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The Media still think the Wii U is the Wii?
- Thread starter liger05
- Start date
Which means what exactly?
AcceptableGhost
Member
The Wii U was a really awful name.
redmetal86
Member
Gotta keep printing costs low wherever you can. 
You've got to be kidding.
Benzychenz
Member
Well, it is a Wii, just like the PS4 is a Playstation and the Xbox One is an Xbox.
yeah, same.
Starwolf_UK
Member
The Metro took the teletext service Gamecentral under its wing:
http://metro.co.uk/author/gamecentral-ukmetro/
And they know their stuff so I'm guessing this was not written by them so they must be shaking their heads at this.
Edit:I looking a bit more I wonder if it is a layout issue (Wii U would not fit so Wii).
http://metro.co.uk/author/gamecentral-ukmetro/
And they know their stuff so I'm guessing this was not written by them so they must be shaking their heads at this.
Edit:I looking a bit more I wonder if it is a layout issue (Wii U would not fit so Wii).
ResidentDante
Member
At times I wonder if even just calling it the Wii 2 would have been a more sensible and less confusing name.
The problem is not whether the media is still confused, which I don't think it is by this point, but more that those articles just confuse customers even more.
Especially parents who don't know the difference at all/ have not been explained that there is a new system. :/ It's not great that the UK is still not fully supporting Nintendo
Especially parents who don't know the difference at all/ have not been explained that there is a new system. :/ It's not great that the UK is still not fully supporting Nintendo
Pretty much this. Wii family of devices is the Wii itself and then Wii U.
Mushroomer25
Member
I'm confident the author understands what they're talking about (using the term "Wii" the same one might say "Playstation" or "XBox"), but it's not doing any favors to public perception. The name continues to be a massive problem.
Everybody points out the name as a flaw but it's really a non issue as far as sales go, to buy a gamepad you have to buy the console. No one is being tricked into it. The problem is just that the Wiiu doesn't appeal at all to the casual audience and Nintendo has done a poor job of catering to the hardcore.
Yeah same here. Metro Gamecentral is actually one of the more reputable game sites in the world, so writing Wii in the headline is either due to some nunce from another department taking over, or simply them estimating that the public doesn't know the difference, so they could have a headline that fit.
Hydrogen Bluebird
Member
Yes, it was a really stupid name that also contributed to consumer/media confusion, which contributed to poor sales.
From todays Metro Newspaper in London.
Kinda laughable as the actual article text makes reference to the Wii U and not 'Wii' but still to see articles using the 'Wii' as the headline must really be a kick in the nuts to Nintendo.
If the text refers correctly then I suspect it's not confusion as much as it is using "Wii" as a catch-all term for "Nintendo consoles", much like you might use "Playstation" as a catch-all for "Sony consoles" and "Xbox" for "Microsoft consoles".
The online article, which going by the previous titles sales graphics, seems to be the same as the print version, however there is no mention of the -Wii- aside of the MKWii number, all the mentions in the article are about the Wii U, so they just screwed up the headline on the newspaper, the most important thing they shouldn't have.
http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/27/mario-kart-8-mario-kart-nintendo-wii-u-koopa-toad-4738488/
http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/27/mario-kart-8-mario-kart-nintendo-wii-u-koopa-toad-4738488/
It truly is. Wii HD would have been nice.
Almost anything else would have been better.
Captain Europe
Member
While Wii U is a dumb name, it shouldn't excuse the stupidity of the media.
TDLink
Member
Headlines are typically written by someone other than the article writer. I am guessing that is the case here.
Alternatively, they could be using Wii in a general sense to refer to a family of systems (which would include Wii U). Just like Playstation can be used as a general term for the current system or past ones.
Alternatively, they could be using Wii in a general sense to refer to a family of systems (which would include Wii U). Just like Playstation can be used as a general term for the current system or past ones.
Throwaway123456789
Member
I work in a newspaper, and it's common that the headlines get rephrased by an editor (which is usually someone that doesn't work on the online side of things). He probably sent off the text to the editor, who then needs to make it fit in the allocated space. Mistakes happens.
EDIT: Basing a sales article on VG chartz is a far greater fuck up.
EDIT: Basing a sales article on VG chartz is a far greater fuck up.
An outlet with a readership of 3.5 million people.
lol I didn't notice that
Canis lupus
Member
It isn't the media's fault or their stupidity, it's Nintendo's fault for not taking into account the stupidity of the media. If they can't even get the mainstream to say the name right, they failed in their most important mission, and blaming someone else for being confused is silly.
UltraGunner
Banned
Geez OP, don't you know how expensive it is to print the letter U these days. What with it being a vowel and used frequently they have to cut costs somewhere.
CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
People have been calling Nintendo consoles "Nintendo" and Sega consoles "Sega" and Sony consoles "Sony" and Microsoft consoles "Xbox" since the dawn of time.
People are dumb. I feel like this would have happened anyways, but Nintendo certainly didn't help by keeping the Wii U too close to the Wii in name. Though, misconceptions on 3DS/2DS vs DS/DS Lite/DSi seem to have minimized these days.
People are dumb. I feel like this would have happened anyways, but Nintendo certainly didn't help by keeping the Wii U too close to the Wii in name. Though, misconceptions on 3DS/2DS vs DS/DS Lite/DSi seem to have minimized these days.
glaringradio
Member
Yes to all the rest of them, but never once have I ever heard someone refer to any Playstation console as a "Sony".
I think no matter what Nintendo named the Wii U they were completely screwed anyway. They got extremely lucky with the Wii, EXTREMELY LUCKY. Didn't realise that it was luck, completely blundered a release of a console (albeit a very good one), and now have to pay the price for their mistakes. Unfortunate.
Graphics Horse
Member
This was in last weeks Sunday Express
Quite why they think the Wii is worth £500, even with a (free) Karaoke game, is baffling too.
There's a Postman Pat movie? Why wasn't I informed.
I remember about two years ago, my 9 year old nephew reproached me when I said "let's play Nintendo", he was like "what?", with the Nintendo Wii I said, and then he goes on arguing that it isn't called Nintendo, it is called Wii, because the only Nintendo branding on the box is some little mark on the side or back so that it isn't its name.
I wonder how many kids that grew up on the Wii do not use the word Nintendo when referring to the console, its games and even the Wii U.
It means what it means: get their act together and actually teach people that both are different.
It doesn't really matter does it?
If our soccer mum/dad really wanted to buy, say, Mario Kart 8:
1) They go to the games shop asking for the new Mario Kart.
2) Shopkeeper tells them that this is for the Wii U and is not compatible with the Wii.
3) They think about it.
4) If they then decide that they don't want to buy it, they weren't going to buy a Wii U anyway. Otherwise they learned something new.
EIther way, people getting the name wrong isn't what's killing it. General apathy towards Wii U is because it doesn't have the games that the people (kids) really want to play at this point in time.
That and everyone doesn't buy the Wii U because they think it's dead, which in turn makes it more dead. And seeing every reference to the Wii U in news reports as well as game reviews cite that 'it is struggling with sales' doesn't help its cause at all.
If our soccer mum/dad really wanted to buy, say, Mario Kart 8:
1) They go to the games shop asking for the new Mario Kart.
2) Shopkeeper tells them that this is for the Wii U and is not compatible with the Wii.
3) They think about it.
4) If they then decide that they don't want to buy it, they weren't going to buy a Wii U anyway. Otherwise they learned something new.
EIther way, people getting the name wrong isn't what's killing it. General apathy towards Wii U is because it doesn't have the games that the people (kids) really want to play at this point in time.
That and everyone doesn't buy the Wii U because they think it's dead, which in turn makes it more dead. And seeing every reference to the Wii U in news reports as well as game reviews cite that 'it is struggling with sales' doesn't help its cause at all.
Right, that's the worst thing for uninformed customers. If all they hear is that the console doesn't sell, then they won't want to buy it because it might get discontinued very soon and there won't be any more games for it making the purchase a waste of money.
In a way, if there are people that know very well that the Wii U is a completely different to the Wii, and even if they are interested on it for the new games on HD, they might be put off for that reason and they might think it would be better to either get something else on the meantime (PS4/X1) and then wait for the next Nintendo console which might have a better support than what they currently have.
So it's a no win situation with both informed and uninformed customers.
cZarKastic
Member
The blame falls squarely on Nintendo and their marketing team.
The games themselves should do the talking, not Nintendo actively marketing the U itself. When you see a commercial, trailer or whatever of Mario Kart, Smash, Bayonetta, X, Donkey Kong etc. that should make you think "holy shit, sequel to a game I loved, what system can I play this on?" from there do your research, and quickly learn what a Wii U is.