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So did naming it the "Wii U" make a difference?

You have to actually have experienced and understood some degree of life to know why they called it "Wii U". It makes perfect sense in the real world.

"Super Wii" or "Wii 2" would have been a grand name for gaming forum purposes, though.
 
Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo 64
Nintendo Gamecube
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo Touch


:)
 
Yesterday, Targets web site described the Wii U as "a new tablet controller for the Wii"...or something that would mislead any normal consumer.
 
Ein Bear said:
I don't see why they stuck with the 'Wii' naming in the first place. If anything I'd wager that the 'Nintendo' brand is stronger than the 'Wii' one anyway, and calling the console a completely new name would have removed any sort of confusion over what it was.

I mean:

Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo 64
Nintendo Gamecube
Nintendo Wii

'Nintendo' is the brand.
Click to expand...

Nintendo drew some odd lessons from the success of the Wii. They released an instantly accessible, intuitive, affordable system which offered motion control gaming for the first time in a big way, coupled with one of the best killer apps of all time, Wii Sports. They gave you an incentive to get an extra controller with Wii Play so that people would play local multiplayer. Another big success.

Meanwhile, the HD twins combined managed to do a good bit of business themselves, based upon HD graphics, online gameplay, and later in the gen Kinect (I haven't seen any evidence that Move was a game-changer).

Nintendo's take away from the gen appears to be that they succeeded because of the name Wii, the use of Mii's, and having a small form factor console that uses less electricity than their competitors. They think they probably missed a big opportunity in not having a well-moderated online message-board to advertise games other people are playing. They realize they made some mistakes with WiiWare and Virtual Console, but they apparently they think the mistakes were limited to developer relations and friend codes. They genuinely either don't understand or don't care what critics meant by saying they lacked an account system. While the Wii was incapable of outputting a 1080p image, the Wii U is capable of outputting a 1080p image (this will really draw in the hard core gamers!).

I don't know, maybe Nintendo's right. We'll see.
 
Ein Bear said:
I don't see why they stuck with the 'Wii' naming in the first place. If anything I'd wager that the 'Nintendo' brand is stronger than the 'Wii' one anyway, and calling the console a completely new name would have removed any sort of confusion over what it was.
Click to expand...

They explained this in numerous interviews. They stayed away from calling it Nintendo ____ because they'd been rejected for the N64 and GameCube by the populace in the home console space, so they kept the Nintendo name off the system to give it a fresh start.

Seeing as how the Wii has outsold the GameCube and N64 combined, the Wii name does have a better value for consoles than Nintendo ____
 
Call me crazy but I think the add-on impression the name gives is completely intentional. Nintendo does need as much Wii remotes out there as possible anyway. They really come off as not wanting people to know the Wii u as a completely new console.
 
EmmanuelMunoz said:
I'm not sure how any of us could know this early on. Like you said, its been a week.

I'm sure people have opinions on the matter, but there isn't enough data to base that off of.
Click to expand...

We have known it for a year and a half. Don't need data to back up what's basically common sense. It's been 18 months since the name was revealed @ E3 2011. During the 12 months from E3 2011 to E3 2012 there was plenty of reaction to the name and how it could possibly be confusing to customers but they did nothing about it. E3 2012 should have been the re-reveal of the console, with a new name (Wii 2) and some trailers for 2013 games. They dropped the ball big time. It's too late to change the name now.

And I agree with the person who said Super Wii sounds lame. Wii 2 would have been perfect.
 
To me... yeah it did at least. It evoked thoughts of the Wii (mostly negative), dampened my excitement that perhaps Nintendo were going to try to "get back into it", and just generally made me sceptical of it from its very inception. Too early to say if it made any sort of measurable overall impact though. We may never know actually.
 
FyreWulff said:
They explained this in numerous interviews. They stayed away from calling it Nintendo ____ because they'd been rejected for the N64 and GameCube by the populace in the home console space, so they kept the Nintendo name off the system to give it a fresh start.

Seeing as how the Wii has outsold the GameCube and N64 combined, the Wii name does have a better value for consoles than Nintendo ____
Click to expand...

And yet they ditched the Gameboy name for the Nintendo DS. The Nintendo DS sold a few units, you might have heard (hint: more than the Wii).

Also, even if officially it was just the Wii, I would wager most of the people who bought a Wii know who made it, and who makes all of the best games for the system.
 
everyone that i have talked to (including my friend who was over playing it with me) has thought it is an addon. it was a dumb move, but fixable if they continue to pound it into consumer's minds that it is a new system.

i've noticed that a bunch of their ads have said "new console". does the average joe even know what the word console means?? serious question. wouldn't it be easier for people if it was called a new system?
 
Dali said:
To me... yeah it did at least. It evoked thoughts of the Wii (mostly negative), dampened my excitement that perhaps Nintendo were going to try to "get back into it", and just generally made me sceptical of it from its very inception. Too early to say if it made any sort of measurable overall impact though. We may never know actually.
Click to expand...

Exactly my feelings.
 
Wii U makes zero sense as a pun, and it's not even proper grammar. It doesn't fucking mean anything. It also sounds like a Wii add on or a Wii game.

Should have called it the Wii 2. First, they get to keep the Wii name. Second, with all the playstations, iphones, and ipads, consumers are trained to know that "product name" followed by "number" equals "new version". Third, they get the pun on "we too", which at least makes sense. And fourth, the "2" would allude to the dual screen setup.
 
Dali said:
To me... yeah it did at least. It evoked thoughts of the Wii (mostly negative), dampened my excitement that perhaps Nintendo were going to try to "get back into it", and just generally made me sceptical of it from its very inception. Too early to say if it made any sort of measurable overall impact though. We may never know actually.
Click to expand...

I can see this. Bit of a stereotype but for all those casual wii buyers that bought it, played with it for 6 months, a year? Then put it under the bed or shelf, or sold it. They're going to see this and think ... nah, been there done that.
 
Friend of mine (very casual gamer) said today "hey have you seen that new Nintendo handheld thing? £300! Fk that!"

That kind of comment shows that the general public who gobbled up the original Wii have no idea just what this is.

I think THAT will be the struggle for Nintendo, the console is now available and its still unclear to so many people what it actually is.
 
Totally a dumb move. Now they will have to waste countless money convincing people that it's a new console instead of an add-on. Even worst it probably won't work for a lot of people.
 
Nobody has explained to me the next thing that happens when someone sees the GamePad and then assumes it's peripheral. Are they not interested in buying it, and if so, why not? Because it's just a peripheral? Because they think it's just a peripheral and it's overpriced? If so, if they're then told it's a console will they be willing to buy one at that price?
 
wiiu-marketing-is-working.jpg
Click to expand...
.
 
The few people I know that even knew it was coming out assumed it was just a controller add on or a ghetto tablet with game controls on it.
 
Yeah I've been saying this to a lot of people as well - they shouldn't have named it the Wii U. A lot of people are confused by the name, it has an identity problem.
 
flyinpiranha said:
I disagree, especially with your examples, I mean ... each one you stated has the description of what is new in the name; "pocket", "color", "advance", "Super" ... nobody had a problem knowing that the Super Nintendo was a new system or that the Color was a new system even though it looked almost identical (although smaller) to the regular Game Boy.

The Wii U is confusing, is it confusing enough to cause about 100k of those Wii's to be returned the day after Christmas because of it? Who knows, but ANY confusion is bad. They should have branded it differently IMO, but either way their stock will sell out and after Christmas people will realize it's a new one but they will have already bought their kids iPods and tablets by then.
Click to expand...

Xbox 360? Kindle Fire?
 
Schobeleth said:
Yeah I've been saying this to a lot of people as well - they shouldn't have named it the Wii U. A lot of people are confused by the name, it has an identity problem.
Click to expand...

I remember they have a lenghty explanation of why Wii was chosen... (short, did not sound like a videogame, it wasnt a word, it was an universal sound etc etc etc)

So far they have not given an explanation of why it is called Wii U... they barely mentioned it was about you this time but i makes no sense really
 
H_Prestige said:
Wii U makes zero sense as a pun, and it's not even proper grammar. It doesn't fucking mean anything. It also sounds like a Wii add on or a Wii game.

Should have called it the Wii 2. First, they get to keep the Wii name. Second, with all the playstations, iphones, and ipads, consumers are trained to know that "product name" followed by "number" equals "new version". Third, they get the pun on "we too", which at least makes sense. And fourth, the "2" would allude to the dual screen setup.
Click to expand...

The meaning of Wii was We. The meaning of Wii U is We + You. The Wii was about "we all play together" getting everyone to jump in for a round with simple TV remote style controller that many were aware of already and also similar buttons and set up to NES/Famicom controller making it welcoming for people who hadn't played a videogame or hadn't played in awhile.

Now the Wii U brings in the new concept of You into the mix. This means you'll still play together on the console with people you'd never expect to play games with, but on your own you can have a say in things more. You get to have your games displayed and see other players thoughts in the Plaza. You get to meet people and voice yourself on the Miiverse. This will be expanded more and worked into the games even, right now its biggest in New Super Mario Bros U and Nintendo Land.

It's really like adding a whole layer of great new stuff on top of the Wii atmosphere and I really like what Nintendo's doing.
 
I get their advertising concept, but they could have still used the same tagline without U being in the name. Definitely should have gone numerical in some fashion or used an adjective before it.

Utilizing the same controllers didn't help in differentiating it either. I like it from a cost-conscious point of view but coupled with the name, it doesn't feel like a new system.
 
I think the name is good - although whether they've communicated its meaning effectively I have no idea - but I think the console will fail to live up to its name.

Wii = for everyone (meaning the more family oriented gameplay that the Wii was known for)
U = for "you", the "hardcore" gamer

I think it's gonna be more like Wii-2 because I've always thought it wouldn't be very powerful (and it seems it's not) and I've also always thought that we'd end up in the same situation as this gen, where you get 360/PS3 and 360/PS3/PC games where there's no Wii version, or the Wii version is just a cut down port.
 
solarus said:
Terrible, terrible choice. Worse than the confusion people had with 3ds.
Click to expand...
How? It was understandable with the 3DS because they could theoretically think it was a DSi style upgrade where it didn't bring games they wouldn't be able to play on their DS.
Seeing the Wii U, they will either realise it's a new console with a new controller or think it's a new controller for their current console.
What people don't seem to be answering is what those people who think it's an add on are then doing. Not buying it because they don't like the concept? If that's true then it doesn't matter if they knew it was a new console or not. Interested, but not buying it because its too expensive? If that's true then it doesn't matter if they knew it was a new console or not. Not interested because they like the controller but wish it was a new console? Who the hell is that?
 
I think the Wii U name will make sense - eventually.
Nintendo haven't marketed at the casual consumer yet.

Imagine the scene - a suburban household.
Kid playing a game. Mum and Dad wanting to watch a TV show.
"Luckily, with the Wii U, Wii can watch TV while U continue to play the game with the controller."
 
I run a gaming site and I still don't know if I should use 'WiiU' 'Wii U' or 'Wii-U' when writing about the console.

What do you guys call it? I'm leaning towards 'WiiU.'
 
Ein Bear said:
I don't see why they stuck with the 'Wii' naming in the first place. If anything I'd wager that the 'Nintendo' brand is stronger than the 'Wii' one anyway, and calling the console a completely new name would have removed any sort of confusion over what it was.

I mean:

Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo 64
Nintendo Gamecube
Nintendo Wii

'Nintendo' is the brand.
Click to expand...

Actually, there was an argument about the "Nintendo brand" between NOA and NCL in the GameCube launch era. NCL wanted to stop relying on it because they felt it was going to wear out, while NOA thought NCL was insane.

This resulted in the "GCN" abbreviation, and people endlessly mocking the system (asking if it was supposed to be "GameCube Nintendo"), because NCL demanded that they call it "GC", while NOA insisted on "NGC", and NCL eventually bitch-slapped NOA and told them they were only allowed to have the "N" in there if they de-emphasized it and put it in the back.

There is no truth to the rumors that Nintendo was forced to call it GCN because Neo Geo patented the NGC abbreviation. There was no "Neo Geo Color". Neo Geo never held a patent for NGC. Nintendo of America did hold that patent. NCL told them they weren't allowed to use it.

Wii and WiiU are definitely part of NCL's plan to stop leaning on the Nintendo brand and find a new one. I wouldn't be surprised if "Ultra 64" was also part of the same thinking.
 
It's a good name but the same problems with the ds/3ds situation will arise. I can perfectly understand why they called it wiu, but for the masses... :/
 
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