[Oddduck]

http://emilyrogersblog.wordpress.com...came-city-boy/

I saw this article posted on some other gaming message boards, and the idea of it blew my mind. While the article was written by Emily Rogers, she went really indepth with her reasoning and evidence. I would suggest not passing on reading this article just because of the author. It's a good read.

Here's some snippets from the article.

The name “Nintendo DS” was not the official name at E3 2004. And they tip-toed around a few names. One of those names was “City Boy” because it would appeal to a young adult urban audience who have a busy “always on the go” lifestyle. “City Boy” was an attempt to make the Game Boy brand (seen as a child’s toy) sound more hip and adult. This name made it possible for Nintendo to continue the Game Boy Brand while trying to appeal to an urban young adult crowd. It makes sense too. If you paid attention to DS’s marketing in the last 6 years, Nintendo made a massive attempt to get older people and women to take the Nintendo DS brand name seriously.

Nintendo assumed that people walking around a busy city filled with people would use features like Pictochat on a bus, movie theater, schools, or at some social gathering. Wi-Fi was not as mainstream back in 2004 like it is in 2012. Nintendo assumed people could head into a cafe or restaurant with wifi to log into their DS. Again, it was building on the aspect that you bring your “City Boy” everywhere with you in the city.

Nintendo wanted gamers not to feel embarrassed of playing games in public. To make portable gaming more acceptable like playing games on your cell phone. The idea of “City Boy” was to get you to carry and play your Nintendo handheld more often in public (hence the word “City”) like your cell phone.

Look at how much Nintendo has pushed the idea of spotpass and streetpass in the 3DS. They have pushed this feature really hard. You even get tokens for carrying your 3DS to work or school. 3DS basically tries to push the idea that they originally wanted with DS: Getting people moving and taking their DS with them everywhere they go. They want you to bring your Nintendo handheld with you everywhere just like your phone.

Nintendo of America filed a trademark for “City Boy” on March 18, 2004 and it is still alive at uspto.gov They filed the trademark 2 months before E3 2004 when the successor to Game Boy Advance would be revealed. Why would they trademark something with “Boy” in the name that is described as hardware (not software) 2 months before revealing the successor to Game Boy Advance? And why was it called Nintendo DS instead of “City Boy”? Because Nintendo thought this handheld had a big chance to fail and they didn’t want it to tarnish the Game Boy brand name. Iwata was worried gamers wouldn’t understand the idea of a handheld with two screens.

Quote from Iwata:

“It is a ‘unique’ machine, so not everybody will understand it right away. There might only be 10 to 15 people applauding during its unveiling at E3, but they’ll understand it once they touch it. At the least, it should serve as a hint towards [our] next-generation console.”

Source of quote: http://www.n-sider.com/contentview.php?contentid=515

Type in Pikmin on a trademark search, and you get descriptions like ” ELECTRONIC GAME SOFTWARE, INTERACTIVE GAME DISCS, INTERACTIVE GAME PROGRAMS, INTERACTIVE GAME SOFTWARE, MUSICAL SOUND RECORDINGS, VIDEO GAME DISCS” You don’t see that description for City Boy. It was not software. It was hardware. It was filed with other electronics. You see it filed with the category of electronic goods and services such as “DVD players, cellular phones, computers, cd players, microphones, and LCD screens”. This means that City Boy was hardware.

Another Iwata quote:

“[It] will enable fun and movement not seen before. I expect it to become a third pillar, next to GameCube and Game Boy.” -Satoru Iwata, Gamasutra (January 07, 2004)

- This means Nintendo had backup plan if DS failed.

[linkboy]

City Boy, wow.

Yea DS is a lot better

[BadWolf]

So bad.

[Droog]

I thought the original name was Nitro (you can still see the NTR prefix code on DS carts, etc.) although maybe that was just a codename. Never heard of City Boy before, glad they didn't go with it!

[Katana_Strikes]

Wow, just wow! lol

[nintendors]

and you thought WiiU is bad

[shinobi602]

"Soo....can I play with your city boy for a little while?"

[MadmanUK]

Would've enjoyed the South Park piss-take episode.

[Yenrot]

Sounds like the name of a Rent Boy.

[Rapstah]

The 3DS must've been Soulja Boy then.

[Hoo-doo]

"Hold on, just let me grab my City Boy™."

Yeah, i'm glad they went with DS.

[JordanKZ]

City Boy is up there with one of the worst names for any product I've ever heard.

[Nocturnowl]

Leaving boy in the name wouldn't have done much to help them obtain that more grown up image they were looking for.
And that's just one of the problems with that awful name.

[disco]

City Boy sounds sleazy like an overconfident 26 year old banker who bought a table at a West End club.

[Kaako]

City Boy, bwahaha. It would have been glorious!

[NZA36]

LOL, wow. Crisis averted!

[Plinko]

Probably the exact same people who came up with "Wii U" :(

I still want a different name for the console.

[nintendors]

The 3DS must've been Soulja Boy then.

[Cheesecakebobby]

The best thing is that in Japan it would be pronounced "Shitty boy".

[Cygnus X-1]

Wow. I love the GameBoy brand and name, but....City Boy really sounds awkward.

[injurai]

at least they didn't try to go with TouchBoy

[civilstrife]

Hahahaha

One of the things I love about Nintendo is that they always seem to be flirting the edge of insanity.

[Crayons]

It sounds like a website for picking up underage boys.

Oh, Nintendo...

[disco]

Hahahaha One of the things I love about Nintendo is that they always seem to be flirting the edge of insanity.

*you mean, genius. ;)

[Majine]

And 3DS would've been called Virtual Boy?

[1-D_FTW]

- This means Nintendo had backup plan if DS failed.

Everyone understood this at the time. It was painfully obvious they didn't have a lot of faith and were hedging their bets to avoid cooty dust on the Gameboy name.

But City Boy? That would have been a disaster. DS never would have reached the demographics they did with such a pigeon-holed name.

[Bullza2o]

The 3DS must've been Soulja Boy then.

Classic.

[Droog]

The best thing is that in Japan it would be pronounced "Shitty boy".

Haha, an excellent point which is probably the reason it got renamed!

[DXB-KNIGHT]

The 3DS code is CTR! so
CT = city
R = ?

[Why would you do that?]

I thought the original name was Nitro (you can still see the NTR prefix code on DS carts, etc.) although maybe that was just a codename. Never heard of City Boy before, glad they didn't go with it!

Nintendo DS was actually a code name, or perhaps a tentative name for the system. Some time after E3 2004, they announced Nintendo DS would be the final name.

Either way, I'm happy they didn't go with City Boy. :p Though that name would be more appropriate for the 3DS given its StreetPass and pedometer that encourages you to carry it around...

[mclem]

The 3DS code is CTR! so CT = city R = ?

Since it's the followup to NTR (Nitro), clearly it's Cointreau.

[Oddduck]

Everyone understood this at the time. It was painfully obvious they didn't have a lot of faith and were hedging their bets to avoid cooty dust on the Gameboy name. But City Boy? That would have been a disaster. DS never would have reached the demographics they did with such a pigeon-holed name.

Oh I agree with you. City Boy would have been horrible.

Although to be honest, people said the same thing about the name "Wii" and that was the complete opposite of a disaster sales wise.

[Sendou]

I remember Iwata saying that 3rd pillar thing. I guess they weren't too confident with DS. And they mentioned that they didn't want to tarnish the Game Boy brand but figured it was still okay to release Virtual Boy? Or maybe that's what made them cautious.

But yeah City Boy is quite a name. One does wonder where Nintendo comes up with all these names.

[GCNemesis]

Although that name is pretty horrible, we now live in the generation where names of devices don't really matter, they sell regardless.

[plainr_]

City Boy XL

[MisterHero]

Game Boy: The Urbz

[MarkMclovin]

So what does DS mean?

[maquiladora]

God that would have been worse than Wii U.

[Droog]

So what does DS mean?

I'm going to assume you're serious. DS = Dual Screen.

[Carl]

Was it going to be born and raised in South Detroit?

[ffdgh]

I'm going to assume you're serious. DS = Dual Screen.

actually it meant developers system.

[gogogow]

I'm going to assume you're serious. DS = Dual Screen.

It's more than just "Dual Screen".

What does "DS" stand for? To our developers, it stands for "Developers' System," since we believe it gives game creators brand new tools which will lead to more innovative games for the world's players. It can also stand for "Dual Screen."

edit: goddammit

[klier]

Quote from Iwata:

“It is a ‘unique’ machine, so not everybody will understand it right away. There might only be 10 to 15 people applauding during its unveiling at E3, but they’ll understand it once they touch it. At the least, it should serve as a hint towards [our] next-generation console.”

In what possible way???

actually it meant developers system.

No it does not. It means Dual Screen. Developers system is a bunch of marketing BS, just like Iwata's quote above...

[POWERSPHERE]

Oh man, I WISH! That's hilarious.

[gogogow]

Quote from Iwata: In what possible way???

Unique control user interface.

[BruiserBear]

"trying to appeal to an urban young adult crowd"


lol

[POWERSPHERE]

Quote from Iwata: In what possible way???

Is that about the DS? If so, what a crazy early hint about the Wii U!

[bachikarn]

I remember when Nintendo first announced they were working on a "third pillar." People were speculating it was going to use holograms hah

[ffdgh]

Quote from Iwata: In what possible way??? No it does not. It means Dual Screen. Developers system is a bunch of marketing BS, just like Iwata's quote above...

i said meant not mean lol

[bomma_man]

Quote from Iwata: In what possible way??? No it does not. It means Dual Screen. Developers system is a bunch of marketing BS, just like Iwata's quote above...

Blue ocean/disruption strategy.