Nintendo Zii? No Such Thing, Ever

No need for alarm, Nintendo’s next console is most likely not called the Nintendo Zii, and hasn’t been trademarked as such. SiliconEra, which loves to dig up this stuff, found a Nintendo trademark for “Zii” in Japan, and speculated that this was perhaps the name for a high-definition Nintendo Wii, noting that three years is a bit late for something as simple as name protection. But after doing some digging, Engadget found that this is likely just a renewal of a trademark request from 2006. Also, trademarks from Nintendo were found for Bii, Cii, Oii and Yii. Why the Big N didn’t go the extra mile and trademark Xii, Uii, Iii and Nii is beyond me, and my Mii.

If you’re in the dark about what Nintendo is doing for a next-gen console, join the club. Analysts have speculated that a Wii HD is on the way either next year or in 2011,  but Nintendo has kept the rumor mill pretty quiet. The most we’ve heard are second-hand reports from game developers and a prediction from Square Enix president Yoichi Wada. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime insists that the product doesn’t exist, so we’ll have to hang tight for whenever Nintendo decides to announce that it does. [via Joystiq]