Slashdot Mirror
Developers React To 'Wii'
Gamasutra has reactions from game developers to the announcement of the Revolution's new commercial name, 'Wii'. From the article: "It doesn't change my personal opinions of the console in the slightest. It changes my opinion of the Nintendo marketing department considerably. Did they even bother to research this? Why do they do these things? What was wrong with 'Revolution'? It's bad enough that the Japanese have a drink called "Sweat," but at least they don't try to export it to the English-speaking world with that name. Am I supposed to be happy about having to go down to the game store to purchase the 'Nintendo Wee'? For God's sake, where was Miyamoto? I can't believe he would have let this get by. - Ernest Adams"
Let us post some more articles about how stupid the name 'Wii' is.
Let us ignore the fact that we all like gaming consoles and instead resort to childish puns to evaluate something before it's even released.
Let the developers (and leaders of developers) proclaim to the world just how stupid this name is so that not only does the public think it's stupid, so do the developers. Think about that, the one group of people that are truly going to determine how this console does is jointly standing up and bashing it before the API is even in their hands. It is within their power to take this console--regardless of its name--and create some truly genuine games with a new controller interface. Before they even start that, they are all communally agreeing that the name is 'stupid.'
Kind of sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me.
The only two responses I read that defended the name were weak. Did no one stand up and say, "No comment until I've got this thing in my hands and I can really see what it's made of."
Let us all make fun of Dick Butkus now for his name. Hahahaha, dick. Hahahahah, butt. Get it all out of your system.
This is sheer madness. I use a piece of software called "The Gimp 2.0" but I have never once heard anyone make fun of it. "Gimp" means disabled where I grew up, why would you call a piece of software 'disabled?' Who cares? No one because it kicks ass and it's a free alternative solution to photoshop.
It's not like they called it "Engelbert Humperdinck's Genitals" so that when you want to use it you would have to say, "I want to play with Engelbert Humperdinck's genitals now." For crying out loud, "wii," "wee," or "we" all sound the same and the latter is good pun. You hear it how you want to hear it so grow up and stop wanting to hear it as "wee wee."
My work here is dung.
Did we expand the definition of developers to include "columnist and game design lecturer" and "director of business relations?" Someone at Gamasutra didn't exactly get a scoop. And what's with two quotes from the same company, Blackbone Entertainment?
Anyways, they all say the same thing. The name sucks, the console is good. However, the best point to get out of the article is from David Sirlin:
"Your mother or girlfriend doesn't want something called an Xbox 360, but that's okay because they won't find any games they like on an Xbox 360 anyway (beside xarcade, that is). They might be less intimidated by the "Wii" and will definitely find Nintendo games and non-games that sound more interesting than "Madden 2007" and "GTA 2008". "
Totally true. The iPod wouldn't have succeeded with a name like "SongGiant 3950" (no product would). I say the name is horrible and acceptable all at the same time. Horrible because it lends itself to multiple negative connotations, and acceptable because it draws in customers that names like Xbox and Playstation won't.
Developers "over" React To 'Wii'... Seriously, this stoped being funny or shocking about an hour after I heard it... and I doubt 12 year olds giggling at the name will be the end for big N. Now to more important matters... will Nintendo make the same 10 games again (this time with Wii on the end) or will they continue to inovate internaly and encurage 3rd party support? The Wii has great potential, so did the Gamecube.
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
We get it. By and large, people who eat, sleep, and breathe video games think that "Wii" is stupid. Fortunately for Nintendo, we're not their target demographic. Even more fortunately for Nintendo, the bulk of gamers who think that "Wii" is stupid follow the sentiment up with "but it isn't going to influence whether or not I actually buy the thing."
We, The Hardcore, need to come to grips with the fact that we are now, in Nintendo's eyes, a seecondary market. The sooner we do that, the sooner we'll be able to get past all this bloviating about what sorts of fools are heading the ship at Nintendo.
s/we/wii, if you're so inclined...
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
Nintendo has had front-page headlines in the game world for a week with almost zero marketing cost to them. *Everyone* in the game community knows the name and identity of their product.
From a marketing point of view, this name is a colossal success. It worked. You know what their product is, you know what it's for, you remember its name. That's all that matters.
Those dumb Nintendo marketers, they only got FOUR slashdot frontpages from a name change. C'mon, they can do better than that.
To those who are complaining that people are still making fun of the name:
People *still* make fun of the Wang computer, and it's been out forever.
"UHAHAHA I GOT ME A HARD DRIVE FOR MY WANG UHUHUHUHUHHA!"
Classic.
Seriously, Wii is a good name. It's a playful name and I think that's what Nintendo was aiming for, the more you think about it the more the name makes sense. Yes, there is some sexual innuendo involved but that makes it even more fun. And also just because some of you might be shy about talking about your Wii doesn't mean you still won't play with it all the time. I mean come on.. this is Slashdot.
The best education consists in immunizing people against systematic attempts at education. - Paul Feyerabend
"it's worse when they laugh at you because you own a nintendo wee."
Oh yeah, because they're all over you when you just utter phrases like "playstation" and "xbox." It's just like those commercials they air on Spike, I tell you!
If anything, "Wii" will score you cute points. Never underestimate the power of T3h Cute.
Wii may sound good on the ears of our friends on the far side of the Pacific. But to be successful here in the US of A, it'll need a powerful strong name like "Nintendo Maxx Power Xtreme GS"!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Michael Jackson had front-page articles for a long time. I don't think it helped him sell records.
I realize you're either kidding, or you're an idiot.
If he was in the headlines simply because of his outlandish name change (had he done so), it would indicate that he was already so huge that changing his name to something considerably stupid was headline news; if the music was good, he would then subsequently sell a substantial amount of records just because of all the publicity.
If Nintendo was in the headlines because they allegedly molested children, they would undoubtedly never sell another console or game again.
For that matter, Nintendo should have called it "The Entertainment System Formerly Known as Revolution".
Well, I don't know.
That's about the only part of your post that I agreed with.
If you really believe that Nintendo, the multi-billion-dollar multinational corporation with 117 years of operation under its belt, simply didn't bother to check if people liked the name, you should send them your resume and apply for the position of "Marketing Department" right away.
You're assuming that everyone is a hardcore gamer like you. They're not. I'm not. You're a negligible minority. You're going to buy an XBOX 360 or a PS3 anyway. Quake, Doom and Warcraft are all gamers' games, and not at all the type of casual game Nintendo players play. The rest of us don't care about Ultra-Sooper-Realistic Tactical Combat Simulations, we just want to play Fun Games. The whimsical name of the Wii tells me I'm going to get Fun Games. So if I buy a console this generation, it'll be a Wii.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
I wonder when the haters are finally going to fess up to why they find the name 'Wii' stupid for a gaming console. It has nothing to do with the French "yes" or kiddie-talk for urination.
It's cute, and gamers (especially the kind that spend their evenings arguing on the internet) hate cute.
Come on, admit it. You don't want the coolest new console on the block to be adorable. Why is this so hard to say?
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The question is simply unsuitable, as it does not give us the choice of deciding that it is both or neither.
On one hand, yes, the name is rather silly in a sense, as it has connotations that sentences the console to ridicule before it can even prove itself. However, may i ask this question? Don't you think Nintendo have already thought of the consequences? They are not going to name a console such a name for the hell of it without carefully weighing up either sides. Yes, the name does sound silly at first, but that's about it. People will get over it in a few months, both now and after release and it will become a fairly normal product name.
The truth is, Nintendo know what they're doing with this dramatic name change. Revolution sounds 'cooler' to the casual and hardcore gamer, but would it make it stand out and known amogst the general public, like the brand name 'Playstation'? Doubtful, unless they had a particular consistent unique style of advertising campaign. With Wii, it differentiates the console from it's competitors, it gets it noticed more, and it has great marketing potential. The only thing Nintendo have to do now is keep 3rd party support going the way it has been, and pull off a decent marketing campaign to get it noticed. Nintendo wants a Revolution, but how do they get it - via 'Wii'.
I can understand why they don't care what people who will buy the system anyway would think about the name. I hate the name, and based on what I've heard about the system itself, I would still buy it, even despite the name. If they had named it "Flower Power", I would still hate the name, and I would still buy it in spite of the hatred, but -- and this is important -- at least I would understand why the name would appeal to other people. You're right: who would like this name? And who wouldn't have to overcome embarassment to get it?
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
That's both wrong and insanely stupid. I asked a publicist (buddy of mine).
People get confused. The correct slogan is "Bad publicity is better than no publicity". This sometimes applies to startups. However its also suspect and just something people say when they have egg in their face.
Nintendo is the last company that deliberately tries to make mistakes to get bad publicity. When their President takes a dump, it gets covered by at least 10,000 news articles.
So please, stop with the nonsense spin. Take a look at gamespot's video poll. Every single editor there thought the name was terrible. If nintendo does well with their wii, it despite the name, not because of it.
Exactly, you've hit the nail on the head. does th GP really think he could have come up with a name that would have got 4 slashdot front pages in 4 days (remember, these arn't dupes, they've all been follow ups)? Nintendo's marketing dept. has pulled a stroke of genius, they've got all the "hard core" gamers talking about Wii, they've persuaded people like me, and you(geeks who are casual gamers). They've got thousands of people talking about one, yes 1 press release. I think that somone, somwhere is going to get a pay rise.
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
My girlfriend's only exposure to console gaming was watching her brother play nintendo when she was younger. I showed her to promotional video of the new controller, and she thought it looked like a lot of fun. I told her about the new name for the system, and even she thought it was a really really bad name.
Seriously, how on earth could they have picked something that is a homonym for a word that means either diminutive, penis, or urine and thought it was a good idea?
> Imagine if you were lined up to make the aftermarket parts in Latin America for the Chevy Nova. You'd be quite astute to full-stop your production and bitch about the doomed-to-failure name.
Good thing they didn't, because it sold quite well. As the Nova.
Still, I bet you'll still throw out this canard even after learnign the facts, because it sounds good and makes you look smart.
What disgusts me the most of ActionAL's unconstructive criticism is his implication of a rather outdated stereotype that women don't/can't play video games. In today's video game market, more women play games now then in the predominately male-oriented industry of twenty years past. http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=1242 4/ On another note, even though Nintendo Wii is a rather odd name, changing it again would be a disaster as the dubious name has created a huge amount of publicity for Nintendo. I don't think Revolution would have created as much word-of-mouth marketing (the 'golden egg' of marketing) as Wii has. Besides, it doesn't matter about the name as most people know that Nintendo makes great gaming consoles and the name Wii isn't going to circumvent it. BTW, speaking of names... ActionAL???... what are you a porn star?!
... a game about a jumping plumber. Those Nintendo folks are just marketing idiots, and I love 'em for it.
-G
www.pixelstatic.com
It changes my opinion of the Nintendo marketing department considerably. Did they even bother to research this?
The Nintendo marketing guys who came up with this are geniuses. I've never heard more about a new game console release than this one.
No Sigs!
'wii' stands for We Ignore Idiots.
Without reiterating too much of what's already been said, the notion that video games are for 20-30 year old males must die. Nintendo are right to steer towards a better target.
And naturally you have demographic evidence to back up your statement that over 50% of men will refuse to buy the Nintendo Wii simply on the basis of its name, yes? Of course not, you were just talking out of your ass.
Personall I'm a man, and I'll be buying one even if they decide to rename it "My Dick is Small" or the "For Men Who Need Viagra" or whatever. I'll be buying one, and not a Sony or Microsoft for two reasons: Zelda and Metroid. I can't afford multiple consoles, and those two games series are important to me, thus Nintendo gets a sale no matter what they call the console.
Besides, no one I know actually calls their Game Cube a Game Cube, they just call it a Nintendo. That's what they'll call the Wii too.
In general though, people use all sorts of stupid sounding products every day. I'm running GNU/Linux (Guh-new Luh-nux) for my OS, someone already mentioned the Gimp for photo editing, when you think about it the PS3 sounds like "piss three", UNIX sounds a lot like "eunichs" (and people make stupid jokes about it too), I write programs in a language called "PHP" which also has the potential for urine jokes, etc, etc, etc. Stupid names abound, and they don't stup things from being used.
"Mission Accomplished" -- George W. Bush May 1, 2003
that's right, everyone make fun of the name now.
just remember, it will be you guys fetching us knights of wii several shrubberies after we whup your ass in some online zelda/metroid/mario/etc.