How do you pronounce “NES”? Nintendo throws a wrench in the debate

What you call the system on the left could depend in part on whether or not you grew up with the system on the right…

You can keep your long-running debate about how to pronounce GIF. For me, the argument over how to pronounce “NES”—the abbreviation for the Nintendo Entertainment System—is the more interesting and contentious debate.

Whenever the argument over this inconsequential question comes up—in forum debates, Twitter threads, Slack chat rooms, or even in-person conversations—it never fails to draw strong feelings. People who grew up pronouncing each letter in “N-E-S” are met with those who have gone their whole lives calling it “ness” (or “nezz” in some cases). Both sides are usually equally stringent in their decision and wonder how the other side could possibly think they’re right.

For years, I thought that Nintendo had “officially” settled that debate (as far as it could be settled) in favor of pronouncing each letter of “N-E-S.” But now, a throwaway line in the Japanese version of WarioWare Gold has thrown everything into question once again.