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Rumor: Nintendo DS was almost called "City Boy". Nintendo registered trademark.

Oddduck

Member
I saw this article posted on some other gaming message boards, and the idea of it blew my mind.
Here's some snippets from the article.

The name “Nintendo DS” was not the official name at E3 2004. And they tip-toed around a few names. One of those names was “City Boy” because it would appeal to a young adult urban audience who have a busy “always on the go” lifestyle. “City Boy” was an attempt to make the Game Boy brand (seen as a child’s toy) sound more hip and adult. This name made it possible for Nintendo to continue the Game Boy Brand while trying to appeal to an urban young adult crowd. It makes sense too. If you paid attention to DS’s marketing in the last 6 years, Nintendo made a massive attempt to get older people and women to take the Nintendo DS brand name seriously.
 
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Droog

Member
I thought the original name was Nitro (you can still see the NTR prefix code on DS carts, etc.) although maybe that was just a codename. Never heard of City Boy before, glad they didn't go with it!
 
Leaving boy in the name wouldn't have done much to help them obtain that more grown up image they were looking for.
And that's just one of the problems with that awful name.
 

disco

Member
City Boy sounds sleazy like an overconfident 26 year old banker who bought a table at a West End club.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Probably the exact same people who came up with "Wii U" :(

I still want a different name for the console.
 
The 3DS must've been Soulja Boy then.

funny-gif-lol-memes-ryan-dunn-Favim.com-294404_large.gif
 

1-D_FTW

Member
- This means Nintendo had backup plan if DS failed.

Everyone understood this at the time. It was painfully obvious they didn't have a lot of faith and were hedging their bets to avoid cooty dust on the Gameboy name.

But City Boy? That would have been a disaster. DS never would have reached the demographics they did with such a pigeon-holed name.
 
I thought the original name was Nitro (you can still see the NTR prefix code on DS carts, etc.) although maybe that was just a codename. Never heard of City Boy before, glad they didn't go with it!

Nintendo DS was actually a code name, or perhaps a tentative name for the system. Some time after E3 2004, they announced Nintendo DS would be the final name.

Either way, I'm happy they didn't go with City Boy. :p Though that name would be more appropriate for the 3DS given its StreetPass and pedometer that encourages you to carry it around...
 

Oddduck

Member
Everyone understood this at the time. It was painfully obvious they didn't have a lot of faith and were hedging their bets to avoid cooty dust on the Gameboy name.

But City Boy? That would have been a disaster. DS never would have reached the demographics they did with such a pigeon-holed name.

Oh I agree with you. City Boy would have been horrible.

Although to be honest, people said the same thing about the name "Wii" and that was the complete opposite of a disaster sales wise.
 

Sendou

Member
I remember Iwata saying that 3rd pillar thing. I guess they weren't too confident with DS. And they mentioned that they didn't want to tarnish the Game Boy brand but figured it was still okay to release Virtual Boy? Or maybe that's what made them cautious.

But yeah City Boy is quite a name. One does wonder where Nintendo comes up with all these names.
 

GCNemesis

Member
Although that name is pretty horrible, we now live in the generation where names of devices don't really matter, they sell regardless.
 

gogogow

Member
I'm going to assume you're serious. DS = Dual Screen.

It's more than just "Dual Screen".

Nintendo said:
What does "DS" stand for?

To our developers, it stands for "Developers' System," since we believe it gives game creators brand new tools which will lead to more innovative games for the world's players.

It can also stand for "Dual Screen."

edit: goddammit
 

klier

Member
Quote from Iwata:

“It is a ‘unique’ machine, so not everybody will understand it right away. There might only be 10 to 15 people applauding during its unveiling at E3, but they’ll understand it once they touch it. At the least, it should serve as a hint towards [our] next-generation console.”

In what possible way???

actually it meant developers system.

No it does not. It means Dual Screen. Developers system is a bunch of marketing BS, just like Iwata's quote above...
 

bachikarn

Member
I remember when Nintendo first announced they were working on a "third pillar." People were speculating it was going to use holograms hah
 
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