gutter_trash
Banned
stupid people who can't market the products correctly you mean?
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what should Nintendo do to put a stop to consumer confusion about what the Wii U is?
- Thread starter nickcv
- Start date
stupid people who can't market the products correctly you mean?
UncleSporky
Member
No. Worst idea ever. Extremely expensive with no benefit at all. People would be more confused.
Wii U references are all over in-game assets, probably logos burned into every disc, game titles and packaging, third party agreements and contracts referencing the specific name of the system, painted logos on controllers and accessories, third parties making products "for use with U" being pissed off...a massive mess that would result in what, exactly?
How many more sales do you predict based on going through with this process?
Everyone said the same thing about 3DS, which hit its stride after initial difficulties. Suppose Nintendo had freaked out and swiftly rebranded it, assuming the problem was differentiating from its predecessor instead of cutting the price as they did. Do you honestly think it'd be in a vastly better place by now to justify that sort of expense?
3DS got past it, and Wii U will too. Maybe they could just stop selling the Wii instead, that'd probably save them more money than this ridiculous rebranding idea.
If the average consumer can't tell the difference between the Wii and Wii U you honestly think they'll notice the small differences in hair shading and part quality with the Miis?
Aquamarine
Member
One thing for sure, this commercial is utter trash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3VSM9iQeDA
It really, really makes the Wii U look like a Wii controller to anyone who doesn't do research on the subject.
Nintendo desperately needs clearly laid-out commercials that explicitly say:
Wii U, HD gaming platform, the successor to the Wii, $299 / $349.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3VSM9iQeDA
It really, really makes the Wii U look like a Wii controller to anyone who doesn't do research on the subject.
Nintendo desperately needs clearly laid-out commercials that explicitly say:
Wii U, HD gaming platform, the successor to the Wii, $299 / $349.
Have ads that actually show off the system itself instead of just the gamepad.
I mean, when you say "The new Wii U...." while showing people using the Wii U gamepad, what do you expect people to think? They are going to think you are only referring to the gamepad.
Like I said in another thread, it's as if they made the ads for people like us... people who already know that the Wii U is a new system.
On top of that, the name doesn't help at all. The name follows the line of other (original) Wii games and accessories. If they really wanted to keep the Wii name, the best thing would have been to just call it the "Wii 2". Heck, if they wanted the name to be "Nintendo clever" maybe they could have named it "Wii Too". It would have been obvious that it's the successor to the Wii based just on the name alone.
Overall, the marketing has been terrible. MS is the only good company out of the "Big 3" when it comes to marketing. Sony hardly shows any ads for most of their games/products. And in terms of Nintendo, they show ads but the ads cause so much possible confusion for general audiences that I honestly wonder how they can think that they're good.
I mean, when you say "The new Wii U...." while showing people using the Wii U gamepad, what do you expect people to think? They are going to think you are only referring to the gamepad.
Like I said in another thread, it's as if they made the ads for people like us... people who already know that the Wii U is a new system.
On top of that, the name doesn't help at all. The name follows the line of other (original) Wii games and accessories. If they really wanted to keep the Wii name, the best thing would have been to just call it the "Wii 2". Heck, if they wanted the name to be "Nintendo clever" maybe they could have named it "Wii Too". It would have been obvious that it's the successor to the Wii based just on the name alone.
Overall, the marketing has been terrible. MS is the only good company out of the "Big 3" when it comes to marketing. Sony hardly shows any ads for most of their games/products. And in terms of Nintendo, they show ads but the ads cause so much possible confusion for general audiences that I honestly wonder how they can think that they're good.
JordanN
Banned
If you call that difference "small" then there's no hope for the average consumer.
gutter_trash
Banned
Wii Fit board .. that`s what people think if the Wii U controller with these ads. they think it's an add-on like Wii Fit board
UncleSporky
Member
The ads show games, and features people look for like watching movies on the pad. I don't think they need people to know that it's a console, so much as they need them to know "you need this to play this" and "you need this as a fancy new TV controller that merges all these entertainment services."
SolarPowered
Member
Has that actually worked effectively? I'm sure some people are convinced, but sales aren't exactly skyrocketing outside of Japan for the 3DS.
RPG Wizard
Member
Regarding the 3DS comments: Isn't it technically the third incarnation of the DS family? DS was region-free, DS2 (DSi) was a notable change adding a camera and a region lock, and the DS3 (Or 3DS, if you will) has 3D and a bunch of other features.
Man, it's so confusing that there's a 3 in the name, suggesting that it's better than the DS, DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL...
It's like the number doesn't actually help anything!
(In all seriousness, most customers I run into call it the "DS 3D". Calling it the DS 3 probably wouldn't have fixed the problem of the massive glut of SKU of DS, causing market confusion. It needed some branding that wasn't a DS. If they hadn't done the DS Lite/DSi/DSi XL and the like, they could've gotten away with just using a number. But they didn't. So now it's about demonstrating that it's new, it's different, and it's better.)
As far as the Wii U is concerned, some decent advertising would fix that easily. Net and TV ads showing off the old Wii and then pointing out that this is the new and improved Wii U. (Demonstrating that they are in fact different consoles) Better graphics, a new way to play, and a little thing called Miiverse, which lets you say whatever you want how you want.
There's too much emphasis on the controller and not enough on the fact that this is a distinct product, and this is what we've all been saying and acknowledged for months now. Whoever Nintendo of America has hired for marketing doesn't know a damn thing about the product, and they're not being given anything useful from NoA. This is an easily fixed problem, and it's annoying that NoA can't seem to figure out that it's all in the message.
Man, it's so confusing that there's a 3 in the name, suggesting that it's better than the DS, DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL...
It's like the number doesn't actually help anything!
(In all seriousness, most customers I run into call it the "DS 3D". Calling it the DS 3 probably wouldn't have fixed the problem of the massive glut of SKU of DS, causing market confusion. It needed some branding that wasn't a DS. If they hadn't done the DS Lite/DSi/DSi XL and the like, they could've gotten away with just using a number. But they didn't. So now it's about demonstrating that it's new, it's different, and it's better.)
As far as the Wii U is concerned, some decent advertising would fix that easily. Net and TV ads showing off the old Wii and then pointing out that this is the new and improved Wii U. (Demonstrating that they are in fact different consoles) Better graphics, a new way to play, and a little thing called Miiverse, which lets you say whatever you want how you want.
There's too much emphasis on the controller and not enough on the fact that this is a distinct product, and this is what we've all been saying and acknowledged for months now. Whoever Nintendo of America has hired for marketing doesn't know a damn thing about the product, and they're not being given anything useful from NoA. This is an easily fixed problem, and it's annoying that NoA can't seem to figure out that it's all in the message.
I don't think that has to do with people not being informed as much as people are either:
1. Buying the DS because they can get it for a cheaper price than the 3DS
2. Not interested
3. Not ready to upgrade yet
Aquamarine
Member
The fact that the console looks very similar to the Wii doesn't help these perceptions.
shinra-bansho
Member
They don't look the same though (and they were a traditional generational leap in performance).
The most recent iteration of the Wii and the Wii U are quite similar in appearance.
People called this problem a year ago when it debuted and we could see it. I'm done worrying about what nintendo will do about obvious problems because that implies they actually might fix them.
Bring me waverace and zelda till then don't care about WiiU.
OldJadedGamer
Banned
The WiiU does look identical to a Wii.
UncleSporky
Member
You really think that's because of brand confusion?
A third/half of the Nintendo portable shelves are full of white boxes instead of black boxes, and they say 3DS on them. Jimmy wants to play that one that he's pointing at. How is brand confusion a lost sale in this case? Mom buys it, he can't play it on his old system, so either he gets a new system or the game is returned and mom learns her lesson and now there is no longer any brand confusion. Maybe he gets one down the line.
If Jimmy doesn't want to play any of those games with the white boxes, then the problem is software, not the brand.
Holy shit, I didn't really play attention to that commercial the first time around but literally cringed watching that. It's so damn terrible. I'm not even looking at it from an enthusiasts standpoint, it's just a shitty commercial.
JordanN
Banned
I don't get how anyone can ignore the gamepad. The Wii didn't have one so that should be the immediate difference. All the while with the main console being longer too.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Market research shows there is little to no demand for a new video game console. There is a lot of demand for tablets. Sell your console as a 'game pad' and lead with the tablet. ????. Profit.
Market research shows there is little to no demand for mainstream desktop PCs. There is a lot of demand for tablets. Sell your operating system as optimized for tablets and lead with Metro design and Apps in bed room environments. ????. Profit.
(I could go on)...)
Market research shows there is little to no demand for mainstream desktop PCs. There is a lot of demand for tablets. Sell your operating system as optimized for tablets and lead with Metro design and Apps in bed room environments. ????. Profit.
(I could go on)...)
cartman414
Member
They don't look the same though (and they were a traditional generational leap in performance).
The most recent iteration of the Wii and the Wii U are quite similar in appearance.
Came to post, and then you nailed it.
No.
Apparently the concept of new products is new to the general public. You'd have thought Apple would have taught them this lesson long ago.
UncleSporky
Member
Avallon
Member
The gamepad looks like it is leaning on a Wii. Even though I know the difference, it still looks to me that it's an add-on for the Wii.
UncleSporky
Member
How is that a problem? Right now that add-on costs $300 and it lets you play all these blue box games. It doesn't matter if they know it's a console or not.
It's only an issue when pads are sold standalone.
Avallon
Member
Who is going to buy a 300$ add-on for a system that they haven't used since Wii Sports?
The average person won't be able to tell the difference in a short TV ad. There's not enough time to pick out differences.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
I'm more curious to see how the same/different Nintendo is marketing the Wii U in Japan. But no one ever seems to be talking about that campaign 
JordanN
Banned
That's kind of reaching though. Or fine, say it's an "add-on", it's still something the Wii never had which should spark in your mind it's different.
But man, I've been down this argument so many times it's not worth it to argue semantics.
You don't need more than one second to know/see what a shader is...
Edit: Who needs time to pick apart noticeable differences? Each time I see a game commercial, I don't need 2 minutes to know it's not NES graphics. It either is or it isn't.
There is really nothing they can do. If consumers are dense enough to understand "the New iPad" but fail to comprehend the Wii U is different than the Wii, then Nintendo cant do anything. Thats like consumers not understanding the xbox 360 is a different console then the xbox.
Basically, consumers are monumental idiots and Nintendo cannot fix stupid.
Basically, consumers are monumental idiots and Nintendo cannot fix stupid.
UncleSporky
Member
Why did they buy the Wii to begin with?
Maybe the kids whined, maybe they played Sports at the family reunion. And maybe this year they'll play NintendoLand.
And people have paid $80 or $150 for add-ons in the past for one specific game (Wii Fit, Rock Band). This one lets them play all these blue box games. Clearly a much better value.
shinra-bansho
Member
You mean the new add-on for the Wii. Because that's what it looks like.
Also, you think people are going to notice differences between the Miis, when they've had this for years on the market:
Let alone things like this:
Nintendo doesn't exist in a vacuum.
i'm still not sure if there is soooo much confusion.
yeah a friend of mine asked me that "can i buy that thing for my wii" question. and i said....no. and before i could go any further he asked if this was a totally new system.
i guess the confusion is more on the side of persons that ask for NSMBU for PS3 and get upset when they can't buy it at wallmart or gamestop.
they can't be helped.
yeah a friend of mine asked me that "can i buy that thing for my wii" question. and i said....no. and before i could go any further he asked if this was a totally new system.
i guess the confusion is more on the side of persons that ask for NSMBU for PS3 and get upset when they can't buy it at wallmart or gamestop.
they can't be helped.
SolarPowered
Member
Sounds worse if you ask me because brand confusion is just more of a marketing issue. Those three problems involve either killing the DS, cutting profit margins lower or battling head to head with tablets(which involves cut profit margins on hardware AND software).
Sounds scary
Wave Race U with realistic graphics would be absolutely amazing. Too bad it'll probably never happen at this rate. The closest thing we got was Hydro Thunder on XBLA which was fucking awesome.
Hmmm
I can't say I know much about that particular experience. I do all my shopping online, but BGBW's post shows a lot of disgruntled and confused customers that seem to be in that scenario you described.
wow lol
I'd say Apple, Sony and Microsoft have taught the public just fine. Nintendo is just leaning on old brand names too much to differentiate their new products effectively. This is not Apple or the consumers fault. It is Nintendo's problem to sort out.
Game journalists who work in the industry for a living got confused when it was unveiled for fuck's sake. Normal casuals who don't even know about places like Gamefaqs probably couldn't make heads or tails since this Winter was probably the first time they saw it(since Nintendo didn't star that marketing "blitz" till 2-3 weeks before launch). It is not that hard a concept to grasp.
RPG Wizard
Member
Part of the problem with that is the Wii Fit Balance Board was yet another such accessory. There's already a belief in the public that new and cool accessories come out for the Wii periodically.
It makes it much harder to sell the idea that this cool new tablet game controller leaning against a Wii is in fact learning against a Wii U.
The fact that it should spark the idea that it's different may be true. But for the general public, the Wii is the Wii is the Wii. There are some cool accessories for the Wii, but as a whole those accessories are for that 6 year old console.
I am amused by everyone saying "that ship has sailed" though. Big thing about marketing is that you can always spin a new message and change the public perception.
OldJadedGamer
Banned
And why they don't sell the GamePad by itself.
UncleSporky
Member
Right, a $300 add-on that lets the kids play those blue box games they keep asking for. Let them think that, it works out to the same thing.
And if the kids aren't asking for the games, the problem isn't branding anymore.
Why would they buy Nintendo's next console if they only played Wii Sports?
This is a problem that would solve itself if everyone really wanted the Wii U right now. Nintendo should release more appealing casual games.
Wave Race will be a minigame in Wii Sports U again, probably.
Mr.Wreckless
Banned
Clearly you do need more time or else so many people wouldnt be confused.
Fox Mulder
Member
Zuhzuhzombie!!
Member
/Thread
ed
Every non gaming parent that has asked me about it thinks it's an iPad like device from Nintendo. They have absolutely no idea that it's a console and look like someone has just dropped a deuce in their coffee when I explain it to them.
shinra-bansho
Member
"$300 for an add-on? Screw that. I'll get an iPad Mini."