It's no joke - Nintendo today renamed its next-generation console 'Wii'. As in 'we', apparently, but in school playgrounds across the UK - and probably everywhere else in the English-speaking world too - they'll be sniggering and adding a second 'e' to the 'we'.

'I'd rather have a wii than an PS3,' we can almost hear the wee ones sing.

Micturitional associations aside, according to Nintendo - can't you just see the Western PR reps staring into their palms in disbelief? - the name represents all those folk out there who don't play videogames. A console for the rest of us, as Steve Jobs might have put it.

It's all about "breaking down the wall that separates videogame players from everyone else", though at the same time Nintendo wants to be "set apart from the crowd". Inclusivity and exclusivity in the same console - an amazing feat if Nintendo can pull it off.

Oh, and the "distinctive 'ii' spelling", if you were wondering, "symbolises both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play".

All we need to know now is the console's spec - it's odd-looking, motion-sensitive controller was unveiled in September 2005 - and that's likely to be made public at the E3 show next month. ®