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 ..."

Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?

[eldavojohn (898314)]

I missed the first article about this name change but this reminds me of the urban legend of the Chevrolet Nova in Latin America [about.com]. Nova means literally "doesn't go" in Spanish and so my teacher told me in Spanish class that it did horrible in Latin America. This isn't true, as the article points out and I wonder what exactly goes through an executive's head as they pick out a name for a product. From the article:

A logical analysis of the story would also indicate its unlikelihood: It strains credibility to believe that a company as large as General Motors, with marketing executives and other employees and contacts throughout the world, wouldn't be aware of a negative meaning of a product name. In fact, according to one marketing analyst (Cecelia Bouleau, quoted in Business Mexico magazine), GM marketers discussed the possibility of confusion with the name, but "they kept the name and it sold very well. ... I think that the word is sufficiently incorporated into the language as meaning 'new' as in 'bossa nova' that the criticism isn't valid."

You have to imagine that the execs at Nintendo saw this as a risqué move and weighed in the possible problems they would have marketing it. Is there a cultural barrier here that is plaguing a dominantly Japanese company?

Also to note about Wii is that the logo looks very ... Apple-esque in its very light gray on white background way.

All these jokes have been made about the name but on the manufacturer's site [nintendo.com], you'll find this little blurb:

Introducing ... Wii.
As in "we."
While the code-name "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.
Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else.
Wii will put people more in touch with their games ... and each other. But you're probably asking: What does the name mean?
Wii sounds like "we," which emphasizes this console is for everyone.
Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.
Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.
And Wii, as a name and console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.
So that's Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.
Because, it's really not about you or me.
It's about Wii.
And together, Wii will change everything.

So you see, even they are aware of the puns that come with a name like Wii. Personally, I'm glad they chose something other than an old name coupled with a high number (Nintendo 64, Xbox 360, Sega 32, etc.) because that makes it sound like something where bitrate and technical specs are the only things that concern a gamer. And they're not. The thing that concerns me the most is if there's going to be games that I enjoy, Tetris did that with 16 bits so I welcome anything at any bit rate that provides me with entertainment.

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

[vadim_t (324782)]

I wonder why people keep bringing the "nova" example when there are much better ones.

Mitsubishi Pajero: "Pajero", in Spain means literally "wanker". No need for weird interpretations.

Mazda Laputa: Will be heard as "Mazda la puta", or "Mazda the whore". "Mazda" also sounds like a female name.

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

[Crizp (216129)]

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?

[aywwts4 (610966)]

Yeah, because trying something earlier... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_&_Watch [wikipedia.org]

Necessarily defines how succesful it's followup will be. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS [wikipedia.org]

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

[idonthack (883680)]

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?

Igor international?

[Whiney Mac Fanboy (963289)]

From the first blog:

It's interesting how bad it is, said Steve Manning, managing director of branding company Igor International, the company behind such names as MTV's Urge and The Signature at MGM Grand. I don't know who's going to love it.[emp mine]

Right. Someone from 'Igor international' who created 'Urge' shouldn't criticise anything

Anyway, the only really thoughtful paragraph in any of the articles was from the Gamelife blog - and it was a quote from the comments to an earlier article:

Talking to people that have worked in games retail, you find that normal people can't/don't/won't keep the names of the systems straight. People ask for PlayStation 360s and PlayCubes and Mario on Xbox even though they actually own a GameCube - to them the system names are confusing and completely interchangeable.

This is basically Nintendo trying to create a name and brand that is in no way similar to the others, in order to be distinct in the minds of consumers. They see the ad, they actually retain the correct name, and they go and ask for it at the store.

Also, while it may sound dumb to us, you know that they focus-tested the hell out of it in all three territories and, at the very least, it's not completely repellent to those focus groups.

That's as good an explanation as any I've heard (in fact all the good speculation I've read about on not just this story, but just about anything recent, has come from random members of the public rather then the pundits)

Re:Igor international?

[XO (250276)]

But.. were any of those three territories english speaking? any of them have a gamer population? or for that matter a population of smartasses?

Every chat channel I've joined in today has spent all day making fun of it. Yes, it's good for advertising, but it looks like the general consensus is that most English speaking people are NOT going to go to a game shop and ask to purchase a WII!

I know I sure as hell am NOT going to say to the store clerk "Hi, I'd like to buy that Wii you have there."

What are they going to call the eventual portable version? Mini Wee? Pocket Wii? Wii Wii ??

Will Apple want to have their own branded version? iWii! A portable Apple brand! iWiiWii!

Who's going to have a Wii party? "Dude, let's hook up our Wiis".

"Dude, I am so tired.. I was up all night playing with my Wii."

"John, can I see your Wii?"

At least there is a bright side.

It's not "Wii-NES."
We hopefully won't have a game named "Super Mario Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

You can play with your friends, and you can play with your Wii, but don't play with your Friend's Wii.

Re:Igor international?

[by Anonymous Coward]

Honestly, I've been thinking that everything people like/dislike about Wii was (probably) intentional. In english the sylable we is associated with several words that can be used in a marketing campaign:

Wii as in 'we'

• Wii play together: the Nintendo Wii can have 4 people playing together

• Wii Wifi: the Nintendo Wii is Wifi enabled and connects to the Nintendo Wifi service

• Wii work together: the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS are compatible and work together (in some way)

Wii as in "Wee"

• Wii System: The Nintendo Wii is Nintendo's smallest system every produced (and one of the smallest console's ever)

• Wii Controller: The Nintendo Wii's controller is the smallest controller ever produced

• Wii price tag: The Nintendo Wii will be the cheapest systems ever

Wii as in "Whee!"

• Wii games: The Nintendo Wii was designed with a focus on producing better, more inovative and intuitive, controlls to improve the enjoyment of games

Wii as in you "pee-pee" you imature fools

• Bring a woman home to play with your Wii

The biggest problems people have with the name Wii is that it does not bring up any images of playing games and it does not have a 'Mature' or 'Masculine' name; and I think that is the whole point. Calling a system XBox is about the same as naming your system the "Xtreme-Uber-Leet Box (don't play this you foolish woman or casual gamer)" which was what Microsoft was going for, they were trying to attract the hard-core gaming market. Wii is supposed to be a contrast to the (hard-core sounding) XBox and the (Technical sounding) PS3 by being very feminine sounding and very inviting.

Wii is a terrible name

[Rik Sweeney (471717)]

Not only is it worse than Xbox 360, it will confuse the French and also everyone will keep making piss-poor jokes about it.

See what I did there?

Re:French pronounciation of w : an open discussion

[MORB (793798)]

You're right about "wagon", and "wisigoth". I don't know about "awalé".

But the most commonly used words with W in french are pronounced roughly like in english: sandwich, wifi, clown, interview, watt, etc.
"wagon" and "wisigoth" are not employed very often (unless your work is related to trains, you're not going to talk about wagons very often)

When we see a W randomly put in a made-up word, we're intuitively going to pronounce it like in english, not v in any case :)

It could have been worse..

[by Anonymous Coward]

Although they'd have to name is Nintendo Shitcock for that to be true.

Re:It could have been worse..

[iainl (136759)]

Well, you say that, but their European distributer is Koch Media.

Yes, the moment they start having the same problems that the 360 saw around release, we'll be talking about whethere Koch is releasing enough Wii.

Reaction among sony has been strong too..

[saboola (655522)]

They changed the name of the Playstation 3 back to that marketing term from the PS2. The "Playstation Emotion Engine", or PEE.

Obligatory

[hotdiggitydawg (881316)]

Obligatory penny arcade [penny-arcade.com] reference...

Depends on how they spin it

[alucinor (849600)]

This name could either be good or bad, depending on the ads.

If the ads seem goofy and childish, it will resonate against those qualities already represented by the name itself.

However, if the ads are sleek and classy, and the logo is clean and simple (which looks to be the case), then the "Wii" thing could be spun off as "it's cool to be a kid again."

I expect the latter case, of course, and I imagine an ad campaign similar to the DS. At the end of each commericial, if a child's voice whispered "wee" in sort of a mystical way, it would do wonders in changing the perception of the name.

attention whoring

[Odiumjunkie (926074)]

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.

Back in the day...

[spaztik (917859)]

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

Stupid Jokes

[th1ckasabr1ck (752151)]

New names for Nintendo fanboys:

• Wii-ners
• Wii-nies

Feel free to add your own

Petition!

[Trevelyan (535381)]

• Don't like... [whywii.com]
• Do Like... [wiiwhy.com]

Hard time..

[tansey (238786)]

"parents will have a hard time pronouncing it ("Nintendo...why?") ...""

That didn't seem to stop Pokemon.

Hold on.

[Z0mb1eman (629653)]

So, because of the name everyone's talking about Nintendo's console.

Two stories in two days on Slashdot about the name alone - first one got almost 1000 replies.

Blog articles are popping up left and right about it.

Even months from now, when you hear the name you'll smile or chuckle - because you think the name is funny, because you think it's refreshing, because you think it's colossally stupid and find it amusing that a company can make a mistake this big. In the meanwhile, the names "PlayStation" or "XBox" will just elicit a shrug.

Already - in one single day - Nintendo has managed to set itself apart from its competitors, and generate a huge amount of buzz about its console - without a massive ad campaign or billions in R&D. Just by releasing three letters to the public.

So, remind me again... why is this name bad?

Those ellipsis...

[mwvdlee (775178)]

I love the way the Slashdot blurb used ellipsis in this quote:

and hardcore gamers will slam it ...

whereas the full quote from TFA reads as:

and hardcore gamers will slam it because, well, they're jerk asses.

That's quote some selective ellipsing/ellipsissing/ellipsiation going on there.

Did they do it on purpose?

[Dark Paladin (116525)]

(Recycled from a blog post of mine. Cause I'm lazy. But it fit.)

There was an interesting idea brought up in a forum post somewhere else, and I don't recall where, yet the headline went like this:

"Hard core gamers: Do we matter anymore?"

And the second I saw it, I knew the answer:

No.

Gaming, to use an idea that would make Mr. Rogers cringe, is becoming more and more like the movie industry every day. Not in scale or stars, yet in history. The industry was first introduced with small players, making games out of their basement - like initial movie makers with their "moving cameras". Then came an era of competition and explosion - then the conglomerates came into being, and they started to get movie making down to a science.

People complain that movies are all "the same", yet the fact is this: movies sell. Yes, they're going into a slight downslide right now, yet I'd argue that's an issue with technology (home theaters more comfortable and convienient than movie theaters - look at how studios make more money from DVD rental sales than blockbuster sales). yet movies, as bland as they are, make money. They make a shitload of money. They make so much fracking money it's not funny, because they have the formula down.

Was "Momento" a better movie than "The Matrix"? I'd argue it was - yet it didn't follow the rules. It was harder to think through. It didn't challenge. People could watch the Matrix with it's biblical allusions and get the surface story - kick ass people in leather, yeah! Or get the subtext. In "Momento", you had to think the whole fracking movie, and work to understand it.

Nintendo gets this. Look at the games they've been releasing. Is "Pikmen" a good game? I liked it. yet it's not selling nearly as well as "Tetris" or "Brain Age" or "Nintendogs" - the latter are games that you don't have to think about (insert irony about "Brain Age" here). yet these are games that a) did not cost a lot to make, and b) could be played by anybody with more than 5 brain cells. Are they fun? Sure - Nintendo gets it: the hardcore gamers don't make them money. Armies of teenage schoolgirls and their parents do.

What does this have to do with Wii? I think Nintendo, in a way, is making a statement. To hard core gamers, they're saying "This is not your world. There will be things for you, for those who look past the name. yet we are establishing here and now - this system is not for the 'hard core'. This is for all of the girls and grown ups out there who don't get 40 button controls, who will look at the word 'Wii' and go 'Oh, that's interesting.'"

Look at their plans for porting: almost none. EA had an interview where they said they were all yet forced to rewrite games from scratch for the Revolution/Wii because of the difference of power and controller. Which is what Nintendo wants. Let Sony and Microsoft fight over almost exactly the same games and who's cock is bigger in the "HD-DVD versus Blue-Ray" fight. Nintendo will do what Sony did - offer a DVD player that also plays a ton of games that people can pick up and go "Oh, Mario. OK - I move this way and jump. I can do that", while the "hard core" will either look at the name and say "Wii is lame", or will look at the game lineup and go "Turbo Graphix? Sweet - hey, Phoenix Wright Wii version! Neat!"

I don't know if it will work. Or, it will probably work in Japan the way the DS all yet killed PSP sales. (As Tim once said, every time someone finds out how to do something fun with the PSP, Sony releases a patch to break it. Or, something like that.) It probably won't hurt the Xbox 360 sales, since for all the money it's losing it's supported by a monopoly that hopes for more, and PS3 sales probably won't matter because of the Wii.

Yet I think that Nintendo did the name on purpose, knowing it would piss off the "hard core". I'll probably get one, because I've got 3 kids and a wife who only plays "Tetris" and "Brain Age" (I leave the DS at home for her to play while I'm out working - which will be my excuse for why we need to buy a DS Lite when it comes out ;) ), and I just don't have the time to play every really cool game I want to.

(Shrug.) Guess we'll see more at E3.

Re:Did they do it on purpose?

[Turn-X Alphonse (789240)]

Couple of points..

Devil may cry is very much a hardcore game. It's not an easy game to pick up and play for newbies, and it only gets worse as you go on. DMC sells extremely well, hence there is a market.

Ninja Gaiden - same deal.

Mario kart - It's the complete and utter opposit. It's easy to play, it's fun for everyone and most of us hardcore players have grown up with it and love it. This is where I think Nintendo will go, because that's exactly where they have always been. They make fun games for everyone, not just the "ZOMG WE'RE HARDCORE" (like Microsoft failed to do) or the jack of all trades (which the PS2 tried to do).

Nintendo will honestly just sit down and go "Okay, how do we make people enjoy playing our games?" and then they'll probably use Mario in there some where. I'm a very elitest guy (Hey it's Slashdot), but I adore Nintendo and have since I first got my gameboy (all those years ago). Nintendo want people to have fun and enjoy themselvs, if these "hardcore" people don't get that, then I refuse to call them gamers. They're fashion whores with a game fetish.

Nintendo's current UK marketing compaign has 2 sides. One side is more or less a happy woman playing animal crossing and just enjoying herself. Being very careful and such. The other is basicly a guy going "PSST FONDLE MY DS BITCH!". So they really do have both fronts covered and I doubt it'd change any time soon.

Don't think Nintendo are shutting out the "real gamers" or that we don't matter. Nintendo are making fun games for everyone to enjoy, the "hardcore" has decided that being "cool" is more important than fun. The hardcore turned their back on Nintendo when they decided that having fun with Mario was too childish. Nintendo just kept making excellent games with the same characters they always have.

Re:New Nintendo Controller Name

[Megane (129182)]

I wonder if they'll start calling the new controller a Wii-Wii.

You must have missed yesterday's meeting. Wii-Wii is what you play with when you connect two of them together. The controller is going to be called the Wii-mote[tm]. Wii-li.

(Wii are not amused.)