But isnt the whole point that the console (no, I can't bear to name it) should reach out to new potential gamers? These people won't have heard of it before, and their first reaction will be the same as the first reaction everywhere:
1. Wii? What the hell is that?
2. Oh, it's pronounced Wee. Haha, wee!
3. I'm not going into a shop and saying that I want a wee.
And the key thing is that people will have this reaction when they might consider whether or not to buy it. Nintendo needn't care what we think- we're all gamers and fans so we'll buy it anyway. But they are risking putting off any potential buyers who speak english.
And it's not fair to say that people are just being immature. If your marketing relies on customers being perfectly mature, you have overlooked a massive chunk of the population.
Justifying it with philosophical bulls*** is pretty weak too. You shouldn't have to explain your name. Call it the Nintendo Together or Nintendo All if you want, at least everyone will get that first time.
Plus of course, this is nothing like Amazon, iPod, Virgin etc. Amazon is just a name, it's not like rainforests are illegal or anything. iPod is a gadget, and they can get away with names like AW-1000, and apple use iMac iBook etc. Again it doesn't sound stupid. Virgin is the only slightly dodgy one, but since we were introduced to it through a radio station (where you can say whatever you want in a cool way, inbetween the ad breaks) nobody cared when they saw a virgin train.
Personally it makes no difference- I'll buy a revolution anyway. But if nintendo ruins it's marketing, sales drop, third party support drops, and I won't be able to play Red Steel 2. And that makes me mad.
/rant