After 35 years, Nintendo has finally confirmed how we’re meant to pronounce “NES.” It turns out that everyone has been saying it wrong. It’s not “enn-ee-ess”, nor is it “Nez.” Just what is the correct NES pronunciation? The answer has finally been given to us, via the unlikely source of WarioWare Gold.
As long as I’ve known it, there have been two schools of thought when it comes to the pronunciation of NES. People have always appeared to be of the mind that it’s either “enn-ee-ess”, or “Nez.” As it turns out, neither of these are correct. According to Nintendo, it is “Ness.” This, however, does lead to a bit of confusion with Earthbound’s Ness. Indeed, the Museum mode in WarioWare Gold has laid down the law.
Discovered by Twitter user Kyle McLain, the museum in the latest micro-game collection officially states the correct NES pronunciation. In the Japanese version of the game at least. Head on over to the game’s virtual museum and you’ll see an entry for Nintendo’s original console. As part of its description, the official pronunciation is given to us. It reads “nesu”, which indicates “Ness”, rather than “Nez.” Kyle’s tweet can be seen below:
In the museum section of the Japanese version of Wario Ware Gold, you can unlock some slides showcasing the Famicom. Also included is a picture of the NES. Within the description, Nintendo themselves says that “NES” is pronounced “Ness”. pic.twitter.com/Vg5JjXgJgy
— Kyle McLain (@FarmboyinJapan) August 3, 2018
So there you have it. If you’re like me, you’ve now been officially pronouncing NES wrong for your entire life. If you ask us, however, “Ness” just doesn’t sound quite right. I’ll still be saying “Nez”, whether that’s sacrilegious now, or not. At least it’s officially not “enn-ee-ess”, that would have been bad news. What do you think? How have you been pronouncing NES? Has the official ruling shattered your reality as much as it has mine? What else have we been officially pronouncing wrong all these years? I bet it’s not pronounced “Snez”, either. I think I need a lie down.
