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[jmdajr]

I agree it was a pretty unclear presentation, but at the end of the day any journalist worth their salt should have left the building knowing what it was.

People have seriously short memories about the PS3 reveal, don't you guys remember the lies about dual hdmi out, a gigabit hub and how we will be watching blurays on one screen and playing a game on the other?

That's not even the same thing dude. You equate what Nintendo did with the bullshit Sony fed us? It's totally different.
Everyone understood what Sony was selling, even though it was blatant Lies. Nintendo didn't lie to anyone, it just didn't explain things properly.

 

[heyf00L]

I understood perfectly, but that's because I was aware beforehand that it'd be a new console. I don't see how anyone here should have been confused.

But yeah, it wasn't totally clear. Not really a big deal right now as long as they clear it up in the next 6 months, which they should do. They realize the problem the 3DS is having.

I mean, it can be overcome. They called their second console the Super Nintendo. They called their second GameBoy the GameBoy Color and the 3rd the GameBoy Advance. Marketing let us know that they were new systems.

 

[Mr. B Natural]

Yeah, the fact that it worked with all the Wii accessories didn't help. Seeing people using the Wiimotes and Wii Balance board with Graphically Wii looking games...I don't think everyone FIRST thought... "Oh, all my peripherals are backwards compatible!"

Would have been an easier thought for the consumer if Nintendo actually supported the peripheral in the first place. The balance board + new controller is a weird sell on many levels and maybe was best not wasting valuable time showing. I dunno.
To me it felt like peripheral meets peripheral AND it gave me a sour taste in mouth cause it reminded me of what nintendo does with those things.

 

[Kai Dracon]

When I saw the Wii U reveal video, I was sorely tempted to think that we'd all be suckered at it was literally an update for the Wii. Now, I rationalized "that can't be true" and was looking extremely carefully in the Wii-like demo footage for signs that the visuals couldn't be generated from a Wii.

But yes, the demo film was terrible in that regard. It truly did give the impression that Wii U was purely about an upgrade to the Wii, and only for those "expanded audience" applications, games, and functions. To someone in the real world (not the geek dimension) there's no way they could have walked away thinking it was a new console, much less one more powerful than the well-known PS3 and Xbox 360.

Also, I'll cast my vote with "Wii U is a terrible name". It sounds like a first marketing pass; an initial name used in private focus testing to see how people react. Not what you'd unveil to the public.

Even the name 3DS, for all the flack it gets, isn't as poorly chosen. It's a natural name for instance that describes the system simply and accurately, with a pun on dual screens as well as 3D. And the 3DS is honestly more of a direct step from the DS line.

But Nintendo claimed they wanted Wii U to handle "both roles at once". The name and branding does not do that in any way. It's also awkward and difficult to even say Wii U and it can't be contracted or abbreviated elegantly. It's like marketing failure 101, something that's extremely weird for Nintendo.

 

[schuelma]

Yeah, I think the name is pretty horrible. The benefit is retaining the Wii branding for the casual audience, but that is offset by the negative stereotype the name has with more of the core gaming crowd. Worst case I was expecting "Wii Tuu" or something like that. Not a name that really does just sound like a revision.

 

[mclem]

Forget for one moment that we are superdorks who speculate for hundreds of pages about the potential specs of something code named Café. Are you with me? So, you've got an initial reveal. The person on screen is playing what looks essentially like New Super Mario Bros. Wii on what essentially looks like a Wii console next to the TV. They then show off how the new controller has a screen that can play that Wii-looking game without the TV while his buddy watches a baseball game. Cut to the controller being used to conceal where a pitch will be thrown in what looks exactly like a modified version of Wii Sports baseball. Cut to Othello. Cut to the controller being able to interface with the balance board -- a Wii accessory.

Again, I understand going "I'm a superdork who knows his gaming news, so I wasn't confused." I am absolutely baffled, however, that you can't -- at least on a hypothetical -- understand how this reveal may have been somewhat confusing. That doesn't mean that you have to admit that you personally were confused. But it does mean backing down from the stance of asserting that anyone not on the same page with you and the Nintendo PR team are idiots.

I don't actually disagree with you, but taking the video in a vacuum means you don't include the words spoken on stage before it which did clarify matters somewhat. That alone clearly wasn't enough, but that doesn't mean they weren't there.

So the question should be: Why did people not notice them? Was it because there wasn't a visual component, had people tuned out the words? Were people bored by that point in the conference and needed a more aggressive stimulus to start registering information again?

 

[Busaiku]

Yeah, the biggest problem is the name.
Not because it's a bad name (it is), but because it still has "Wii" attached to it.
With all the Wii Fits and numerous other accessories that have been popular for Wii, it may hurt Wii U's status as a new system and just seem like a really expensive add-on.

 

[Vinci]

I understood perfectly, but that's because I was aware beforehand that it'd be a new console. I don't see how anyone here should have been confused.

Look: Most of us on GAF went into E3 knowing full well that a new console was going to be announced, but the way they did it - since you appear to be a big believer in the power of marketing - made us question whether it was actually happening or not. That's how poorly constructed the announcement was. I'm not being daft, or foolish, nor are any of the other people who were at least initially thrown off - it just sucked. [Now those people who continued to believe that there was no new console after the deluge of explanations given post after post, update after update - they're daft.]

I mean, it can be overcome. They called their second console the Super Nintendo. They called their second GameBoy the GameBoy Color and the 3rd the GameBoy Advance. Marketing let us know that they were new systems.

Of course, but the issue is that (and I agree with Mr. B Natural here) the Wii audience has become accustomed to new peripherals and variations in the 'Wii ___' naming. Plus, Wii U is not as orthodox to normal sequential naming practice - ie. Wii 2 - that helps avoid a potential misunderstanding.

 

[Eradicate]

Also, as for the whole "stock" fiasco going on, a couple things have to be realized. Stock movements are largely dictated by huge holding firms. Their movements are erratic and often don't make sense from a consumer standpoint, or even for an individual investor. But, that is just how the market it. Also, this recent selling of stocks that "can" be attributable to the console announcement is "not" a bad thing. Think like an investing firm. You want to squeeze as much money as possible by selling as high as you can at key moments, and then buying back when it is low. They sold after the announcement and it all waterfalled because that was a high point. They will start buying again once the momentum starts trending upwards again. Remember, I'm focusing solely on the Wii U stuff, not Wii or 3DS. It's a trick of the market.

Honestly, wait another week or two, and then buy Nintendo stock. It'll get higher and higher.

 

[remnant]

Forget for one moment that we are superdorks who speculate for hundreds of pages about the potential specs of something code named Café. Are you with me? So, you've got an initial reveal. The person on screen is playing what looks essentially like New Super Mario Bros. Wii on what essentially looks like a Wii console next to the TV. They then show off how the new controller has a screen that can play that Wii-looking game without the TV while his buddy watches a baseball game. Cut to the controller being used to conceal where a pitch will be thrown in what looks exactly like a modified version of Wii Sports baseball. Cut to Othello. Cut to the controller being able to interface with the balance board -- a Wii accessory.

If you cut the conference off right there, then yes I would agree. But then they showed Zelda, then they showed 3rd party games and titles that can't run on the Wii, and people still believed it was just a controller.

Again, I understand going "I'm a superdork who knows his gaming news, so I wasn't confused." I am absolutely baffled, however, that you can't -- at least on a hypothetical -- understand how this reveal may have been somewhat confusing. That doesn't mean that you have to admit that you personally were confused. But it does mean backing down from the stance of asserting that anyone not on the same page with you and the Nintendo PR team are idiots.

Would this be a good presentation for the good morning America crowd? No, but this was not the GMA crowd. It was gaming press. It were people following tweets and rumors and press releases about a new Nintendo console for the past 2 months. Before the conference began every stream, from G4 to GTTV talked about what new console Nintendo is showing. Iwata didn't even try to hide it or introduce it as a mystery, everyone knew we were seeing Nintendo's new console.

I don't understand this logic. People pat themselves on the back for being gamers, and being in the know, blah blah blah. The ridicule companies like MS who do the "only on Kinect" pitch after every game, but one time they are treated professionally they lose their minds. No we still need the 2 minute video where the camera swoops around the box like an 80's sci-fi effect.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

I don't actually disagree with you, but taking the video in a vacuum means you don't include the words spoken on stage before it which did clarify matters somewhat. That alone clearly wasn't enough, but that doesn't mean they weren't there.

So the question should be: Why did people not notice them? Was it because there wasn't a visual component, had people tuned out the words? Were people bored by that point in the conference and needed a more aggressive stimulus to start registering information again?

The words went on and on and on about the controller. Now, keep in mind, my feed was a little choppy at times, but even if I missed a one-liner iterating plain as day that "Wii U is a new console and not just a tablet peripheral for the Wii," that doesn't really discredit the argument that it was confusing. The talk was controller, controller, controller. It was playing what looked like Wii games on what looked like a Wii console, interfacing with Wii peripherals. I think they just overlooked the importance of something as boring and dry as just a stupid slide of "let's take a look at what's powering this new hardware" along with projections of just how much more powerful that it might be compared to the Wii.

Now, mind you, I'm not even in the camp that thinks that this is necessarily bad. I mean, I'm a dork, so I care about specs. I was confused. The presentation certainly didn't blow me away. However, if their aim was to play up the importance of the controller, then they succeeded. If their aim was to play up that this thing is a generational leap over the Wii in terms of technology under-the-hood, then they failed spectacularly at that during the initial reveal.

 

[Tarin02543]

I just realized they cannot release a stand alone Wii U controller as everybody will think it will work with their Wii.

 

[Vinci]

Yeah, the biggest problem is the name.
Not because it's a bad name (it is), but because it still has "Wii" attached to it.
With all the Wii Fits and numerous other accessories that have been popular for Wii, it may hurt Wii U's status as a new system and just seem like a really expensive add-on.

I think by virtue of the fact that they're reusing all of the Wii's peripherals, they kind of had to use Wii in the title somewhere. But they should have provided it an addition that made it damn clear, from the name alone, that it was a successor. 'Wii 2' or 'Wii Next' or whatever the hell... 'Wii U' is so vague that it might as well be dumped in with all the other 'Wii ___' stuff.

 

[Ninjimbo]

I don't understand what's there to be confused about. It's a console with 360-level graphics and a touch screen built into the controller.

If you wanted an explanation about its online infrastructure, price, and games, can I ask why would you expect that information from a system that is likely 18 months away from being released? Nintendo said before hand that at E3 the public would only get a glimpse of the console and a basic idea of how it worked. Why would you expect any type of finality on the set of information at this point? It's way too early.

For me, Nintendo did their job: they got me interested. If they can announce some software next year that builds on Wii U's promises, consider me an early adopter.

Also, can we please stop focusing on names for Christ's sake? Do you really give a shit about what your product is called if it works well and does what you want it to do? Vita and Wii U are just names. It's very likely you won't care about what it's called in the next few days, just like what happened with the Wii. Stop overreacting to bullshit.

 

[Ivan A Nguyen]

"It's a better Wii with a Udraw tablet controller. Lets call it Wii U and only show off something that looks like an Ipad with buttons!" - Nintendo pitch meeting.

 

[KrawlMan]

I don't understand what's there to be confused about. It's a console with 360-level graphics and a touch screen built into the controller.

But you see, you don't actually know that. That's just one minor aspect of how botched this console reveal was.

 

[Vinci]

"It's a better Wii with a Udraw tablet controller. Lets call it Wii U and only show off something that looks like an Ipad with buttons!" - Nintendo pitch meeting.

I wouldn't be at all shocked if some people saw that and thought it was Nintendo's competitive response to UDraw, FFS. It was that poorly done.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I'd say they have a good chance to redeem themselves. Only the core audience is streaming E3 press conferences. They still have plenty of time to market it properly to the masses. However if their intention was to get the core gaming audience buzzing about it, they failed miserably.

 

[Ninjimbo]

But you see, you don't actually know that. That's just one minor aspect of how botched this console reveal was.

They showed Zelda running on the console right? That demo looked like a current-gen game. It's pretty obvious to me that the system is more powerful than the Wii and if the games looks like that Zelda demo, I'm good.

 

[[Nintex]]

I'd say they have a good chance to redeem themselves. Only the core audience is streaming E3 press conferences. They still have plenty of time to market it properly to the masses. However if their intention was to get the core gaming audience buzzing about it, they failed miserably.

Console transitions are always tough and Nintendo is quite possibly the worst at it.

 

[Doc Holliday]

If nintendo were smarter they would release a system on the same perceived level of the ps4/720 yet have it be wii compatible. No stupid screen on the gamepad! The core and the casual would have been happy, plus it would be a lot simpler than wii u is to market. I really think nintendo has gone nuts.

 

[Vinci]

I'd say they have a good chance to redeem themselves. Only the core audience is streaming E3 press conferences. They still have plenty of time to market it properly to the masses. However if their intention was to get the core gaming audience buzzing about it, they failed miserably.

Only reason most of us are excited about it at all at this point is based on what sites have dug up about it and revealed about the controller and console. And that's insane.

If nintendo were smarter they would release a system on the same perceived level of the ps4/720 yet have it be wii compatible. No stupid screen on the gamepad! The core and the casual would have been happy, plus it would be a lot simpler than wii u is to market. I really think nintendo has gone nuts.

You know the only reason anybody cares about this system at this point is because of that 'stupid screen on the gamepad,' right? Yes, there are some who are thrilled to see Nintendo move into HD, but most conversation and interest about the system comes from that controller. So it's not stupid.

 

[jett]

Yeah, Wii U is a terrible name, causes confusion. How much time passed between Nintendo saying "Revolution" and the final decision on "Wii"? Is it too close to launch for the Wii U?

I don't think it's that terrible a name to be honest, and in hindsight all of us should've realized that Nintendo was going to keep the Wii name. Wii has become a massive household brand, it would be like Sony removing the word Playstation from their next console. The logo on the other hand was probably not the best, not enough emphasis on the U.

 

[Plinko]

This really isn't as big of an issue as people are making it out to be.

This console won't be out by next E3. I'm predicting it will come out later that month, but realistically it could be later in the year. Nintendo will use E3 to "repackage" their message/presentation/etc. They'll be fine.

While it WAS a convoluted presentation, I think it looks worse because of Sony's fantastic reveal of the PS Vita.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

I'd say they have a good chance to redeem themselves. Only the core audience is streaming E3 press conferences. They still have plenty of time to market it properly to the masses. However if their intention was to get the core gaming audience buzzing about it, they failed miserably.

Yeah, I think it's highly premature to suggest that this thing is dead in the water. Who knows? It's early. I'm intrigued at what it might do. Will I be there day one? I might be. I might not be. I am interested in really seeing what it can do, though.

However, that's entirely separate from the expectations that some had going into it. I never bought into the hype train, but I was seeing some buzz going into the conference that Nintendo was going to kick the door dawn with this show and dazzle us. I was seeing things to the effect of "now that Sony and Microsoft are chasing down the casuals several years too late, Nintendo -- geniuses that they are -- are going to rededicate themselves to the core gaming group! Brace yourselves for a non-stop tour-de-force. Your body is not ready!" Yeah, that didn't happen.

 

[Dunlop]

I disagree, reading the Gaf thread in real time during the announcement was pure comedy gold

 

[schuelma]

I do think we are making too much of the actual unveiling. Hell, everyone thought Nintendo knocked the 3DS out of the park last year. The fundamentals of the console are no different.

 

[richiek]

I think by virtue of the fact that they're reusing all of the Wii's peripherals, they kind of had to use Wii in the title somewhere. But they should have provided it an addition that made it damn clear, from the name alone, that it was a successor. 'Wii 2' or 'Wii Next' or whatever the hell... 'Wii U' is so vague that it might as well be dumped in with all the other 'Wii ___' stuff.

It's no more vague or confusing than 'Xbox 360' or 'PlayStation Vita'.

 

[Grampa Simpson]

You guys also probably shouldn't have given it the kind of name that gives the impression it's a revision, but you guys did anyways.

Like Xbox 360 or Playstation Vita?

 

[added_time]

After the 3DS, I thought they would have learned their lesson about naming a new console in a way that confuses people into thinking it's just a revision.... but they didn't learn. This will bite them once again.

Like Xbox 360 or Playstation Vita?

It's not the same after the precedent Nintendo set with all of the DS revisions. It mirrors the DS-i DSi XL type names very closely to just add a U

 

[Saint Gregory]

They should have called it the Nintendo U. Its more sensible and it would carry a huge power in the press. Wii U sounds like a compromise, just a step forward. But he actually says its not 'drastically different'. Wrong answer, buddy. We want drastically different.

I hate quoting something multiple pages back but it never occured to me how brilliant this name would have been. It's wonderfully simple and going from the "We" to the "You" could not have been a better message to send to the hardcore crowd that Nintendo claims they want to recapture.

It's not too late for them to make the change and I'd hoped they would have realized by now what a blunder the whole 3DS naming choice has been.

 

[Wolves Evolve]

If they had cut short the Zelda bullshit at the beginning and instead had Miyamoto talk through the full Zelda Wii U demo, lighting switches and all, as a tech demo of Wii U, it would have been a fucking winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTkCIJGTe_U

THAT is an impressive tech demo to me. Now it might not be the mightiest graphics ever, but I think in terms of getting great shaders and reflections to ramp up a scene, real-time full scene light changes and very smooth framerate, I'm impressed. Its obviously got more to give, too, because we can't see any moments with less than smooth gameplay.

Why not show this fully? Why not have Miyamoto on stage showing "look, we're not ready to show you all our games yet, but this is the sort of tech it has. But next, look at all the amazing gameplay things we can do with this screen. Look at what the developers are saying."

 

[donny2112]

Only reason most of us are excited about it at all at this point is based on what sites have dug up about it and revealed about the controller and console. And that's insane.

Yeah, but it's also a continuation of Nintendo's insanity with not talking about most releases until 6 months before they come out (or less).

 

[Dreams-Visions]

"The console is not drastically different..."

this is how you put your foot in your mouth again. If you don't define that statement, people interpret how they want to. Like by taking it to mean that it's not much more powerful. Or by taking it to mean the online component will once again be shit. It doesn't help that they had no games able to give a glimpse of the power inside or to show off online features.

Nintendo didn't make these mistakes in the past.

 

[Pre]

They bungled the reveal, but we still have another E3 before the system launches. I've chosen to be lenient on Nintendo.

 

[v1oz]

When I saw the Wii U reveal video, I was sorely tempted to think that we'd all be suckered at it was literally an update for the Wii. Now, I rationalized "that can't be true" and was looking extremely carefully in the Wii-like demo footage for signs that the visuals couldn't be generated from a Wii.

But yes, the demo film was terrible in that regard. It truly did give the impression that Wii U was purely about an upgrade to the Wii, and only for those "expanded audience" applications, games, and functions. To someone in the real world (not the geek dimension) there's no way they could have walked away thinking it was a new console, much less one more powerful than the well-known PS3 and Xbox 360.

Also, I'll cast my vote with "Wii U is a terrible name". It sounds like a first marketing pass; an initial name used in private focus testing to see how people react. Not what you'd unveil to the public.

Even the name 3DS, for all the flack it gets, isn't as poorly chosen. It's a natural name for instance that describes the system simply and accurately, with a pun on dual screens as well as 3D. And the 3DS is honestly more of a direct step from the DS line.

But Nintendo claimed they wanted Wii U to handle "both roles at once". The name and branding does not do that in any way. It's also awkward and difficult to even say Wii U and it can't be contracted or abbreviated elegantly. It's like marketing failure 101, something that's extremely weird for Nintendo.

Well the N64 was called the ULTRA 64 for sometime.

 

[Plinko]

The problem I have with the name is that almost every other rumored option is better.

Super Wii
Wii 2
Wii Cafe
Wii Stream
Nintendo
etc.

There's no way they focus-grouped this name. I cannot imagine any group of people telling them that it doesn't sound like another peripheral for the Wii.

 

[Vinci]

It's no more vague or confusing than 'Xbox 360' or 'PlayStation Vita'.

The audience is different on these products. They have been selling 'Wii _____' products extensively for a while now. 'Wii U' does not imply, whatsoever, that it should be held separate from those other peripherals and add-ons to that audience, especially when you throw in that it uses the same controllers and other controls.

They are going to have to produce ads that make it stupidly clear to keep from confusion taking place within the mainstream audience.

EDIT @ Wolves Evolve: I agree about the Zelda HD demo. It should have been shown in the conference to connect the anniversary of Zelda to the system's reveal. It would've tied the conference together better and made an impact.

 

[Kai Dracon]

Well the N64 was called the ULTRA 64 for sometime.

Yeah, but that was 15 years ago. This stuff has gotten a lot more crucial since then; Nintendo can't afford to make mistakes like this or sabotage public perception.

 

[added_time]

Wow. Whoever posted that they should have just called it "Nintendo U" is bang on. That would have been the perfect name for what they were going for.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Well, at least he knows that. Their conference went off a fucking cliff once the Wii U showed up, thanks to some insane choices in their methods of explanation, but the thing itself looks great. Knowing your mistakes and admitting them are the first step towards fixing them, I suppose.

 

[mclem]

If nintendo were smarter they would release a system on the same perceived level of the ps4/720 yet have it be wii compatible. No stupid screen on the gamepad!

And have absolutely no USP?

 

[plagiarize]

If you cut the conference off right there, then yes I would agree. But then they showed Zelda, then they showed 3rd party games and titles that can't run on the Wii, and people still believed it was just a controller.

Would this be a good presentation for the good morning America crowd? No, but this was not the GMA crowd. It was gaming press. It were people following tweets and rumors and press releases about a new Nintendo console for the past 2 months. Before the conference began every stream, from G4 to GTTV talked about what new console Nintendo is showing. Iwata didn't even try to hide it or introduce it as a mystery, everyone knew we were seeing Nintendo's new console.

I don't understand this logic. People pat themselves on the back for being gamers, and being in the know, blah blah blah. The ridicule companies like MS who do the "only on Kinect" pitch after every game, but one time they are treated professionally they lose their minds. No we still need the 2 minute video where the camera swoops around the box like an 80's sci-fi effect.

here's the thing Remnant, Nintendo failed to foresee that people might think the Wii U was an add on for the Wii. if they had, it would have taken just one sentance. all they had to say is 'Wii U is not an add on for the Wii, but a whole new system' or similar.

it wasn't just gaming press there. it certainly wasn't just gaming enthusiasts watching live on Spike TV.

 

[freddy]

There's nothing drastically wrong with anything Nintendo is doing. A bunch of investors couldn't see much short term growth, so they sold stock. It's as simple as that.

 

[Zombie James]

If they had cut short the Zelda bullshit at the beginning and instead had Miyamoto talk through the full Zelda Wii U demo, lighting switches and all, as a tech demo of Wii U, it would have been a fucking winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTkCIJGTe_U

• Lights go out.
• Zelda HD loads up on the big screen.
• Giant spider HD battle!
• Lights come back on with Miyamoto at center stage, yells "Welcome to [console name that isn't Wii U]!"
• Console, controller, and logo display on the big screen.

That's how I would have started their conference.

 

[megashock5]

To be clear, I wasn't confused at all about the fact that it's a new system. However, many media outlets were, and that points to a problem.

Also, I read about this stuff online on a daily basis - that's not true of a large portion of the Wii audience. I think there's a definite possibility that the name will confuse them, again compared to something like DSi.

My biggest complaint about the presentation was the line, "what we have to show you today aren't actual games, but prototypes of possible ideas" or whatever it was.

THAT's what deflated my balloon. Oh well, we'll get it in time.

 

[Vinci]

• Lights go out.
• Zelda HD loads up on the big screen.
• Giant spider HD battle!
• Lights come back on with Miyamoto at center stage, yells "Welcome to [console name that isn't Wii U]!"
• Console, controller, and logo display on the big screen.

That's how I would have started their conference.

And then, play the damn thing again with the lights on, showing Miyamoto swapping it from day to night, camera angle to camera angle, etc. To show that yes, this is running in realtime. Would've been impressive as hell.

 

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

That demo looks nice but would playing a real game for long with that thing not suck, its hard to go back to the Duke or DC controllers and that thing makes them look sleek.

 

[Slurpy2k20]

Seriously, who gives a shit? How many normal people know or care about E3? I't success will be based on the launch and thereafter. Impressions now are utterly meaningless.

 

[Vinci]

That demo looks nice but would playing a real game for long with that thing not suck, its hard to go back to the Duke or DC controllers and that thing makes them look sleek.

According to virtually everyone who's played with the controller, it's extremely comfortable and capable. So that doesn't appear to be a problem. YMMV.