quote: In a surprise announcement this morning, Nintendo revealed the new name of its forthcoming game system: Wii. "As in 'we'," the official statement adds. For the official announcement, visit the Revolution...err...Wii
quote: Game-industry analysts were swift with their responses. "Looks like a good solid name for Nintendo," said an optimistic Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director of Jupiter Research. "The key is making sure they follow up with a strong launch campaign to evangelize the new brand and help drive the message forward."
Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter was more mixed in his assessment. "My initial reaction, of course, is that the name is dumb," he bluntly stated. "However, upon reflection, I thought that the name Game Boy was dumb, REALLY thought that the name Xbox was dumb, and can't even recall my reaction to PlayStation. Let's face it, devices with cool names like Dreamcast and Gizmondo fail, and the lame names seem to do well."
I don't know about you other Nintendo fans, but I think this new name is really stupid. The name Revolution seemed to embody what Nintendo was trying to do with this new console. Sure, Revolution was a codename, but Nintendo has kept other silly codenames like DS. I don't know, Wii just strikes me as more lameness from Nintendo. Hopefully the console lives up to its promise, or Nintendo's new slogan will have to be "Wii still havent learned our lesson."
Yeah, not too enthused with the new name.
Posted by Tresopax (Member # 1063) on :
I have to admire Nintendo's ability to constantly straddle the line between genius and insanity. They certainly are willing to take risks and try some absolutely bizarre stuff, and I am guessing that is the point of a name like "Wii". It sounds like what they seem to intend the Revolution to be - something totally different and weird. They may have gone a little overboard on that message though. We'll find out what side of that line they end up on in less than a year...
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
At first glance, I would have pronounced it "Why?"
Which seems like an appropriate response.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
I, for one, am going to dive headfirst into the sophomoric joke opportunities presented.
Much like I do with nearby burger joint "Dick's." I often wonder if people are stopping to consider the implications when they name these places, although I wonder moreso with the bar down the street called "The Back Door Pub" right next to "Rimrock Steak House," or the restaurant under construction right near my old apartment called "Smokin' Dicks."
*giggle*
Posted by Chris Kidd (Member # 2646) on :
in town here we have a "for play cafe"
when i was in my teens i thught it was a nudie bar. a common mistake since i never went in. then i heard an advertisement on the radio and learned it was just a cafe.
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
The controller for the new system is screwed up too. It fits in one hand and is more like a remote. It sounds wierd but from my guess (based on GameCube and N64's controllers) the controller will be actually easy to use.
Posted by Puppy (Member # 6721) on :
The controller is actually really cool. With subtle wrist movements, you can exert complete analog control of 3D objects. It's going to be a lot of fun to develop games for it.
If only the marketers had not, in a single fell swoop, rendered it the most un-cool gadget in the world.
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
Nintendo is possibly the biggest collection of geniuses in the entire world, all united by one company. It's just sad to say that many people don't see whats so great about them. I really don't care what Nintendo does aslong as they keep making Mario Kart.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
A few thoughts: I liked "Revolution" better. I get the idea of a name that works (or doesn't) equally well in any language so they don't have different names in different countries. Ultimately, I don't really care what it's called. If the controller lives up to the hype and there are fun games for it, I'll buy it.
I play videogames. I read comics. I watch cartoons. I've loooooooooong since outgrown caring what other people think is cool or not.
--Enigmatic
Posted by andi330 (Member # 8572) on :
I think they should have kept Revolution.
However, although I had problems with the idea of the new controller at first, everyone who's used it says that it's pretty easy to adjust to. Of the next gen consoles it's the one I'm most likely to purchase in the first year. I don't play xbox (I tend to be an RPG player and xbox doesn't seem to have anything for me)and I won't be purchasing a ps3 until the price drops because I refuse to pay $400 or more for a gaming system.
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
I like the concept of the Revolution (cheap next-gen console, craaazy backwards compatibility, innovative controller design), and I'm almost certainly going to choose it over Xbox360 and PS3. That said, from a marketing standpoint, Nintendo just shot themselves in the foot. Hardcore Nintendo fans (like my brother) and people who dig companies that choose creativity over the easy buck (like me) will still go for the "Wii," but your average Joe consumer will probably take one look at the name and die laughing.
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
My parents can't afford any of the next-gen consoles so I'll just have to stick w. my PS2 which isn't at all bad.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
Wii?
Huh? I didn't know the drug problem in the USA was that bad.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
Apparently, the naming decision was a global effort.
And people think the Tower of Babel was allegory...
-Bok
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by andi330: I think they should have kept Revolution.
However, although I had problems with the idea of the new controller at first, everyone who's used it says that it's pretty easy to adjust to. Of the next gen consoles it's the one I'm most likely to purchase in the first year. I don't play xbox (I tend to be an RPG player and xbox doesn't seem to have anything for me)and I won't be purchasing a ps3 until the price drops because I refuse to pay $400 or more for a gaming system.
Do you not consider Oblivion to be an RPG?
Posted by Irregardless (Member # 8529) on :
That controller might actually get me back into console gaming. I have a partial paralysis of my left arm, so I can't use the typical two-handed controllers. Ever since I sold my Sega Genesis, I've been a PC gamer only.
Posted by aragorn64 (Member # 4204) on :
Heh, here's a good blog post on the name that I think you guys should read:
Truth be told I don't like the game either, but I don't think it's the "worst decision ever made" in gaming. Or that the "marketers had not, in a single fell swoop, rendered it the most un-cool gadget in the world." The name is getting tons of attention right now, and it's obviously going to turn heads everywhere; all press is good press, right? People are going to immediately want to know what the heck this "Wii" thing is.
It's just about the weirdest name any company could ever come up with for a video game system. But I actually think it may work to Nintendo's advantage--fans of Nintendo are still going to buy it, Nintendo haters aren't going to hate it any more, and non-gamers will want to find out what the heck it is (since the name isn't associated with games at all, something they may have traditionally avoided) and hopefully be attracted to the system by whatever Nintendo turns out.
So I don't think that the name will hurt Nintendo. The only thing I can see it doing is absolutely nothing or helping them.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
That name makes me cry deep inside.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Wheee! Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
'What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Wii would, were he not Wii call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title.'
Really, the name doesn't matter too much, it's just a way to catch everyone's attention. I too liked Revolution better, but remember before Revolution the working code name for it was Dolphin.
Regardless, of all the new systems, Wii has the biggest chance of getting a buy from me. The new controller looks great, the backwards compatability is stunning, and the new games should be filled with RPGs and brand new versions of Nintendo favorites.
Name be damned, it's what's on the inside that counts.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
quote:Originally posted by Puppy: The controller is actually really cool. With subtle wrist movements, you can exert complete analog control of 3D objects. It's going to be a lot of fun to develop games for it.
If only the marketers had not, in a single fell swoop, rendered it the most un-cool gadget in the world.
Werd.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
And I'm still going to call it the Revolution. If Nintendo has any sense left in them, they'll backtrack and say that since their loyal fans' satisfaction is their paramount mission, they've decided to cater to the huge movement to retain the original codename of the console. Extra press, makes them look shiny and eager to please, and more importantly, highlights the notable absence of that raving fanbase for the X-Box 360 (another terrible name) and the Playstation 3.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: 'What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Wii would, were he not Wii call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title.'
Really, the name doesn't matter too much, it's just a way to catch everyone's attention. I too liked Revolution better, but remember before Revolution the working code name for it was Dolphin.
Regardless, of all the new systems, Wii has the biggest chance of getting a buy from me. The new controller looks great, the backwards compatability is stunning, and the new games should be filled with RPGs and brand new versions of Nintendo favorites.
Name be damned, it's what's on the inside that counts.
Er, for the record, the Dolphin was the Gamecube's original codename.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
It's goofy, but if the games are cool, nobody will care. Besides, name recognition is usually more important than name "coolness."
Nobody refuses to buy WindowsME because it sounds dumb. Although, they should refuse to buy it because it's a crappy OS Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Gamecube, Wii, Dolphin, whatever.
Point is, it could be worse.
Posted by Earendil18 (Member # 3180) on :
It gets the idea of communal play across to the non-hardcore gamers out there.
Posted by Tresopax (Member # 1063) on :
You know... it's kinda amusing how angry gamers can get over a system's name. You'd think it was a sacred thing... Posted by aragorn64 (Member # 4204) on :
But then again this isn't going to do anything to help out Nintendo's image. I have a friend who gets a LOT of flak from "friends" because he's a fan of Nintendo (not "mature" enough for them, evidentally. I could probably write a thesis on why that comment is so dumb, but I'll spare you guys for now.) The "Wii" sure isn't going to helping him out at all.
Y'know, after this, Super Smash Bros. Revolutio--er, Wii, had BETTER be a launch title, Metroid Prime 3 had BETTER blow any and all socks off, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance 2 had BETTER be announced at E3, and there had BETTER be a new Nintendo IP that is as good as Pikmin was. *grumblegrumble*
Posted by Tresopax (Member # 1063) on :
I suspect it will get them the image they seem to be looking for. Wii doesn't seem immature, but it does seem bizarre, and bizarre seems to be what they are going for.
It seems like the sort of name designed to get people to say "Wii? What's a Wii?"
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
When I read it as "we" I realy thought of it as "wheeee" -- like a kid describing a roller coaster ride...
Posted by Earendil18 (Member # 3180) on :
If they succeed in tapping into a substantial portion of the "nongamer" market, which I think is what they're trying to do, they'll be fine.
If they don't succeed in that regard, and the gamer market is still going "wah" over the percieved "uncool", they'll be in trouble.
Posted by Omega M. (Member # 7924) on :
I don't think Revolution would work as a real name. Wouldn't it imply that all of Nintendo's other systems were less than revolutionary?
At first I pronounced Wii with a long i instead of a long e, thinking that the name had something to do with the wireless nature of the console's controller. Pronounced correctly, it sounds like some kind of Zen term, suggesting to me that you'll enter a state of transcendence by waving the controller. I think I'll be able to get used to it.
On a related note, whenever I think of the Nintendo DS I always think of the Michael Jackson song (not a bad song, though it wasn't a single).
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
quote:Originally posted by Earendil18: If they succeed in tapping into a substantial portion of the "nongamer" market, which I think is what they're trying to do, they'll be fine.
As a non gamer, let me just state that while the new name has succeeded in acheiving name recognition, mostly it's just causing me to want to die laughing. And I'm not feeling any sudden desire to go out and spend tons of money on a gaming console I won't know how to use with a funny name.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
I honestly have trouble imagining the name of a console having any impact on its success whatsoever. I can't think of a single (or married, ha! ha! ha...) gamer who makes a decision to buy a console based on anything so cosmetic.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
Well, blacwolve, that's the thing with the Wii. It's going to be cheaper than Sony's and Microsoft's offerings, and it has a new controller with fewer buttons. The controller will be more like a wand/bat/whatever. So in some regards, it may be easier to use.
-Bok
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I tend to agree with eros there. No one who is impressed with this system is going to pass it up because it has a goofy name, and no one who wasn't going to get it before is going to say "Well, I don't like gaming, but what the hell, it has the cutest name ever!"
::shrugs::
Revolution by the way would have been a cooler name. Yes, past systems have done wonders to push the bounds of gaming, but like Nintendo says, this doesn't just push the bounds outward like PS3 and Xbox 360 is doing, it pushes them upwards out into crazyland too. It's a new design style meant for a totally new kind of gameplay, and I think that deserves recognition and respect, if nothing else.
Posted by Lord Solar Macharius (Member # 7775) on :
I've already decided to turn the system upside down and call it !!M (click-click-Em).
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I can see the teen boy now, excitedly rushing out of the store yelling "I've got a Wii!! I've got a Wii!!" only to be stopped by a helpful little old man who says, "Well, son, there's a tree over yonder. We'll all turn our backs."
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
My game console is called "Wii" and to use it I swing the controller around the living room like it was a light saber or something.
Yes, I get beaten up frequently...
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
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