Names are hugely important.

They help shape our identity – and those of the products we buy. A name that sounds good in one language or culture can prove embarrassing in another. The Scandinavian de-icer Piss would never have taken off in Britain.

So Nintendo’s decision to call its new game console the Wii – pronounced wee – is a brave one. The company says the name was chosen to signify it was for everyone. This is the kind of marketing claptrap that multinationals love. The fact that it will set off schoolboy giggles has obviously been discounted. 

Nintendo’s great rival Sony has understood the need to create compelling names for its products. Back in 1979, it named its new portable music player the Walkman. Critics mocked the Japanese for failing to understand the English language. But the name brilliantly explained what the product did. In the 1990s, Sony repeated the trick with the PlayStation. I can’t see the Wii surviving a generation…