Wii

[BlackAura]

The point is that the casual gamers will say "Wii? Gay." And that is a problem.

Ah, but will they? Nobody I've actually talked to has thought that. In all likelyhood, only the "hardcore" lot will think that, and probably the immature brain-of-a-12-year-old lot.

[melancholy]

I will say one thing. If Nintendo makes it through this generation of consoles, they will be the most unstopable company on the planet. Seriously, if they are around to make a sixth console, they will officially have balls of steel.

[stagg]

I shall call this system the Dub-Eyes!

[Nick]

The point is that the casual gamers will say "Wii? Gay." And that is a problem.

Ah, but will they? Nobody I've actually talked to has thought that. In all likelyhood, only the "hardcore" lot will think that, and probably the immature brain-of-a-12-year-old lot.

Well what's the market for this? Traditionally, the market has been a younger one -- REGARDLESS of what some may try to claim -- and I think they'll find the name either a) stupid or b) really fun. I can definately imagine a 7 or 9 year old getting a kick out of "Wii." However, I think a lot of the "casual" (i.e. not DCEmu et al.) market will write it off as dumb. I don't think it's gay, but it certainly isn't an optimal name. Especially considering that Revolution was badass.

[BlackAura]

Especially considering that Revolution was badass.

And that is the problem with it.

The market Nintendo are aiming for is basically "everybody else". Specifically not the 12 to early 20s male group that Sony and Microsoft are going right for. The vast majority of that audience are immature morons (sorry for the generalisation, but it's pretty much bang on - teenage males are idiots, and most don't get over it until they hit their late 20s). They're likely to be the ones making all the stupid jokes, or avoiding it because of the name, colour, "kiddy" image, or whatever. The best way to market to this group is basically dick waving - "Mine's bigger than yours," "this'll make you look cool," and so on. At least, that's true in English speaking countries. Others, possibly less so.

The problem is that anything marketed towards this group automatically alienates every other human being on the planets. Girls? Forget it - that's half the population gone immediately. Parents? No. Old people who've never played video games? Hell no. People who actually have a live? Nope. All it does is continue the stereotypes about games - only for kids, only for weirdos / geeks (the general public makes no distinction), really complicated, and so on. Why would your mother (for example) want to buy some extreme, badass thing?

I mean, come on. "Xbox 360". Not only does it have an X in it (what more demonstration do you need that it's going for the teenage males?), but it has some meaningless number after it. What's the 360 mean? It sounds like some kind of skater slang or something.

All in all, that's exactly the kind of stuff Nintendo want to avoid. So, wipe the slate clean, start again. How do you do that? You need something that doesn't invoke all the old stereotypes.

Now, Joystiq say they went out and asked some normal people about it. For most of them, the name was basically meaningless. It had no "extreme" connotations, didn't sound like something hideously complicated, and didn't seem intimidating or anything. For the most part, they had absolutely nothing to associate it with. Read the first response especially:

Q: What if I told you it's for a games product?
A: Games are supposed to be complicated. I wouldn't have guessed that.

Bingo!

OK, she also mentioned a urinal. Since she's from Hong Kong, it doesn't seem unreasonable that they have Japanese style toilets over there, and they do have silly names like that, and attempt to look trendy. But she really had no idea what it was - it sounded like nothing else to her, and certainly didn't seem all complicated and scary. Only the aforementioned young males actually thought it was bad. Everybody else was either neutral, thought it was weird, or kinda cool.

That's exactly what Nintendo were after.

What they need to do is come out with a really, really good advertising campaign to capitalise on their new anonymity (notice it's just "Wii", not "Nintendo Wii"). They need to create an association between Wii and all the things they're pushing - something not at all intimidating, something friendly and approachable, accessible, something which anyone at all can get into.

As for the traditional market... they aren't important. Not only is "everybody else" a much larger market by definition, but the traditional market will probably come around anyway. Only the most insecure, shallow teenager would refuse to get one just because of the name, especially if everybody else had one.

And that's the idea. They're not trying to grab the traditional market and expand that into new markets. They're trying to grab the new markets right off, and maybe the traditional market will get dragged along in their wake. If not, Sony and Microsoft can be left alone to fight over the remnants.

That's the idea anyway. It remains to be seen if it'll actually work. In Japan, it's almost a certainty, just as sure as the DS is already a success, the PS3 will be a success among the hardcore, and the Xbox 360 will be a total flop. The rest of the world is going to be a bigger fight though, and Nintendo traditionally don't seem to give a damn about the rest of the world, especially Europe (and Australia).

[Wagh]

I mean, come on. "Xbox 360". Not only does it have an X in it (what more demonstration do you need that it's going for the teenage males?), but it has some meaningless number after it. What's the 360 mean? It sounds like some kind of skater slang or something.

I kind of figured you'd know this. From what I understand, Direct X was origninally intended to bring Windows to the forfront of Gaming design. Direct x 10 and the xbox 360 represent a reset of focus bringing them back to where they started to focus on their original ideals for Direct X.


Of course it's easier to say they're idiots for naming it that.

[Ex-Cyber]

As far as I know, the "X" in DirectX doesn't actually mean anything - it was just there as a placeholder for the names of the individual components (DirectDraw, Direct3D, DirectSound, DirectInput, DirectShow etc.). I don't think this has anything to do with naming Xbox, which Microsoft went to great trouble to create as its own brand independent of their PC-related products.

Frankly, I think BA nailed it.

[BlackAura]

I kind of figured you'd know this.

Yes, I do know why Microsoft named it that. It's still a stupid name, because it's derived from a couple of bits of tech jargon. You take the X from DirectX, and stick "box", a slang term for a computer, on the end of it. It's as dumb as sticking "3D" on the end of everything, and not much better than sticking "Extreme", "Underground", or other (in context) meaningless words on the beginning or end of a name to try to make it sound badass.

It sounds like a codename they couldn't be bothered to change. In fact, way back when I heard about it, that's what I thought it was. They even had the huge, chrome plated, X shaped prototype hardware to go with it. When Microsoft formally announced the Xbox and started their marketing for it, I was kind of surprised that they hadn't swapped the name out for something that sounded more like a product, and less like a prototype.

Someone in Microsoft's marketing department must think that having an X in the name makes it more badass. That's really the only explanation that makes sense.

[stagg]

I just thought of somthing. A box can't have a 360 Degree angle can it? OMG Xbox CIRCLE!

[Wagh]

Someone in Microsoft's marketing department must think that having an X in the name makes it more badass. That's really the only explanation that makes sense.

Of course what was I thinking.

[Nick]

Especially considering that Revolution was badass.

And that is the problem with it.

The market Nintendo are aiming for is basically "everybody else". Specifically not the 12 to early 20s male group that Sony and Microsoft are going right for. The vast majority of that audience are immature morons (sorry for the generalisation, but it's pretty much bang on - teenage males are idiots, and most don't get over it until they hit their late 20s). They're likely to be the ones making all the stupid jokes, or avoiding it because of the name, colour, "kiddy" image, or whatever. The best way to market to this group is basically dick waving - "Mine's bigger than yours," "this'll make you look cool," and so on. At least, that's true in English speaking countries. Others, possibly less so.

The problem is that anything marketed towards this group automatically alienates every other human being on the planets. Girls? Forget it - that's half the population gone immediately. Parents? No. Old people who've never played video games? Hell no. People who actually have a live? Nope. All it does is continue the stereotypes about games - only for kids, only for weirdos / geeks (the general public makes no distinction), really complicated, and so on. Why would your mother (for example) want to buy some extreme, badass thing?

It sounded badass, but at the same time, it sounded fresh. It didn't sound "extreme"; it sounded fun. If you pointed to it under your TV, pointed to the remote, and said "it's my Revolution," then I definately think that people would want to play it.

I mean, come on. "Xbox 360". Not only does it have an X in it (what more demonstration do you need that it's going for the teenage males?), but it has some meaningless number after it. What's the 360 mean? It sounds like some kind of skater slang or something.

I assumed that 360 represented another way of saying "revolution." 360 works. It may not be original, but it creates a brand name, and builds upon the user base that the Xbox made.

Now, Joystiq say they went out and asked some normal people about it. For most of them, the name was basically meaningless. It had no "extreme" connotations, didn't sound like something hideously complicated, and didn't seem intimidating or anything. For the most part, they had absolutely nothing to associate it with. Read the first response especially:

Q: What if I told you it's for a games product?
A: Games are supposed to be complicated. I wouldn't have guessed that.

Bingo!

OK, she also mentioned a urinal. Since she's from Hong Kong, it doesn't seem unreasonable that they have Japanese style toilets over there, and they do have silly names like that, and attempt to look trendy. But she really had no idea what it was - it sounded like nothing else to her, and certainly didn't seem all complicated and scary. Only the aforementioned young males actually thought it was bad. Everybody else was either neutral, thought it was weird, or kinda cool.

That's exactly what Nintendo were after.

What they need to do is come out with a really, really good advertising campaign to capitalise on their new anonymity (notice it's just "Wii", not "Nintendo Wii"). They need to create an association between Wii and all the things they're pushing - something not at all intimidating, something friendly and approachable, accessible, something which anyone at all can get into.

As for the traditional market... they aren't important. Not only is "everybody else" a much larger market by definition, but the traditional market will probably come around anyway. Only the most insecure, shallow teenager would refuse to get one just because of the name, especially if everybody else had one.

And that's the idea. They're not trying to grab the traditional market and expand that into new markets. They're trying to grab the new markets right off, and maybe the traditional market will get dragged along in their wake. If not, Sony and Microsoft can be left alone to fight over the remnants.

That's the idea anyway. It remains to be seen if it'll actually work. In Japan, it's almost a certainty, just as sure as the DS is already a success, the PS3 will be a success among the hardcore, and the Xbox 360 will be a total flop. The rest of the world is going to be a bigger fight though, and Nintendo traditionally don't seem to give a damn about the rest of the world, especially Europe (and Australia).

Of course, the other responses ranged from "dumb" (even from non-gamers) to "that makes sense." It's really a mixed bag from the "public," as it could be called. I think Nintendo had the right idea in their name, but it seems like they're trying way too hard to be "visionary" or "original." It sounds like some sort of bullcrap company slogan to up workers' morale. "Wii" are all in this together type stuff. Blah.

They could have named it "Whee" and, while almost as stupid, it would have gotten across the point without some bizarre spelling.

[ace]

I always thought that "start a revolution" signature was pure brilliance. You know, the sig that showed the start button on a controller, the a button, and the revolution console. I couldn't think of a better marketing campaign.

[404NotFound]

I'm starting to think more and more that this is a big stunt. I mean.. "http://revolution.nintendo.com" still goes through, but "http://wii.nintendo.com" has NOTHING on it. You'd think that would have been the FIRST thing they would have done when they presented the name.

[Number Six]

Yeah, I caught that too. Yet, either name is cool for me--I just want to play the damn thing.

[melancholy]

Q: What if I told you it's for a games product?
A: Games are supposed to be complicated. I wouldn't have guessed that.

Bingo!

OK, she also mentioned a urinal. Since she's from Hong Kong, it doesn't seem unreasonable that they have Japanese style toilets over there, and they do have silly names like that, and attempt to look trendy. But she really had no idea what it was - it sounded like nothing else to her, and certainly didn't seem all complicated and scary. Only the aforementioned young males actually thought it was bad. Everybody else was either neutral, thought it was weird, or kinda cool.

That's exactly what Nintendo were after.

What they need to do is come out with a really, really good advertising campaign to capitalise on their new anonymity (notice it's just "Wii", not "Nintendo Wii"). They need to create an association between Wii and all the things they're pushing - something not at all intimidating, something friendly and approachable, accessible, something which anyone at all can get into.

As for the traditional market... they aren't important. Not only is "everybody else" a much larger market by definition, but the traditional market will probably come around anyway. Only the most insecure, shallow teenager would refuse to get one just because of the name, especially if everybody else had one.

And that's the idea. They're not trying to grab the traditional market and expand that into new markets. They're trying to grab the new markets right off, and maybe the traditional market will get dragged along in their wake. If not, Sony and Microsoft can be left alone to fight over the remnants.

That's the idea anyway. It remains to be seen if it'll actually work. In Japan, it's almost a certainty, just as sure as the DS is already a success, the PS3 will be a success among the hardcore, and the Xbox 360 will be a total flop. The rest of the world is going to be a bigger fight though, and Nintendo traditionally don't seem to give a damn about the rest of the world, especially Europe (and Australia).

Of course, the other responses ranged from "dumb" (even from non-gamers) to "that makes sense." It's really a mixed bag from the "public," as it could be called.

I'm going to stop you right there, because there is one huge, huge element BA was trying to get across. And that is that Nintendo chose such a simple name to appeal to people outside of the gaming age group. Look at the ages of every single person on that list. 19, 19, 18, 19...but there was on person, a female even, at age 30, and she was the one that hit the nail on the head. Why did she guess it? Because that's exactly who Nintendo needs to pull in to make this system successful. She was told it was a game system, and it took her totally by surprise. She suddenly became interested.

Nintendo doesn't need to appeal to those 18-19 year olds because many of them already have a preconceived notion on Nintendo's consoles, but how many 30 year old women out there are in the gaming loop? That's what Nintendo is trying to change, and what this new name is trying to reflect. And from that survey, it looks like they could be successful.

They could have named it "Whee" and, while almost as stupid, it would have gotten across the point without some bizarre spelling.

No, actually it would destroy the point Nintendo was trying to get across. It would reinforce their 'kiddy' image, totally ruining any hope Nintendo has of reaching out of their typical market. Wii sounds exotic, whereas Whee sounds like a kid on a playground.

BTW, I am still not in support of this name. I still hate it. But I now understand why they did it.

[Nick]

Q: What if I told you it's for a games product?
A: Games are supposed to be complicated. I wouldn't have guessed that.

Bingo!

OK, she also mentioned a urinal. Since she's from Hong Kong, it doesn't seem unreasonable that they have Japanese style toilets over there, and they do have silly names like that, and attempt to look trendy. But she really had no idea what it was - it sounded like nothing else to her, and certainly didn't seem all complicated and scary. Only the aforementioned young males actually thought it was bad. Everybody else was either neutral, thought it was weird, or kinda cool.

That's exactly what Nintendo were after.

What they need to do is come out with a really, really good advertising campaign to capitalise on their new anonymity (notice it's just "Wii", not "Nintendo Wii"). They need to create an association between Wii and all the things they're pushing - something not at all intimidating, something friendly and approachable, accessible, something which anyone at all can get into.

As for the traditional market... they aren't important. Not only is "everybody else" a much larger market by definition, but the traditional market will probably come around anyway. Only the most insecure, shallow teenager would refuse to get one just because of the name, especially if everybody else had one.

And that's the idea. They're not trying to grab the traditional market and expand that into new markets. They're trying to grab the new markets right off, and maybe the traditional market will get dragged along in their wake. If not, Sony and Microsoft can be left alone to fight over the remnants.

That's the idea anyway. It remains to be seen if it'll actually work. In Japan, it's almost a certainty, just as sure as the DS is already a success, the PS3 will be a success among the hardcore, and the Xbox 360 will be a total flop. The rest of the world is going to be a bigger fight though, and Nintendo traditionally don't seem to give a damn about the rest of the world, especially Europe (and Australia).

Of course, the other responses ranged from "dumb" (even from non-gamers) to "that makes sense." It's really a mixed bag from the "public," as it could be called.

I'm going to stop you right there, because there is one huge, huge element BA was trying to get across. And that is that Nintendo chose such a simple name to appeal to people outside of the gaming age group. Look at the ages of every single person on that list. 19, 19, 18, 19...but there was on person, a female even, at age 30, and she was the one that hit the nail on the head. Why did she guess it? Because that's exactly who Nintendo needs to pull in to make this system successful. She was told it was a game system, and it took her totally by surprise. She suddenly became interested.

I UNDERSTAND why they chose it. I was saying it wasn't terribly succesful, judging from the responses. Yes, they got some positive responses, but they also received an equal amount of "meh" or negative responses. Conceptually, it's fantastic. Execution wise, it misses the mark.

They could have named it "Whee" and, while almost as stupid, it would have gotten across the point without some bizarre spelling.

No, actually it would destroy the point Nintendo was trying to get across. It would reinforce their 'kiddy' image, totally ruining any hope Nintendo has of reaching out of their typical market. Wii sounds exotic, whereas Whee sounds like a kid on a playground.

BTW, I am still not in support of this name. I still hate it. But I now understand why they did it.[/quote]

I was being sarcastic, which works extremely well on the internet.

[compacho]

I would sound nicer if it was "The Wii" instead of just "Wii."

[toastman]

Not successful?
Who isn't talking about the Wii right now?
Idiocy and brilliance are not mutually exclusive. True brilliance, that intuitive spark that grabs hold of one's attention, is a subset of idiocy.
All the best ideas are fucking retarded at first.

I'm reminded of a quote:
"A reasonable man adapts to his surroundings, an unreasonable man adapts his surroundings to him. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

Nintendo is an unreasonable idiot.

And I for one, love them for it.

[Pyrite]

Nintendo GO or 5 doesn't sound so bad anymore does it

Wii is just too hard for me to pronounce around here, Ipod is easy and makes sense, PlayStation the same, Super Nintendo, Jaguar, Spectrum, Volkswagen, the list goes on but Wii is just plain stupid, What Is It indeed.

[BlackAura]

Ipod is easy and makes sense

iPod isn't too hard to pronounce, although it's not really possible to pronounce it as a word, because it's a letter with a word stuck on it. However, the name makes absolutely no sense, has no bearing whatsoever on what the device actually is, and is basically made-up gibberish.