Nintendo has applied for a trademark on the acronym ‘NSW’ via the European Union Intellectual Property Office. NSW is the favoured shorthand for its Nintendo Switch console.
The application was first noted on Resetera and later reported by VGC. Hardware makers like Nintendo are partial to three-letter acronyms — PS5, XBO, NES, they’ve been around for a while.
Nintendo usually takes a fairly straightforward approach to acronyms: NDS for its Nintendo DS, GCN for the GameCube, N64 for the Nintendo 64, and so on. NSW would replace the console’s current acronym, which is HAC. This follows a longer tradition at Nintendo of using codename abbreviations to identify its hardware. The codenames usually differ from the final name of the product. The Famicon/NES was abbreviated to HVC, or Home Video Computer. The GameBoy was DMG, or Dot Matrix Game. The DS was originally NTR, or Nitro, and the Wii was RVL, or Revolution.
Nintendo has never formally confirmed what the Switch’s HAC codename stands for. The acronym breaks with tradition, differing from the console’s codename, which was Nintendo NX. The two leading theories are that HAC stands either for “Handheld And Console,” in reference to its convertible design, or “Hachi,” the Japanese word for “eight,” being the company’s eighth major home console (though this theory is subject to a fairly specific pecking order).
The Australian elephant in the room
All of this, of course, ignores that NSW is a very important acronym here in Australia.
The state of New South Wales is rather surprised Nintendo would try to trademark its long-standing abbreviation, even on the other side of the world.
Some found the entire thing very funny.
The entire population of NSW when the Nintendo lords gain the trademark and sue Australia. https://t.co/K92RhjRpCT pic.twitter.com/4unhjcNnZy
— Time Master (@TimeMaster131) June 30, 2022
Others were ready to welcome the new New South Wales premier, the honourable Mario Mario.
Sorry New South Wales. I’ll always side with Nintendo. It spent more time raising me than my own parents.
— cosmic jester (@cosmicjester) June 30, 2022
Some suggested NSW premier Dominic Perrottet consider a career change.
I’m pretty sure Nintendo can’t own New South Wales… Unless Dom Perrotet gets a job at Nintendo 😂 pic.twitter.com/LAXN7BjIF8
— Jack McSomeone 🇺🇦 (@real_jmcsomeone) June 30, 2022
And others still decided that New South Wales would simply have to change its name.
Australia will be renaming New South Wales to Nintendo Switch
— Eleven The Luminary! (@LuminaryOfAges) June 30, 2022
Obviously, this is all good fun and a fairly odd coincidence. What do you think about NSW as an abbreviation for Nintendo Switch? I’ve never seen it written as NSW before, to be honest. Even in my own weekly This Week In Games column, I refer to it as NS, not NSW. I suppose I could change the acronym, I just never thought to add the W before. Keen for your thoughts on this one.