It makes far too much sense to be questioned imo. Prior to the Xbox, DirectX WAS gaming for Microsoft.
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Sega was amazing at naming consoles
- Thread starter Sblargh
- Start date
It makes far too much sense to be questioned imo. Prior to the Xbox, DirectX WAS gaming for Microsoft.
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
Well it's certainly better than their original name, "Service Games".
Nope.
I've heard from misterxmedia that nobody who buys one has a job so it can't be that.
I'm pretty sure he said it was originally called the FoodStampsStation.
joecanada
Member
Yeah that could be. Also I thought after that it's also the first time Nintendo used such a similar name back to back? So that would be a giant problem too
Nah, Nintendo have a history of it really. NES to SNES for example... or all the different Gameboys. De-emphasizing the "Nintendo" when releasing the Wii made a followup a somewhat different prospect though. Much like how many people don't register the Xbox as a Microsoft device, the Wii was seen much as its own thing rather than another Nintendo console.
Sega tried to do this with the Dreamcast also (to shake the stigma built up from MegaCD, 32X and Saturn)... but everyone knew it was Sega anyway, lol.
Maybe itÂ’s because English isn't my native language, but yes, I think that "Dreamcast" sounds awesome.
Master System, Mega Drive and Saturn are great names too.
Naomi was the child of Dreamcast
I'm not gonna pretend you're wrong. Even single bit of evidence proves you right.
I just don't buy it. Especially with the insane overuse of the letter X in the late 90's.
No PR/MKT department would be using an internal name based one tech even few PC gamers knew at the time. DX was hardly even a standard then. 3do seemingly ascending to the throne. DX7 was a response to that. It wasn't until 9 that the brand was worth anything.
Out of all the SEGA console names, the only ones I think are on "cool-tier" are Master System, Mega Drive and Saturn. They sound cooler when you add SEGA on them, like SEGA Mega Drive and SEGA Saturn.
Dreamcast was decent, I guess. Not really as catchy as its older brothers. Cool logo though.
Dreamcast was decent, I guess. Not really as catchy as its older brothers. Cool logo though.
Naomi was the child of Dreamcast
Technically Naomi was born first (1998), so I don't think that works.
Yea, it was at a time where everything was using X. But then, that just kinda also explains why DirectX was called what it was too (beyond X being a wildcard for the various modules it was made up of). It makes sense to call it a Direct X box internally, because that's precisely what it was, a console built on Direct X (8.1 specifically). DirectX was also hardly niche by this time. It had mostly superseded OpenGL in the PC space by the time the Xbox launched (and was becoming the default in many cases years before that due to the Unreal Engine murdering PCs in OpenGL mode at the time).
I assume you mean 3DFX btw? They were long dusted by then (NVIDIA got them good with the TNT2 vs Voodoo 3). Glide was basically a non-factor.
DoubleTake
Member
A few good men. Dreamcast is the GOAT console name hands down.
It definitely makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when you say it.
Dreamcast is a great name.
Genesis sounds cool.
Wii was post-modern and perfect.
Wii U is barf.
Nomad made sense and felt forced.
Playstation sounds a bit childish.
Saturn feels as random as Sega Jovian but with alliteration.
M2 is kind of beastly sounding.
Gamecube sounds like something from the future I'm not sure I should like.
3DO sounded futuristic.
N-Gage sounded like something from a weird catalog.
Genesis sounds cool.
Wii was post-modern and perfect.
Wii U is barf.
Nomad made sense and felt forced.
Playstation sounds a bit childish.
Saturn feels as random as Sega Jovian but with alliteration.
M2 is kind of beastly sounding.
Gamecube sounds like something from the future I'm not sure I should like.
3DO sounded futuristic.
N-Gage sounded like something from a weird catalog.
WonderSwan is the best name ever.
All hail Bandai.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1059657
All hail Bandai.
Nope.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1059657
ResidentDante
Member
Master System, Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast. Amazing console names all of them!
Bioshocker
Member
They certainly were. Saturn did have a cool logo as well. I liked Sega's sudden interest in going through our solar system looking for cool names. If I rememberg correctly the 32X was referred to as "the Mars adaptor", then there was Neptune.
Dreamcast is maybe the most beautiful name for a game console ever (even though PlayStation certainly makes perfect sense it's boring that Sony just keep adding a number, but I understand why).
Xbox is an ugly name to begin with and Xbox 360 doesn't make any sense at all. I like Gamecube, though. Thought it described both the product and the looks of the console perfectly.
Bioshocker
Member
Englebert3rd
Unconfirmed Member
Now the question is: what was the best logo?
It's the blue one
I wholesomely agree. It's more elegant.
I love WonderSwan too
So random and unique, like the system itself. Same with SwanCrystal.Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Seems like a weird case of revisionist history when people are touting Dreamcast or Wii for being good names.
I remember a lot of bitching and moaning about Wii not being as cool as Revolution.
i was a bit late to dreamcast name hate as i wasn't really on the internet at the time, but what was it like for people when it was first revealed? i just remember seeing it in rental shops and at toys r us and thinking it was a fucking rad system with a cool name (the logo is great too).
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Only article I ever remember reading specifically on it had a headline that read something like "Sega has a promising new console; it just needs a real name." Basically argued that "Dreamcast" didn't have anywhere near the punch or cool factor as "Saturn" or "Genesis" and sounded much more like a silly toy.
"Katana" (the project name) may have been a little corny, but it was certainly less weird.
Wii was definitely a good and bold name for the whole concept the console represented. I don't see how it's revisionist history.
This was the general response to "Wii" in a nutshell.
Here's a Gamespot article, MTV article (gaf is mentioned), and hell a gaf thread where everyone's like "whaaaat??".
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
The public reaction basically ranged from "muh revolution" to "Playing with our Wiis? Seriously?"
http://web.archive.org/web/20060430184311/http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2006/20060428.jpg
Skipping school?
More along the line of "not good/idiot"
I know what the initial response was, I was here back then.
But that response has nothing do with whether Wii ended up being a good and successful name or not. Of course such an outlandish and different name resulted a huge backlash but Nintendo knew that beforehand and took the risk anyway. It was supposed to be a different and strange name because the whole concept of the console was new and different. It reflected that and from a historical standpoint, the whole branding of Wii from name to everything else was very successful.
Mr. Crow
Member
I had a blue one and didn't know about colors those days. One day I saw an orange one and I thought it's a chinese Dreamcast rip-off ! lolNow the question is: what was the best logo?
It's the blue one
I found out an interesting thing about PAL logo now. A german company called Tivola had a very similar logo to orange dreamcast and Sega had to change DC's logo, so they made it blue in europe!
And thank god for that.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
Super Nintendo 64?
But yeah, Sega's console names were pretty cool.
But yeah, Sega's console names were pretty cool.
I didn't know Wii kidnapped people.
Dreamcast is easily the best name for what the console stood for. The fact that many of the first games for the system were super colorful and ran at 60 fps made you feel like you were dreaming. I think as far as creativity and accuracy, the Dreamcast just makes so much sense, more than any console has been named before. Instead of trying to be cool with names like the Saturn and Mega Drive, the Dreamcast just was cool without trying to hard and I think that's why it was a generally badass system.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
IIRC, "Master System" wasn't even the proper name for it initially. I believe there were distinct "Sega System" and "Sega Master System" SKUs early on: same console hardware, but bundled with different games or peripherals. Then for some reason the SMS moniker just stuck.
Gotta disagree. Maybe they sound cool in isolation, but at the time they released it just served to confuse consumers.
Mega Drive/Genesis: These are good. Genesis is especially good because it implies the start of something new (Master what?), an alternative to Nintendo. Mega Drive sounds like some sort of mech, but mechs were in (and still are!).
CD: Ok so it plays CDs, got it. Pretty straight forward. But is this a new console? Oh it's an add on? Is it like more powerful or something? I'm so confused.
32X: Ok so it's got 32 in it, so you know it's more powerful than the 16-bit Genesis. But is this a new console? But you just attach it to your Genesis? Do I need the Sega CD? Does this have CDs? Why did you introduce CDs and then release this thing which doesn't use CDs? Which one should I buy? Screw it, I'm going back to Chrono Trigger.
Saturn: The name tells me nothing. Ok it's a planet. And it also shares the name of a budget car model. What am I supposed to think about? Rings? Something far away? Screw it, I'm going back to Gran Turismo.
Dreamcast: It has "dream" in the name which invokes possibilities and wonder. Dreams have no limits, nor did the DREAMCAST (in theory). I think this is a really good name, and one of the coolest console names ever.
Nintendo surprisingly has had a history of very good console names in comparison:
Nintendo Entertainment System: Entertainment? I NEED TO GET THIS.
Game Boy: You've got "Boy" in there to differentiate the size between the NES and GB. It also plays games! Wow!
Super Nintendo: It's like the NES but SUPER I need it.
64: Back in the day, we didn't talk about no DDR5 RAM or some shit. We talked with bits. To go from 16 bits to 64 bits was an absurd leap in power, so of course Nintendo would show it off (spoilers: it didn't matter actually).
Game Boy Color: Holy shit it's got color all my dreams have come true.
Gamecube: While the Xbox and PS2 had multiple functions (namely playing DVDs), the GCN lacked this feature. Nintendo possibly tried to highlight the fact that their system was for games and ONLY games, but turns out people didn't want "just" games. It was also a cube. At least they were honest.
Game Boy Advance: It's time to move beyond the Game Boy and advance... into the future. Ironic considering it had basically no major hardware features outside of shoulder buttons and more power compared to the GBC. It's like the safest upgrade ever.
DS: DS, dual screens, boom.
Wii: The name invokes simplicity, togetherness, and quirkiness. It's fun to say, and strange to hear, but in a good way. No matter if you think it's cool or dumb, it sticks in your mind. Those original Wii commercials were genius too.
3DS: Remember the DS? THIS ONE'S IN 3D. You know what you're getting.
Wii U: No comment.
Mega Drive/Genesis: These are good. Genesis is especially good because it implies the start of something new (Master what?), an alternative to Nintendo. Mega Drive sounds like some sort of mech, but mechs were in (and still are!).
CD: Ok so it plays CDs, got it. Pretty straight forward. But is this a new console? Oh it's an add on? Is it like more powerful or something? I'm so confused.
32X: Ok so it's got 32 in it, so you know it's more powerful than the 16-bit Genesis. But is this a new console? But you just attach it to your Genesis? Do I need the Sega CD? Does this have CDs? Why did you introduce CDs and then release this thing which doesn't use CDs? Which one should I buy? Screw it, I'm going back to Chrono Trigger.
Saturn: The name tells me nothing. Ok it's a planet. And it also shares the name of a budget car model. What am I supposed to think about? Rings? Something far away? Screw it, I'm going back to Gran Turismo.
Dreamcast: It has "dream" in the name which invokes possibilities and wonder. Dreams have no limits, nor did the DREAMCAST (in theory). I think this is a really good name, and one of the coolest console names ever.
Nintendo surprisingly has had a history of very good console names in comparison:
Nintendo Entertainment System: Entertainment? I NEED TO GET THIS.
Game Boy: You've got "Boy" in there to differentiate the size between the NES and GB. It also plays games! Wow!
Super Nintendo: It's like the NES but SUPER I need it.
64: Back in the day, we didn't talk about no DDR5 RAM or some shit. We talked with bits. To go from 16 bits to 64 bits was an absurd leap in power, so of course Nintendo would show it off (spoilers: it didn't matter actually).
Game Boy Color: Holy shit it's got color all my dreams have come true.
Gamecube: While the Xbox and PS2 had multiple functions (namely playing DVDs), the GCN lacked this feature. Nintendo possibly tried to highlight the fact that their system was for games and ONLY games, but turns out people didn't want "just" games. It was also a cube. At least they were honest.
Game Boy Advance: It's time to move beyond the Game Boy and advance... into the future. Ironic considering it had basically no major hardware features outside of shoulder buttons and more power compared to the GBC. It's like the safest upgrade ever.
DS: DS, dual screens, boom.
Wii: The name invokes simplicity, togetherness, and quirkiness. It's fun to say, and strange to hear, but in a good way. No matter if you think it's cool or dumb, it sticks in your mind. Those original Wii commercials were genius too.
3DS: Remember the DS? THIS ONE'S IN 3D. You know what you're getting.
Wii U: No comment.
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
You're forgetting one!
The Nomad
that is like the best name ever..
as a thank you have this nomad warrior riding a horse.
ON FIRE
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Weird how you insist that "Sega CD" is somehow confusing, yet cite 3DS positively. The 3DS actually had a similar problem as the Wii U, where consumers couldn't always differentiate it from its predecessors. ("What's the difference between DS, DS Lite, DSi, 2DS, and 3DS?" "Can they play the same games?" etc.)