Tech journal Siliconera has discovered a trademark filing by Nintendo under “WiiRelax,” despite the fact that an Italian company owns the rights to “Wii Relax. The Italian company’s product site gone, but Nintendo has now trademarked “WiiRelax” in Europe, though Siliconera notes that Italian developer Pub Company still holds the trademark to Wii Relax (note the space! Nintendo hates spaces as much as Apple loves camel-case)
The site for the original Wii Relax is now dark, indicating Nintendo may have bought the rights or otherwise killed the project through legal means.
If a new trademark is to be seen at pure face value, Nintendo has taken the misunderstood notion of casual gaming to its utter endgame and conclusion and is working on software that allows you to do absolutely nothing in the name of fun and possibly a high score. WiiRelax exists as just a name right now, but I think we all know Nintendo well enough to know that it is likely to be a genuine thing. Why they didn’t pounce on “WiiLax” instead is a complete mystery, then again, they don’t say “WiiMote” either, which is far cooler.
The use of the never-mentioned, never-released Wii Vitality sensor could have something to do with the trademark. What on Earth would require you to turn on your electronics, hook up a pulse sensor to your hand and actively do something AND be relaxing is a mystery to us. What ever happened to turning everything off and just closing your eyes? Do I get a high score for having a labrador rest its head on my lap? Questions no one seeks the answers to.
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