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 ..."

Comments

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?

[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?

[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?