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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"
Always wondered what kind of crowd needs to ascertain their manhood while playing with what is essentially AN ELECTRONIC TOY.
Get over it, boys. Have fun with your Madden$YEAR, let me play my Mario, and stop trying to convince yourselves you bought the better console.
Just play in your corner. Wii will be having lightsaber fights over there.
You have to be kidding me. Nintendo can do just about anything and you guys will desperately rationalize it. You know, they have done some very stupid things in their history (see VirtualBoy). And this one ranks up there. The only way this name could be worse is if this was a product you were supposed to drink.
Nintendo is a company. Companies try to make as much profit as possible. Nintendo has been losing marketshare to MS and Sony (yes yes, I know they are still profitable, but they aren't the console that is in the most homes worldwide now). How do they compete? They are trying to distinguish themselves from their competitors. They say things like "we aren't competing with them" and "we are targeting a different market" and people like you gobble that bs up like it was pumkin pie. There IS going to be Madden on this console. There IS going to be better 3rd party support this round. They are trying to make as much money as possible and this is their strategy to get there. Fortunately, if they make quality games, this stupid name won't matter. But come on, you have to be a fan boy or an astroturfer if you seriously are saying Wii is "whimsical" and means it is going to have fun games.
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It's a bad name primarily because when pronounced it is neither "unique" nor "distinctive". It's got plenty of buzz, indeed... because this level of stupidity in product naming is noteworthy. When the buzz wears off, the stupid name will remain.