years. This could be a slight problem for Apple, given that in nearly all the coverage its unannounced, and still speculative, mobile communications device has been deemed "the iPhone". The Inquirer even popped over to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and searched the online trademarks database for iPhone. It found three documents there: an opposition, a search and an abandonment by Cisco. Their search of the United States Patent and Trademark office turned up two applications as well, one of which the Inquirer thinks was an unsuccessful application from Apple (by "Ocean Telecom Services"). So we're throwing the question out to you readers. What would you name the iPhone if you weren't allowed to call it the iPhone? Let us know in the comments.
Wii anticipation: preparing for launch
So here we are -- just a few days until the heralded launch of the Wii. We've been waiting so long that it hardly seems real, but there's no time to waste. We have to make plans for the penultimate event: the act of obtaining the Wii. The ultimate event is, of course, getting it home safely and plugging it all in. But first ... parties! Camping! Meteor showers! The popping of champagne bottles (if you're doing this, can we come over?)! Where will you be come midnight, November 19? We want to know.The Wii Fanboy staff will be positioned hither and yon, jockeying for our own sainted items, and will we provide as much live and almost-live coverage as we can cram onto the site from various wifi hotspots. At least one of our minions (don't you wish you knew who?) will be on the ground in Times Square. But enough about us. We want to know about you, dear reader. Where will you be at the moment of truth? Tell us, tell each other, network and plan to meet up. Remember: it's harder to trample new friends, so make nice and try not to stampede when the clock slides on over to midnight on Sunday.It's been fun, anticipating the Wii with everyone. We've talked about our homes, ourselves, and our plans for games. Now that we're on the brink of fulfilling our motion-sensing dreams, we feel a little ... empty. It's been a long road from the beginning until now, and yet it all feels somehow like a rehearsal. The real show doesn't begin until Sunday, and what a show it's going to be.But before we look ahead, let's recap where we've been.
Nokia to switch up naming scheme, follow Moto's lead
5200, 6136, E70, N70, N73. We lost track of what's what in Nokia's soup of numbers and letters about twenty or thirty phones ago; maybe our jaded minds can't handle the constant onslaught of new devices anymore -- or perhaps we're just getting old -- but it sounds like help is mercifully on the way. After watching brands like Motorola's RAZR and LG's Chocolate dominate pockets and purses for the last couples years, our favorite Finnish phone manufacturer has dropped hints that it, too, will be switching from numbers to names for at least some of its future products. Ironically, the news comes just as HTC is going the other direction with its naming scheme, moving from names to numbers -- but with monikers like "TyTN" plaguing their stable, we're thinking that was the right move. No word on what kinds of words might pop up in the Nokia lineup, but our vote goes to names of Finnish cities (who wouldn't want a Nokia Oulu?).
PS3 pad loses DualShock name and vibration but picks up Wii-esque motion detection and wireless connectivity
In a shocking turn of events, the PS3 controller has gone from banamerang to wireless DualShock 3, except without the DualShock name and vibration.If you take a good look at the back of the new control pad (see the close-up above), you'll notice that the DualShock 2 brand name imprinted on the old controller has now been supplanted by a row of LED lights to show which input has been set, either wirelessly or via the wired USB recharge port. Sony's now the only name in-line for PS3 controllers either on the pad or in the press releases (see "the new PS3 controller").
