I wouldn't have noticed the error either.
It's amazing to think this all could have been avoided by calling it the Super Wii.
The console design has nothing to do with it, Nintendo could have called it the Wii2 and shoved the parts in unused Wii cases and this still wouldn't be their problem. It's a rectangular black box like almost every other console on the market. This is sloppy work and it falls on whoever designed the ad.
I also had no clue what was wrong with it. I brought it up to the wife and she thought, just like everyone else, that the wii u was an add on to the wii. I asked had it been named wii 2 would that have helped, she said yes...
Did they happen to do any market research on the wii u name? doubtful.
Funny how most people here were saying Nintendo would be dumb to ditch the ol'Wii name given all the success with the Wii system, guess Nintendo thought the same. I still can't get over just how stupid the name "Wii U" is but it's not just the name, the branding and marketing is really some of the worse I've ever seen. Dreamcast (and other consoles) had a cool original image hence why people cherish them, Wii U has no appeal what so ever from a design point of view.
Super Wii
Wii 64
WiiCube
All of these would have been more acceptable
I think the Wii name would have still worked if they just made it clear by calling it the Wii 2.
The U is pretty terrible naming and they even made it superscript on their logo for who knows what reason. Why would they do that?!
Of course people would think it's just an add-on.
Trolling lost its meaning.Some people really think this is a trolling attempt? If it is, it's like the most vague and mild-mannered troll attempt of all time.
What hurts even more is that it appears at a glance to be designed and named after the uDraw, which was a popular tablet accessory for the original Wii from THQ. The Wii U console looking like the original Wii just feeds into it. The timeframe is even about right; the uDraw was hot around the time the Wii U would've been in planning stages.Hell, even "The New Wii" would work better.
It's the combination of:
1) The superscript "U" getting associated with an accessory rather than a delineated successor
2) The de-emphasis on the console and focus on the Wii U GamePad (sometimes even paired with other Wiimotes)
3) The striking similarities between the Wii U console and the re-designed Wii console
4) The failure to mention "Wii U is a new console" in the good majority of marketing
5) The focus on marketing games (like New Super Mario Bros. U) that don't clearly define a break in experiences that you had on the Wii
6) The de-emphasis of Nintendo to prioritize the Gamepad's use outside of Nintendo Land and other minigame collections (cf. Mario Kart's horn).
...that makes the Wii U so downright confusing to the casual consumer.
Just the other day I was in Best Buy and I heard the following conversation:
"Mommy, look, it's the Wii U!"
"But sweetie, you already have Wii. The $300 tablet for it is too expensive. Come on, just get another game instead."
^ This speaks volumes about ever-persistent consumer confusion about the product.