Yesterday, New Super Mario Bros. for the DS was released here. I went to pick up my copy in the Bic Camera in Shinjuku and due to my bad Japanese almost ended up accidentally buying a new DS Lite as well. I realised I had been queueing in the DS Lite queue just before I would have had to buy one, and instead just picked up the game. It’s pretty good and has lots of nice new bonuses like the giant mushroom and the tiny mushroom, both of which work really well. The music is also really good, lots of new versions of the classic Mario Brothers tunes. It feels pretty much like playing a remixed version of the original Super Mario on the NES…only much, much easier (which wouldn’t be too hard, seeing as I can hardly finish the first world on the original these days) and much, much prettier. I’m really liking the really simple interface and the small touch screen moments, and especially the nice touch of action moving to the lower screen when Mario goes down a pipe! Looking forward to getting home tonight to play a bit more! I’m starting to get a bit backlogged with games at the moment. I only really play my DS and PSP on the second half of the commute to work (the first half, I read), and so now have about 5 games as yet unfinished…all a good way of preventing me spend any money on new ones though!

So in yet another triumph of clueless Japanese PR people, the new Nintendo console, codenamed Revolution, has been named: Wii. What was wrong with the name Revolution? It summed up the the console pretty accurately, the revolutionary nature of the controller and the backward compatibility of the downloadable games from Nintendo, Sega and NEC. Instead, Nintendo have gone with a name that will have unfunny people like myself going into game stores and saying things like "I need a Wii" and "Is this the right place to come for a Wii?". The press release from the Nintendo website clearly reveals the damage-control exercise that the English-speaking departments of Nintendo are having to go through:

Introducing… Wii.
As in "we."
While the code-name "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.
Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else.
Wii will put people more in touch with their games… and each other. But you’re probably asking: What does the name mean?
Wii sounds like "we," which emphasises this console is for everyone.
Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.
Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.
And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.
So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.
Because, it’s really not about you or me.
It’s about Wii.
And together, Wii will change everything.

Pretty awful to say the least. But to be honest they could call it the Nintendo Piss Machine and I’d still buy it on the day of release!