PALGN Roundtable: Nintendo Wii

[Brendan]

PALGN Roundtable: Nintendo Wii by Brendan

PALGN Feature: What's in a name?

[View Article]

[Infested Jibbs]

Everyone can't deny that there IS something in a name though.A name is almost like a summary of what the product is, what it will deliver.It is the products way of catching the consumers attention while they peruse the store shelves.It is supposed to say, in one or two words, 'hey, look at me, i'm better than my competitor over there, buy me!'.

There IS something in a name.Millions, if not billions of dollars all over the world is spent on market research and surveys and questionaires in getting that name just 'right'.Hell even the cereal 'just right's' name would have been mulled over for months in some board room.

You think holden commodore would have been as succesful is if was called the holden 'wii'.What about a ford mustang.Or cobra.Or monaro.They didn't name themselves and it wasn't just thought up over someones lunch break.It doesn't matter if they have the same amount of horses under the hood or what time they clock in a quarter mile, a products success is a culmination of things, with it's name, at the forefront.

A name is bloody important.It sadens me that nintendo do so much right, yet in one area where the competition would never dream of letting themselves down upon, nintendo overlook it.Like donning yourself in a tuxedo for a wedding making sure everything is just right, the hair, breath smells good, tie is on straight and then you slip on a pair of ugg boots and go to the wedding and think nothing of it, while everyone around you looks on bewilderment.They wont remember how slick your hair was that day they'll remember that idiot who wore ugg boots with a tux.

Like i dunno.A name is so important.It's one of the little things, and the little things are sometimes the biggest.
_________________

[Aussie]

I say to everyone out there who cares if you don't like the name {Wii} or if it has HD or not so what - All that really matters is how the games feel & play & best of all how fun they are thats it who cares what it's called just be happy that Nintendo does & will always make the best & fun games to Around :)

Also even with this new name it's still the same console with upcoming brand new IP games :) also you still get to play just about all the old NES, SNES, N64 + More :P

Just one last thing - I like the name {Wii} + i think it's cool :) & who ever does not like it who cares live with it as Nintendo is not going to make you buy {Wii} or it's games + i think alot care more about the name then what games you will be playing on it soon :)

Don't know if they did come out right but :D :P

[bennyspliff]

People learned to align their chi, they will learn to love the Wii.

[lordfenix]

Time and again i hear "By the time it gets to E3 we'll all be used to the name". But honestly will we ? Come E3 there'll be a fresh barage of jokes and criticism bringing this whole debacle right back. Everyone has said that this name won't put off the avid Nintendo fan but that is really besides the point. Nintendo doesn't need to market to its avid fanbase it needs to attract new customers and telling these customers to "see past" something however slight goes against basic business sense. When selling a product there should be no barriers between the consumer and the product so why do Nintendo think its OK to have one here?

Further more they will not really be able to use this name on their next generation games. Whilst they were all tentatively titled Super Smash Bros Revolution and the like, the would surely be pratically unsellable as Animal Crossing Wii, so using the superior gameplay to force the consumer to buy the Wii despite their natural inclination would be made even harder.

There's always time for them to change the name before launch, and they cannot have invested too much money in the name as yet. With any luck they will see that Wii may not be the best name for the job. After all they could call it the Hitlervator and say it conveyed the machines desire to dominate the casual gaming marketplace, but just because they can think of a reason why the name is applicable doesnt mean their customer base will be able to see past the negative connotations.

[Spanca]

I was expecting a bigger panning from Brendan. Far too civil for my likings.
_________________

[Aussie]

I say to everyone wait to E3 to see what the games are like & i don't think Nintendo will go with a new name again so for all you out there live with it & say hello to

Wii xD

[Rancidavacado]

Wii is a mistake.

No, people will not forget that it means wee wee - and to answer Jeremy - what are the odds it will be region free? Zero IMO.

Nintendo are taking the Pii.

Puns aside - the main things that worry me apart from the stupid name are that first, they will not change the name. Second, we will need to buy lots of memory sticks or an external hard drive (hidden expense is more offensive to me than up front expense). Third, they will aim this soley at children and a small niche market of nostalgia gamers. Fourth, the games will be as they were - a few good ones, then a load of lame ones that will dry up and I will wish I had bought a Playstation 3.

Honestly, I was looking forward to the Revolution and I think they should have kept the name Revolution.

With this new name Wii Nintendo are showing that they have learned nothing, and that they will make all the same mistakes as before.

I have lost my faith, and will probably buy a Playstation 3 if it does not sound like a geriatric vacuum cleaner like the Xbox 360 does.

[Master of Disaster]

That which we call a console by any other name would play just as sweet.

[Qbert]

Calling the console Wii means less sales, which means less 3rd party support, which means less games to choose from.

I know people say, 'who cares if other people buy it - I just want to play awesome games'. But that's the thing, if people don't buy it, think of all the awesome 3rd party we're potentially missing out on.

BTW, I agree with Jeremy for the most part.
_________________

[sbshields]

I think that the name Wii is a good idea, its going to produce bad press because alot of people are immature but who cares? People will take more notice of the name then they did of gamecube of n64.

The whole concept behind the Wii concole is all I'm worried about anyways!

[SargeAbernathy]

The logic behind the name sounds resonable, but it doesn't add to Nintendo's image. Wii does not give it a mature name, an inclusive name, or a strong name. If they were intending to open up in the market, they've only opened up to immaturity. True, other company names have had problems in the past ... but Wii has opened itself to a variety of toilet and sexual jokes.

That's mistake number 1. Parents may be turned off for buying their kids something that sounds both like a perverse sexual joke and an exotic foreign concept (not to mention a Hippie concept). If they do buy the system then they better be prepared for the reaction of their kids. Either they'll laugh and get a kick out of constantly bringing up new toilet humor they heard at school ... or they'll say "Do you want to Embarass me? God mom! Get me a PlayStation. Those are so much cooler!"

That brings me to number 2. The kiddie effect. You kiddify something too much, kids won't want to buy it. Plus you'll only make the fans of "extreme cute" happy. I remember many Kirby/Pokemon fans going "wiiiiiii" in the past, and I'm not hearing the end of it now. They love it. "Wiiiiiiiiii" sounds like something their anime bunny comic strips love. That's not an image either a kid wants or a serious gamer/adult wants.

The third mistake is letting Revolution go for so long anyway. It's engrained in our minds. Revolution is an act of courage, and strength. It is also a term for a planet going around the sun and brings up many images that, although doesn't seem to belong, could be worked into the message. "We go around our competitors" or something like that. Wii sounds like we want to have WaterSports with our competitors. Not cool. Unless you're into that stuff.

So this is the opinion of one, and maybe we are making a big deal out of nothing. However, I think it is a bigger deal for the long term image of Nintendo. Though N64 and GameCube had its mistakes, they were mistakes that we took in stride. Wii is something that even nintendo fans won't ever be able to throw away.

Nintendo ... Wii

Ya ... THAT'S something to be proud of ....

--MarkVA

P.S. Please, the theoretical idea that this is what Nintendo WANTED is a sad one. When Bill Clinton went through a media storm about his intern affair, it hampered HIS job and the government. When New Coke came out, the taste didn't stir controversy it was the NAME and how Coke could have abandoned a patriotic drink. Stirring up bad imagery for a company is going to kill future image and future consoles. The next generation is going to have to realize that what they do now will either be innovative or a mistake. We're TRYING to tell Nintendo that this is a mistake.

[Rancidavacado]

[feanor_of_the_noldor]

Quite frankly, I'm more curious about how you can use a controller with 1 hand than I am about the name.

And as far as marketing, I figure most people 14+ won't find the name embarrassing, will remember, and may think its cool to have motion sensitivity. Kids younger than 9 will think the name is a great joke. It will be much more marketable to Women and families. Much better than revolution, anyway. Revolution was one of the most generic hackneyed sounding names ever. And as for the idea that it won't fly with gamers, I'm pretty into PC gaming. Play a lot of enemy territory, played oblivion (which is too short, too easy, and lacking plot, fyi), unreal tournament, etc..., I really don't see anything wrong with having a variety of colors and a catch/bizzarre name. If anything this whole controversy just shows how infantile americans are.

Get off worrying about the name. Doesn't quality count for anything? I want to hear more about the controllers. As I mentioned, I pc game. As every PC gamer knows, consol controllers can not hold a candle to a mouse and keyboard. If halo2 ever comes out for PC and xBox and pc players canplay head to head, pc players will kick the consol's ass. No matter how much consol players deny it, the dual joystick/b-pad configuration is just plain inefficient. Now mice have to have a mousing surface so they can't really be used as consol controllers, though it's possible some sort of trackball could. So what I really want to see it if this motion senstivity finally makes a consol controller usable and not feel like going back to the dinosaur age. To me, the potential of the controller is a miuch bigger story than the name of the plastic. If it does fulfill the niche of fitting between pc-style input devices and the hang-out while-lounging-in beanbag chair style of consoles it could finally allow the stupid people who don't know anything about computers to play a decent game without having to suffer the travesty of past console input devices. (To be fair, the reason console input devices are atrocious is that they have their roots in a 2-D environment where their design made sense. On NES, mario made sense with a d-pad. But they just don't have the precision when it comes to 3-D, especially for tasks such as sniping and moving in an FPS, or controlling units in an RTS.)(Actually, I doubt a traditional RTS can ever be made that funtions well on a console no matter how the controllers change)

[Infested Jibbs]

Whats with all the first time posters coming out of the woodwork and all congregating in this particular thread?
_________________

[Bitchacho]

^yeah very odd. good to see some new faces though. maybe this Wii business has made lots of people stand up and get all hyped up.

[Infested Jibbs]

Some groovy avatars and names not pertaining to rotten fruit would be a bonus too.
_________________

[Rancidavacado]

Last thing I'll say about the name - it may not be real.

The real name may be announced at E3.

Why?

[Rancidavacado]

[Matt]

[cycosippius]

I figure most people 14+ won't find the name embarrassing


Exactly Im just hoping a kick arse cricket game comes out and i gaurantee all my mates who are looking to get a ps3 will get a wii as weel
_________________
now with 360

[feanor_of_the_noldor]

[Capoeira]

Hehe, Google News. I actually surprised some of my friends after a few of my articles showed up on the GN front page some time ago. I was pretty shocked too! Freaking Google news! But then again, Google news puts everything up...

Still, it's nice to be noticed
_________________

Say You Want A Revolution

[Infested Jibbs]

Whoa these newbies are getting out of hand.

*cracks whip* down!

Don't spam and better yet head over to The Welcome Thread and learn the eticut around here and introduce yourselves properly if your genuinely interested in the site and gaming in general.

If your not, please don't waste your time and ours by talking about crap.
_________________

[838 La]