Nintendo Co. Ltd on Thursday said it has named "Wii" its next-generation video game console known to date by its code name Revolution.

"While the code name Revolution expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer," spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan told Reuters.

Wii pronounced "we" is meant to emphasize that the console is for everyone", said Nintendo. "Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii."

The"i" also symbolize the one-handed controller,a key feature of the Wii. It looks like a television remote control and uses motion-detection sensors that allow players to control the game by wielding it like a sword, waving it like a conductor's baton, or swinging it like a baseball bat.

The video game console's graphics chip named "Broadway" (code name) was jointly developed by IBM and ATI. Wii will also include a built-in 512MB Flash memory, the possibility to install wireless LAN connection, an SD memory card interface and two USB 2.0 ports.

Nintendo was expected to save revealing details of the console until next month?s E3 in L.A.

But the company has earned a reputation as the most unconventional of the big three console makers and let the major news slip out in an animation and statement on its web site. A spokesperson also revealed a launch date of the fourth quarter of this year.

That would coincide with the release of Sony?s PlayStation3 and come a year after Microsoft launched its Xbox 360.