JordanN
Banned
Or maybe they're just not smart and no amount of time can fix it.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
what should Nintendo do to put a stop to consumer confusion about what the Wii U is?
- Thread starter nickcv
- Start date
It'd be the same for this new console for most, to be honest.
opticalmace
Member
Nintendo seems to want to hide the console unit. That doesn't really help things, IMO.
Or maybe consumers can understand "the new iPad" because adult consumers find iDevices far more important than "nintendo toys"...
Goldenroad
Member
I know it's extreme, but take Wii's off of store shelves. It will definitely hurt short term profits, but it would increase the install base for the Wii U maybe drastically enough to recover quickly from the loss.
The fact that there is a new Wii (redesign) on the market and a Wii U must be causing a ton of confusion for people only looking to purchase one as a gift.
The fact that there is a new Wii (redesign) on the market and a Wii U must be causing a ton of confusion for people only looking to purchase one as a gift.
maverick40
Junior Member
Wow you are clutching at straws in this entire thread.
I believe they are saying the ship has sailed for changing the name. They should have done that before releasing the system. Rebranding is a stage for extending the product life cycle not something you do at the first hurdle.
That, or Super Wii. That'd have been a much more classic approach.
You give the idiotic masses too much credit.
JordanN
Banned
So? PS1 to PS2 graphics were bigger yet you don't see people claiming Uncharted looks like Crash Bandicoot 1 (or maybe there are, I'll need to do a poll).
They shouldn't do anything.
People with questions should just go ask in their local game retail store or use Google.
The most baffling part though is that half the press were confused wether the WiiU was a new console or not when it was revealed the first time. I never felt the slightest of confusion.
Those who dont know what the WiiU is don't know that an iphone is a smartphone, or they dont know wether their TV is HDready or FullHd, they dont know if they have a plasma, lcd or led screen, they are just not interested enough to know and are confused about consumer electronics in general.
They probably dont really get that the Wii was a videogame console either...
People with questions should just go ask in their local game retail store or use Google.
The most baffling part though is that half the press were confused wether the WiiU was a new console or not when it was revealed the first time. I never felt the slightest of confusion.
Those who dont know what the WiiU is don't know that an iphone is a smartphone, or they dont know wether their TV is HDready or FullHd, they dont know if they have a plasma, lcd or led screen, they are just not interested enough to know and are confused about consumer electronics in general.
They probably dont really get that the Wii was a videogame console either...
Yep, this. If Nintendo can get the average public to really care about one of their games again, this problem would be mostly gone.
This.
Also quit focusing so much on the controller. With so much focus on it, it makes it look like an accessory.
Of course you didn't, I didn't or anyone else here didn't. You're on a game forum. This is about getting the message out to Joe Q Public that doesn't follow gaming religiously.
-Plasma Reus-
Service guarantees member status
Call it the Nu Wii.
Bobs Big Boy
Member
Whatever Apple does that doesn't seem to have people confused.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
This "confusion" argument is stupidly overblown.
Father_Brain
Banned
How big a deal is consumer confusion, really? If people get put off by how much the "new Wii controller" costs, they probably wouldn't buy Wii U as is anyway.
Aquamarine
Member
People have come to expect yearly Apple refreshes, and new Apple products are always referred to as "the new iPad" or "the new iPhone."
I've had curious people come up to me and ask what the Wii U was (even those who thought it's a controller). I responded "It's the new Wii," and they got it.
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
They arent going to do anything. If they are doomed its up to gaf.
Hey look... that special (original) Wii is blue. Those Wii game boxes are blue too. It must be an overall product redesign for the (original) wii. Those games are for the (orginal) Wii!!!
Changing the font and colors of the logo might be a good start. I can't think of any system whose logo branding was composed almost wholly of the exact same logo of its predecessor before 3DS and Wii U. The 'Game Boy' element stuck around, but the new suffixes took up major real estate and the 'footprint' of the logo was changed entirely in transitions.
shinra-bansho
Member
You missed the point.
Regardless of whether you think the Miis are a dramatic improvement that everyone should be in awe of, Nintendo doesn't exist in isolation.
It released new hardware that looks the same as the old hardware, with software that doesn't look any better than what's been on the market for three-quarters of a decade.
They called it the Wii U; something that has no real meaning.
Their point of differentiation looks like an add-on sitting atop their old hardware.
It's also seemingly being shelved alongside Wiis and Wii software.
That's a recipe for brand confusion.
I did'nt mean to imply that anyone here didn't get it...
Anyway, i think nintendo deliberately focus on the gamepad because the Joe Q people seem to be attracted to touch based hardware nowadays and doesnt neccecerely(???) bother what is making it function...
Changing the font and colors of the logo might be a good start. I can't think of any system whose logo branding was composed almost wholly of the exact same logo of its predecessor before 3DS and Wii U. The 'Game Boy' element stuck around, but the new suffixes took up major real estate and the 'footprint' of the logo was changed entirely in transitions.
Agree with that!!
Just about everyone I know of (in real life and online) that work at stores like Gamestop say that it's very common.
While they don't equal everybody, just them alone admitting to the fact means that it isn't overblown at all.
Something Wicked
Member
Hey, now, don't bring common sense into this. The average consumer is an absolute moron and can't comprehend how revolutionary playing mini-games with Nintendo mascots and Miis on a tablet controller is.
I really can't tell wether that is a good or bad thing since the retailers job is to SELL hardware and games, not just take orders from the n3rdz...
shinra-bansho
Member
As for the notion: Well they'll realise that it's a whole new system when they go to the store. That'll clear it all up, problem solved.
Who's going to the store at all in the first place if they think it's a $300 add-on.
Who's going to the store at all in the first place if they think it's a $300 add-on.
UncleSporky
Member
Then they can feel free to buy the blue box games and they'll quickly have that brand confusion cleared right up. Problem solves itself.
Does this end up impacting Wii U sales at all? Either they say it's too expensive like they would have anyway, or they pony up and buy the "add-on" that lets the kids play the games they want.
I would have been ok with this.
The Wii/Wii U logos make it seem like a Sega 32x type add on/hardware upgrade.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
So they should have branded it NEW Wii like NEW Super Mario Bros. ?
That's actually a pretty good idea!
I'd make a photoshop of the logo but am away from my computer.
jts
...hate me...
Putting things like that, it's like Iwata is masturbating with the brands he created, or were created during his era (and were big successes).Changing the font and colors of the logo might be a good start. I can't think of any system whose logo branding was composed almost wholly of the exact same logo of its predecessor before 3DS and Wii U. The 'Game Boy' element stuck around, but the new suffixes took up major real estate and the 'footprint' of the logo was changed entirely in transitions.
He shouldn't be so clingy.
Even people who know clearly the difference between the Wii and Wii U would be excited for new names, new logos, new form factors. Funny thing: people like new!
Maybe they would buy it if they did think it was a new system instead of just a new controller for a system that they haven't played in months (or even years).
It can cause people to get put off by it in multiple ways.
JordanN
Banned
Uhh... this is irrelevant to the issue I was confronting.
Changing the font and colors of the logo might be a good start. I can't think of any system whose logo branding was composed almost wholly of the exact same logo of its predecessor before 3DS and Wii U. The 'Game Boy' element stuck around, but the new suffixes took up major real estate and the 'footprint' of the logo was changed entirely in transitions.
YES.
Good post.
Kacho
Member
I agree.
UncleSporky
Member
And this common confusion, once they educate these people, is it clear that the confusion itself has caused the lost sale, or the fact that the person has to buy a new system to play new games?
"Confusion" is doing jack. All people need to know is that there are new games out there they want to play, and the ads take care of that, along with blue boxes on store shelves. When you find out you need a new system to play those games, the confusion is gone. Suddenly it's just price and software.
That's what I was thinking too, but the reports are so widespread you almost have to take them seriously at this point.
Cheesecakebobby
Banned
"Wii U: It's like an Xbox 360"
DragonSworne
Banned
They should have have ads that said
"The next Wii is here! Wii U! An all new HD gaming console from Nintendo that comes with a tablet controller!"
Then follow it up with montages of video games and people/family having fun.
"The next Wii is here! Wii U! An all new HD gaming console from Nintendo that comes with a tablet controller!"
Then follow it up with montages of video games and people/family having fun.
The Abominable Snowman
Member
First, if they made it look less like the Wii, so that it strikes you as something different from a glimpse in the commercial, that would help a lot. It looks a LOT like the OG Wii. The logo and everything else about the design screams Addon or Not a New Console.
shinra-bansho
Member
You took issue with the idea that Miis essentially look the same to people. You think they're some sort of dramatic improvement. Over the Wii Miis, they presumably are. It doesn't matter.
To eyes that have been looking at HD graphics for years, that difference isn't astounding. They still just look like Miis.
UncleSporky
Member
Take them seriously how? What is the confusion doing?
Are you saying people don't know that a new system exists and that they should buy it, that's the problem?
That's completely at the mercy of software. You buy a system for the games, not simply because it's new.
If there are no games for Wii U the kids are asking for, confusion's not the problem.
UncleSporky
Member
Why would they buy anything new associated with a system they haven't played in years?
If I haven't touched my 360 in years, what do I care if they're advertising Kinect or 720? It's something I no longer care about either way.
Confusion isn't affecting the system's fortunes at all. If nobody's buying it, it's because it doesn't have games people want to play.
BurnOutBrighter
Banned
Put the words "NEW CONSOLE" somewhere in the ads, and actually SHOW the console. Can't believe they never did this.
JordanN
Banned
Being astounding doesn't matter. The two are still not the same. I'm not sure why you would argue beyond that.
BurnOutBrighter
Banned
And yes, they need to do a redesign. The console currently looks way too much like a Wii. There's no mistaking a PS2 with a PS3 or Xbox and Xbox 360.