Gamertell

The SciFi channel recently changed its name to SyFy and, so people know what the heck is going on with their favorite station, launched an expensive name awareness campaign. The reasons for the change include never being able to own the term Sci Fi, to eliminate confusing search results and generally clearer marketing of its programming.

What if game companies started to mess with their current names? Sure, most of them are specific names that don’t really get confused with other products (except maybe with some people in Japan). A few game brands - Sony’s Home, for example - need a name change for the very reasons described by Sci Fi, er, I meant SyFy. Others, including 10Tacle, Take-2 and id, have already made the leap.

Here are a few theoretical name changes game companies may - or probably may not - enjoy considering without having to do too much phonetic education along with accompanying slogan suggestions.

eYAY!

My favorite hypothetical name change would be a re-branding of Electronic Arts from “EA” to “eYAY!” It has all the obnoxious elements some marketing dweeb would love: It has an odd character, it has a visually striking element (the “!”), it starts with a lowercase vowel, has some caps and is easy to say.
Horrible Slogan: “Horray for eYAY!”

aClaim

Those double Cs always did make me feel a little weird in Acclaim’s name. Nix them and either go with the little-letter prefix. The slightly misspelled-but-same-pronunciation version, Aklai, has already been used or I might suggest that instead.
Horrible Slogan: “Stake your claim on aClaim’s games.”

BethSoft

Bethesda Softworks already uses BethSoft as its domain name, so why not just use it as the corporate identity? OK, so it’s a little lame but it’s still a semi-catchy name. Of course that “soft” part might seem a bit too, well, soft, for a hard-core game company. Or it could be turned into a more feminine game company? OK, maybe not.
Horrible Slogan: “BethSoft? That’s what s/he said.”

Oobi / uB

Everyone has trouble pronouncing Ubisoft anyway. Make it easy for the world and cut it down to its nickname. The other version to consider, “Ooby,” implies a bit too much “Scooby” and a little too close to “Booby.” Of course, that might be a good thing. And if you pronounce “you bee,” then go even shorter with the name.
Horrible Slogan(s): “Don’t bee a noobi, buy lots of Oobi.” or “No matter who you be, play with uB.”

Cap.com

Now that is going high tech. Just put the dotcom right in your name. That doesn’t scream “company about to fail” at all.
Horrible Slogan: “The main game domain: Cap dot com”

iDose

It’s got the iPod “i,” sound like a dose of something - fun maybe? - and easy to say right from the spelling. Assuming that is how you really pronounce “Eidos,” of course. Unfortunaely, some might read that as “I doze,” as in “I sleep.”
Horrible Slogan: “The Doctor prescribes a heavy dose of iDose games.”

NamBam

Shorten Namco Bandai to its essential bits, turn that “n” into an “m” and you’re good to go.
Horrible Slogan: “Who made that cool game? NamBam? Thank you, man!”

Magis, Co.

This is slight re-working of Majesco makes the name a little more manageable to read and might even generate a shorter name. While the word “magis” may have religious background, it means “the more,” a good concept for any company (even if they do create pagan images and gratuitously blow up stuff and innocents).
Horrible Slogan: “Magis, Co. Now our name is more American.”

Zega

It’s only one letter but a “z” is zo much cooler than an “s.” A lot of people pronounce it that way any way. How about Zonic the Hegehog?
Horrible Slogan: “Zega, eets ze bomb.”

HOAM

HOAM, also short for “hold on a minute,” would certainly be easier to find in search engines when looking for Sony’s Home. And it’s a way kewl abbreviation. (OK, not really.)
Horrible Slogan: “Hey honey, I’m HOAM!” or “Come HOAM and stay a while.”

C-Era

Probably a terrible idea since it might imply that the company - Sierra - was developed in a slightly above average era. Of course then you won’t mistake it with that mist, er, bottled water company.
Horrible Slogan: “Get all your A-games from the C-Era.”

[]Enix

Yeah, put that shape right in there. Screw convention. Be like Prince. Print publications would absolutely hate that. (“Is that two square brackets or a box? Someone get the @#$%! AP style guide!”) Then dump the character in a couple years and just become “Enix” again. Likewise, Xbox Live could be X[]Live and, down the road, xLive or just x[].
Horrible Slogan: “[]Enix - We put games in a box so you can play ‘em.”

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