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"

Comments

What a Constructive Mentality!

[eldavojohn]

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."

Re:What a Constructive Mentality!

[mcc]

Let us post some more articles about how stupid the name 'Wii' is.

Why not? It's a stupid name.

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.

Surely this demonstrates how big of a mistake Nintendo made here by giving their console a stupid name then, if the name is to some degree alienating the exact people Nintendo needs to reach out to most to make this console work.

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.

But the name has already been released. We are in a perfectly good position to evaluate the name at this time.

It is a stupid name.

Re:What a Constructive Mentality!

[Control Group]

Sure, cracking wise about "wee-wee" is immature and and unproductive.

So would be making fun of a girl named Ima Hooker.

But if I run into young Ima Hooker, I'm going to assign just as much blame to her parents as to the other kids. It doesn't matter what people should do, it only matters what they actually do, and any native speaker of American English could have told the big N that this name was begging for abuse.

Re:What a Constructive Mentality!

[squiggleslash]

Because Revolution is a fresh, new, untired name that people will respond to thinking "No, that's not hype at all."

Revolution is awful as a product name. I'm glad Nintendo got rid of it, and I can't believe people want it back, regardless of their feelings of what Nintendo settled upon.

On the other hand, I know people who think the name of a cow is better than something meaning a broad view (Longhorn vs Vista.) I guess it shouldn't surprise me.

Maybe they'll bring it back as the Revolution Reloaded... ;)

Re:What a Constructive Mentality!

[mdielmann]

My first impression of the name was "How the hell do you pronounce that?" We? Why? Double-u Two?

Once I was clear on the pronunciation, my first thought was "Well, kinda goofy, but reminds me of 'Whee!'" You know, the sound people make on a roller coaster, when they're excited or having fun?

But then, I've never called a part of my anatomy "wee", and it's been a long time since I called my <insert phallic slang here> a "wee wee". Since before I started school. While I wouldn't be surprised that kids would make the connection to such, I doubt it will deter them from buying the console. I think more jokes will fall along the lines of "I'm gonna go home and play with my wii" or, for the (slightly) older crowd "Wanna go to my place and play with my wii?" Lots of laughs, for the first week or two, I'm sure.

So, why is it a bad name? It's unique, distinctive (read: easily trademarked), and has multiple connotations, none of which are overly offensive and some of which are titillating (hmm, another funny word). And it's been the buzz pretty much everywhere in the gaming world. I wouldn't be surprised if it's touted as one of the most innovative names in the gaming world a couple years from now.

Not exactly Game "Developers"

[fistfullast33l]

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.

Corrected title.

[GundamFan]

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.

There is no such thing as bad publicity

[gclef]

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.

Re:There is no such thing as bad publicity

[MikeFM]

Could be, but I don't see the name Wii as especially attractive to any market (at least not English speaking) and it's repulsive to most their existing market. It just seems to be a huge risk they didn't need to take. If they did want to take this risk then I think they could have found a name better than Wii to take it with. I can't think of any successful products with a name anything like Wii. Even something like WiiPlay would have been better I think as at least then it'd convey some meaning to the buyer.

Re:There is no such thing as bad publicity

[msaulters]

Agreed 110% mod parent up! I'll throw out another example for consideration:

While 'Wii' sounds like 'wee' and can be compared to urine, they could have accomplished most of their goals by calling it the 'Shiit'. It still has the double-i's they want, and it's just as fucking stupid! Their marketing dept could get on blogs (because it wouldn't be allowed in print or on tv) and say something like "It's the Schiit", but seriously, NOBODY in the US is going to buy a console with the word 'shit' in any form on the side of it. Too many negative connotations. Would people TALK about it? Sure! Doesn't mean they want to buy it.

You take POSITIVE buzz about a product called the Revolution and turn it 180 degrees into completely NEGATIVE buzz for a product called the Wii, and ONLY marketing could turn that shiit into a wiin.

Stupid Nintendo

[winmine]

Those dumb Nintendo marketers, they only got FOUR slashdot frontpages from a name change. C'mon, they can do better than that.

Grow Up

[Stalyn]

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.

Re:IMHO

[panthro]

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.

The cuddly-wuddly Wii

[Neuracnu Coyote]

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?

Re:Next Up On Slashdot

[identity0]

Oh, bullshit. It sounds even stupider to non-gamers or very casual gamers(which I consider myself to be).

Unlike Playstation, Dreamcast, Famicom, Genesis, or Xbox, which I've heard people say are also "bad names", "Wii" is a horrible name on a purely viceral level as well as having bad puns. At least every other console has more than one syllable, sounds like an acutal product name instead of a squeal, and has some 'character' to it. "Wii" doesn't even sound like a name, it sounds like part of a name that got chopped off.

How would you even say it in normal sentences? "Have you gotten a wii yet?", "Is this game coming out for the wii?", "Hey check out the graphics on the wii", "Wanna play some wii games?", "Wii rocks!", "Do you have any wiis in stock?", "I think my kid wants a wii for christmas", "Wii is way cooler than the PS3". It just feels wrong, somehow - maybe because it sounds like "we", and "The we", "we's", "wes", and "a we" are ungrammatical in English. I suspect most people will just end up calling it "the Nintendo".

I was looking around for the Japanese reaction to it, and at least on Slashdot Japan, there seems to be about as much bewilderment at the name as there is over here. The name doesn't have any bad meaning in Japan, but it still sounds wierd.

Re:Next Up On Slashdot

[American AC in Paris]

At least every other console has more than one syllable, sounds like an acutal product name instead of a squeal, and has some 'character' to it. "Wii" doesn't even sound like a name, it sounds like part of a name that got chopped off.

I differ with you on this point. "PlayStation" and "Xbox", to my mind, are utterly devoid of personality. One sounds like a purely utilitarian description of the device; it's about as personality-laden as "RoadCar" or "FoodCutter". The other just takes "box"--a dreadfully exciting word--and tags the ubiqitous "'X' for extreme" bit to the front. At least "Wii" is evocative; whether you think "fun", "small", or "ha ha pee pee!", it engages your imagination more than either of its competitors.

And what makes a longer, multi-syllabic name better than a shorter, monosyllabic name? In marketing, short is sweet. It's why the "Macintosh" is now simply the "Mac", why the "High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle" is called a "Humvee", and why "fluoxetine hydrochloride" is known as "Prozac".

In any case, we have yet to feel the brunt of Nintendo's marketing. Once you plaster the airwaves with "Wii", it's likely going to be about as silly sounding as "iPod"; you won't even remember when you first shook your head and said, "what the hell kind of name is that?" Familiarity comes from repeated exposure, and in another few months, the name "Wii" will probably seem no more stupid than the name "Nintendo" to most people out there.

Exactly

[moultano]

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?

Re:Exactly

[Anonymous Coward]

"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?"

I'm 31, this will be my first console (after probably 5 generations of $1,000 PC gaming rigs over the past 8 years). I am fed up by the duplicity of MS OS and gaming (I find their actions are pushing me out of putting together another gaming PC), and Sony's stock has dropped in my opinion.

When I first heard of the name change, the following occurred to me in order: (1) I was more surprised that they made a name change (I liked Revolution); (2) I thought Wii was "W2" (backwards compatible with Gamecube so an effort at making it sound like a 2nd generation console); (3) when read it was "we" then thought it sounded like "Whee!" as in something a roller coaster rider would exclaim, all rather simple and fun, rather apropo for a game console. A little while later, (4) I thought maybe the Japanese had gotten a little too much idol-like in their culture, since it sounded like they were trying for some pop band name for their product.

Only when I hit the comments link and read the various /. and other internet sites' responses did I realize how immature or mob-mentalitied many people truly are. In fact, *I* find the responses and arguments of those who dislike the name Wii rather low-browed, boorish, and ignorant, so much so I wonder how much exposure those individuals have with other cultures or with rational thought. To me, many of the lesser arguments are like saying Xbox360 is hence referring to someone's "box" or 360 a la circle or "hole" and thereby sexual references, when it clearly isn't. People appear more insulted by the name Wii than the hijinks of the original Xbox launch.

Further, it's clear that people identities are truly determined by product names, sort of like how people buy BMWs or Mercedes or whatever knowing shit about the product and buying it for the sake of the reputation or to get ahead of the Joneses. I think someone on /. called this low end luxury item snobbery or something to that effect.

The closest though I can approximate the response of the "other people" is similar to when I read about some foreign film or anime being imported and there has to be a name change because the distributor thinks Asuka or Ree sounds too male, too butch, too foreign. Except in this case, I think the distributor/publisher here, Nintendo, made the correct decision, and the audience did indeed turn out to be as childish as the producers of other media outlets assume them to be.

I realize this may be extreme to many, but if the responses were not so immature or mob mentalitied or insulting, and I did not perceive some of the better ones as passionate for the product's success, I'd think I was reading some xenophobic site bashing a foreign named product for the sake of it.

Which unfortunately makes me either (or maybe both) an ass for thinking "everyone else" are just plain stupid, or correct and that folks are really and can't think outside of their domestic situations and nature.

Even writing this and venting, I am rather astounded the bashing Nintendo has taken by /. for a damn simple name change. If I were in the market for a new gen console, Xbox360 is by an illegal nasty bullish hated company, and the PS3 by a MPAA, RIAA, DRM, and rootkit supporter.

What I do know is that *I* like the name (although less than the Revolution), I will be buying the product around 2 months after it is released (always do to to see if any overt bugs or problems exist and to see demand), and I like the controller and backwards compatibility and supposed price point.

What will I call it when I enter the store? "Do you have the new Nitendo console, the W two or the Whee?" If some idiot salesperson makes a joke, I'll calmly say I like the name and shut 'em up, and if he/she/it keeps going, I'll walk out and buy it elsewhere.

Maybe Nintendo will rename the pronunciation to W2 or something to appease the ignorant masses, but for me, the name change hasn't changed any of my perception of Nintendo but rather of people in general.