Both Sides of Wii

Yesterday Nintendo released the official name for their next console. Formerly the Revolution, and now simply called Wii, reaction has been strong among gaming fans. A Brian Crecente article in the Rocky Mountain News looks at why Wii is bad, from a marketing perspective. Chris Kohler, over at Game|Life, looks at why Wii is good because of its iconoclastic nature. And, always happy to help with the irreverent, Games.net examines why Wii is weird. From that article: "We don't think Nintendo Wii is a truly terrible console name, but it's an uncharacteristically risky choice, even for Nintendo. We admire its simplicity and its playfulness (the two i's represent multiplayer action, you see). But on the flip side, parents will have a hard time pronouncing it ("Nintendo...why?") and hardcore gamers will slam it ..."

attention whoring

[Odiumjunkie]

I think that the second slashdot story in two days on the name of an unreleased console is evidence enough that the marketing folks over at Nintendo have made a sensible decision.

Why oh why do people care? Hardcore /. nerds won't give a damn what it's called, they'll just want the specs and the reviews. Casual consumers won't remember what it's called, they'll just want to look at the pretty colours.

Re:Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?

[PrescriptionWarning]

Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.

Every time I read something saying how "unique" the controllers are for the thing, I wonder to myself if any of these people calling it unique have ever used a remote control. Most people I'm sure have about 5 remote controls currently in use with another 5-10 lost in the couch cushions or placed in a box with all the old electronics.

The only unique thing about it is the fact that no other gaming console uses a controller anything "remotely" like it, but that doesn't mean its on the same level of innovation as the first gamepad that was ever created.

Re:Igor international?

[dorbabil]

The original name for the NES in the US was the Advanced Video System, and was a top-loading system just like all previous cartridge units. Everyone was afraid of it, because of the Atari crash, so Nintendo redesigned and renamed the system. I think that's what they are trying to do again. Small and sleak versus big and scary. Easy to remember name. It sounds like they are trying to create a new market, just like they did in the 80s. The big questions are whether or not there needs to be a new one (Atari killed the one in the 80s, so there was an obvious need there), and whether or not they can actually do it

Dealing with 5 stages of wii grief

[Gazunta]

All good points, especially from Kohler's Wired article. We're kind of irrelevant to Nintendo's thinking here. I caught an interesting article called No, Seriously, It's Called wii [ausfootballreview.com] thet deals with the 5 stages of grief and how it relates to this situation. From the article: ''Acceptance: Guess what, no amount of protesting at E3 will do the trick. It's not going to change. The people who sign online petitions are exactly the people Nintendo are avoiding with all this. Tomorrow you're going to wake up and it being called wii won't be so bad. Maybe it'll start to grow on you, like mixing medication and bourbon. It's not so bad once you get used to it..." Hmm, Bourbon. I think I'm still in stage 3, Depression.

Why release the name this week?

[NekoXP]

I just had a thought. Nintendo could have had this name released at E3 with all their other stuff, but they didn't. We should probably suppose that

1) having Revolution plastered all over their booth and then changing the name mid-show would be a bit of a marketing idiocy/expensive gesture

2) it would completely overshadow EVERYTHING else they had to announce even though it is a fairly minor thing compared to real games, new controller quirks, playable systems

3) they know it sounds stupid, but they want you to get it out of your system before E3 so that you concentrate on the above (real games, new controller quirks)

This is smart. I like the name but I think it works as a logo, and as a product name, and a trademark, but it's just not something I am going to vocalise. I am going to pronounce it wrong.. Why Wi Way whatever. Or just say Nintendo like I always did for every other Nintendo console.

Negativity:

4) regarding 2, this could mean that besides Zelda and some spurious announcements and a playable system they have sweet FA to show at E3 besides officially confirming a lot of stuff we already read on rumor sites.

They secreted a mentioning the DVD attachment, I wonder if they will show it.. E3 should be the place where, now that we know the name, and we have gotten bored of how Zelda looks (and plays with the Wii controller maybe) we see exactly all the crap that is going to be launched this holiday season..

Oh! It just came to me. This console is gonna fucking ROLL off the shelves in Scotland. It's small, it's cute, it's Wii like a bairn :D

Homonyms are not confusing, mind you...

[alexhs]

it will confuse the French

Probably not.
Marketing will probably pronounce it the english way.
But people probably not. W in French is pronounced like v.
I can't think of a word with two consecutive 'i'.
It could be pronounced like vie (life), or maybe a long i.

Probably a long i. Be it pronounced the english or the french way.

Therefore no confusion with yesss or lifffe.

And there are lots of homonyms in every language anyway, people don't get confused, it's just useful for puns...

Re:Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?

[Crizp]

In Scandinavia, Honda released the Honda Fitta ('fitta' means 'the cunt' in Norwegian). It was quickly changed to "Honda Jazz".

Re:Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?

[ZorinLynx]

Didn't they try this before [wikipedia.org]? Didn't it fail the first time?

I hope they got it right this time, because the thought of another Power Glove scares me.

-Z

Re:Hold on.

[Psychotext]

As others have already said this is a bad name for the following reasons:

1: If you need to explain a name; it's bad.
2: If your name can be easily insulted; it's bad (ask parents how careful they are with kids names).
3: If your name is hard to pronounce, or can be confusing to work out how to pronounce on sight; it's bad.
4: If your name doesn't convey what the product is, and it's going to be used on its own; it's bad.
5: Finally, if you know it's going to be bad, yet you still release it then defend it; it's really bad, and was a pet decision of a director.

Of course, other consoles have suffered these problems before.

Reasons it's good:

1: It's unique.
2: You're not going to have trouble searching the net for it.
3: It's got people talking, lots of people.
4: It reflects the ideology of the product.
5: It's (arguably) globally friendly.

I'm sure there are more for both arguments.

Re:Back in the day...

[Ophion]

I seem to remember another device [apple.com] that had a name which everyone chastised in the begnning. Give it time people.

I remember it too [wikipedia.org].

Re:Funny you should mention Laputa.

[moranar]

Yes, and the translation of the travels of Gulliver to Spanish normally had "Liliput" instead of "Laputa". Bowdlerisation. The Mitsubishi Pajero is called "Montero" in Spanish-speaking countries.

Re:Igor international?

[c_forq]

The big questions are whether or not there needs to be a new one

I would just like to point out when Ford started churning out cars there was no need for horseless carriages. For many products (especially technology) it is not about an existing need, it is about creating a market. Once the market has been created a need will be established.

Name reminds me of AC's Wi Flag

[Shivetya]

This is just something bizarre from another game....

The Wi Flag was a peculiar problem in the early Asheron's Call codebase that seemingly afflicted one paticular player, named Wi. Basically mobs zeroed in on him no matter when he showed up in an area and no matter who else was there.

A little history about the flag is here,
http://www.vitaerising.com/modules.php?op=modload& name=News&file=article&sid=58 [vitaerising.com]

and then the fix for it came along here..

http://www.vitaerising.com/modules.php?op=modload& name=News&file=article&sid=40&mode=thread&order=0& thold=0 [vitaerising.com]

So I guess Nintendo is not worried about turning off all of Asheron's Call current and former players :)

Re:Depends on how they spin it

[Overly Critical Guy]

It's a classic example of a design-by-committee name. You just know a group of top execs in suits sat in a conference room, put a list of bullet points on the wall that the name had to describe, and overthought names like "Wii" with amusing talking points like "it's not about you and me, it's about Wii." The i's are supposed to be people? I mean, I don't get any of the points Nintendo made about the name. The fact they had to explain it in a page-long press release says a lot.

Defenders are saying it's memorable and pronounceable. No, it's not. I guarantee every soccer mom asking for this thing in the store will confusingly pronounce it "why." Do you that to be the first word out of your new customers' mouths?

Revolution was the best name for a console. Daring and memorable. If it's too big to pronounce for some Japanese speakers, they could have shortened it to Revo. Wii has just sealed the deal in its destruction--it doesn't matter what the console is like because its image is shot. You wouldn't buy an iPod if it was called an "iAzz." A brand name conveys a message and an image about the product itself and the company behind it, and Wii conveys a sense of bizarreness and out-of-touch marketing.

It's not even one of those names that's trying way too hard to be hardcore, like the "XBox 360." It's just plain bizarre and weird. The Wii? "I'm gonna go buy a Wii."

If they're so insistent on getting rid of the Revolution codename, maybe they should have just called the thing *the* Nintendo, and made their company name the brand name. You know, the way we all referred to the NES back in the day--"I'm going to buy a Nintendo."

Re:Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?

[Oscar_Wilde]

All these jokes have been made about the name but on the manufacturer's site, you'll find this
 
That wont stop people making fun of it though. People make unfunny jokes about Apple's iNames all the time. The only funny iName joke, and it's only funny given the way people poke fun at the iName branding, was the "iWas assembled in Taiwan" printed on the underside of the original iBooks. Takes the humour out of it, knowing that the people that thought it up realised it was going to happen before anyone else had a chance.

I'm sure we can all look forward to the BuzzBox 720 Special Chuck Norris Edition Mk. II Xtreme fans making jokes about how stupid the Wii name is for the next decade.

Re:Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?

[Doomstalk]

Note that the article you linked to says that the Power Glove was made by Mattel not Nintendo. Also note that almost two decades of technological advancements separate the Power Glove and the Wii (ugh- I like the idea of the system, but the name still sounds dumb to me). The Power Glove had limited potential largely because of technology: first off, a 3D controller doesn't make sense on a system with only 2D capabilities; secondly, RF and motion sensing technology has come a long way since then. Things should be a lot more interesting this time around.

Re:Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?

[systemic chaos]

That's why the Wii controller isn't laid out like a 90s universal remote. That's why it's a different contoured shape than a hershey bar remote control. That's why there are generally just a few large buttons. Compare this to the DualShock, etc, and think about which one looks more daunting to your "non-geek" consumer.

Re:Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?

[nanojath]

Of course it's impossible to tell without some kind of insider report but I bet you're wrong, it is impossible, the way naming exercises are conducted, that some serious opposition to this idea wasn't raised. Maybe they have some whole different system in Japan.

I think it's a dog, for what it's worth, but I suspect that among all of the arguments about the reasoning behind it, the one closer to the truth is that it surely does set it apart from the pack. Revolution was a totally generic name, a word utterly overused to the point of meaninglessness, and of course conceptually too close to 360 (itself a total case study in a crummy, safe, totally corporate blah naming). A name can only do so much damage, when you have the sterling underlying recognition of Nintendo. In the end just generating crazy amounts of talk may prove it a worthwhile gamble.

Re:Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?

[idonthack]

Remote: lift remote, look at it to find the right button, push it, look back at screen to see if the 12:00 or AV1 has gone away. Curse. Repeat.

Do you really see that happening with a remote that only has three buttons?

Originality in a sea of numbers...

[Chordonblue]

I remember in 1985 when Nintendo announced their game machine. I believe I said something sarcastic like, "Huh... 'Nintendo'... That just ROLLS off the tongue, doesn't it?" One quick year later and it was all but a household name with Christmas shoppers looking for those 'intendo tapes'. Since then, I haven't doubted the power of Nintendo to change the face of video gaming. They haven't been #1 for some time, but perhaps they don't need to be.

'Wii' is a strange choice for a name, but I bet you and I won't forget it for a while. Maybe we've all gotten hung up with numbers. Xbox/360, PS2/3, etc. Look at the gfx card wars - what the hell do those numbers mean? 1900 XTX, 7900 GTO, etc. Maybe ATI or Nvidia could learn from this and go back to real names for their cards.