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- multivariate, on 10/12/2007, -6/+62Note:
I have just consulted my atlas, and it turns out that Xiol is correct. America is not, in fact, the largest country in the world; nor do we have the world's largest population.
America does however have the largest:
Wheel of cheese
Plastic donut
fiberglass strawberry
Cup-o-Noodles
Paper Mache bull
Lego sculpture
Pink flamingo.
Thank you. - kankerfist, on 10/12/2007, -2/+27Xboxes are boxes with a large X on them...
- Xiol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21Ha, that's gonna cause some confusion in Scotland.
"What's that wee console you got there laddy?"
"It's Wii!"
"Och, I can see that laddy, but what's it called?" - revolved, on 10/12/2007, -19/+39Wii sucks - http://www.whywii.com
Wii rocks - http://www.wiiwhy.com - Xiol, on 10/12/2007, -7/+26Ah, so "XBox 360" reflects the console? Is it an X? Does it revolve 360' when played? No.
I'm unsure about the Wii name myself, but meh. They'll have had marketing types on this for months, I'm sure they know what they're doing.
And either way, look at how much press this has generated! They couldn't have drummed up more talk about their product if they did anything else. - joehobbes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20I know this sounds lame, but the name isn't "cool"
The English speaking world is just going to feel awkward saying it.
Sure the Dreamcast, Gamecube, Playstation, etc weren't perfect names in the beginning, but thaey weren't THIS awkward. Plus, at least they were easy to read (as opposed to "why" vs "wee") and were at least sounded like they were related to gaming or entertainment. - Misled, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20"Turns out you're not the only country in the world, and you certainly don't have the largest population."
That is very true, but America is a huge chunk of the video game market.
Off on a tangent:
This reminds me of product that was brought to me attention in one of my marketing classes. Apparently there was a soda in Japan that was very popular at the time - made of milk (don't ask me). When the Japanese decided to market the product in America, they didn't change the name of the product. The Japanese soda was pronounced "Cowpis" in English. The product didn't last long in the U.S..
I think people are trying to make a point about how other cultures would take product names. In the U.S. (and probably in Europe), the name doesn't make much sense. People say "who cares?" but it doesn't work that way in business.
I do agree with a previous comment about the marketing researchers, though. Maybe they found out some crazy psychological reason for using Wii or how the name is easy to remember. *shrugs* - franksands, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15I think they missed a great opportunity, this could be the console that says Nii :P
- bab7880, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13I just know that when i finally get it ... I will joyously be crying Wii Wii Wii all the way home
- StealthTomato, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13I actually thought it was quite the opposite. The interviewer asked what he had been reading from fans more politely than I expected, and Ms. Kaplan's responses were essentially (and somewhat flatly) "Get over it."
- rmany2k, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16If every name got changed because there was someone out there that didn't like it, then nothing would ever have a name. If you buy things based on the name, then you're just a marketing tool. If you don't want Wii because the name sucks, then don't buy it. That's not going to stop the rest of us.
Quit complaining, everyone here has heard this enough. - Xiol, on 10/12/2007, -15/+26"Clearly they havent thought about america."
So what?
Turns out you're not the only country in the world, and you certainly don't have the largest population. - starman, on 10/12/2007, -7/+18It was called Xbox because of "Direct X". Know your history.
- DephexTwin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12If no publicity is bad publicity, then why stop at "wii"? I'm sure they could garner a lot more publicity, news articles, and even protests if they named it something like the Nintendo Baby-Raping Hitlerbox. If all mindshare is good, why not go for the gusto?
- Dannychico, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Wow. Nintendo is in serious denial. Every interview I read with them gives two justifications:
1) "Look! Everyone else comes up with crazy names, too! See: Google, Amazon, Napster, Virgin, iPod" --- umm, Nintendo, those all had basis in real, legitimate words, not infantile murmurs.
2) "There's no need to abbreviate!" --- what's with Nintendo's unusual paranoia about people abbreviating their system names? Who cares? I guess some people were calling it the Rev. Is that really the end of the world? - quasipalm, on 10/12/2007, -8/+18"Since "Wii" is so fundamentally different, we're naturally rejecting it."
Or maybe because it's just a ***** name.
We english speakers like names to have at least two consonant sounds. For example, would you like Google if it was named Goo. Or Microsoft if it was name My. Or Amazon if it was named Am.
Short consonant and vowel sounds are associated in our minds with children (waahh, waahh, mo-my, da-da) and bodily functions (pee, pooh).
Lastly, Nintendo should be a bit worried about its reputation in the states as a bit of a kid focused company. Renaming something called Revolution to something called "weeeeeee" is just idiotic if you're trying to get more adults and late-teens to play. - ViperDaimao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Heck they're already getting old. Oh, if you say it twice it sounds like wee-wee, how funny.
- tont0r, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15The guy interviewing her was a dick and acted like the world came crashing down on his face because Nintendo decided to call their system Wii.
- Dagur, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9wii didn't start the fire
- Philbert, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11As for XBOX 360, The original name for MS's console was DirectX Box. "360" doesn't mean it has to spin around. It refers to (amongst other things) the "ring of light" used on the console and controlers.
- ViperDaimao, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9"Their marketing people must be idiots."
Are you sure? How many stories have been submitted to digg about this name? How much buzz has there been in just one day? How many websites have been created just in 24 hours to talk about the Wii name. Do you remember this much talk when MS unvieled the name for the XBOX 360 or sony for the PS3?
Remember, no publicity is bad publicity. - Oakes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8flashmatt, you're an idiot. The word "we" is a pronoun, so it's never used in the same way "wee" is. That's why it doesn't sound weird to say "Hey, what should we do now?"
It sounds incredibly weird to say "Let's go play on my Wii," because it's the same part of speech as "wee." This has nothing to do with immaturity; it has everything to do with a slang term that has existed in the English language for centuries. - Arkz, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10"In an interview with Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan, IGN asks the important question: WTF?"
...PHWAHAHA! ^_~ - DephexTwin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Their marketing people must be idiots. Yes, there is the word "we", I understand the logic there. But you aren't even spelling it as "we", and as such it is just as likely (if not more so) to evoke thoughts of the word "wee" (which is what it immediately did in my case). "Wee" is either a particularly wimpy word for "small", or it is what little kids call urine.
All you would need to do is ask like three people sitting near you and you'd get that feedback. And Nintendo worked on this name for a year? - tommertron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Help! Does anyone have a mirror of this article??
Websense has decided that all gaming news sites are 'games'. Though, apparently, it's okay to check up on sports news all you want... - zetsurin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7By the same token, I am not aware of any significance that the term Wii would represent in Japanese.
- ByteGuerilla, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I think we just found our new name for it!
Nintendo + Wii = Nii
Bravo. - Otto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7If they have to explain a brand name to people, then it's really not a very good brand name, is it?
- Xiol, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Yes, but in the same vein they want to call it Wii to symbolise that anyone can play it.
I'm starting to sound like I'm a Nintendo fanboy - considering I've never owned a Nintendo console and can count the times I've played on one on one hand it's completely untrue!
I just really think people are making too much of a fuss. The name change did that they wanted it to do: Get people talking. The initial announcement got something like 3400 diggs and 800+ comments. *THAT* is how you drum up press for your console. This was even in the local newspaper.
People are taking the piss (pun not intended) now, but when the Wii comes out, everyone will know what it is. - Function, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Oh, ever since Mario has been knocking turtles out of the sewer pipes.
- Dagur, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9Wii will rock you!!
- ermau, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Just call it the Why. You lose all the stupid jokes, gain an underlying insult (to Nintendo) and pickup a hint at WiFi.
Alternatively, like Windows Vista, call it by its code name: Revolution. - myxyplik, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9Ms. Kaplan seemed to handle it with class, though.
- umedone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I'm sure that after the E3, the only one who will be laughed at will be the people who are making weak jokes about the Wii...
- Angostura, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7If you look at the whole pitch for the Revolution, you can see what is going on here. They want to completely break away from the associations that have built up with game consoles and break out from the typical console market. So sure, Wii will probably rub the hardcore gamers up the wrong way, but they will buy it anyway if the games are good enough. What the new controllers and the name says is that they aren't going primarily after the hard-core gamers. They are going after families who want to play something in the living room. The whole style of the machine, I suspect is going to be designed to appeal to 9 year old girls as much as GTA fans.
This thing is going to try and do an 'iPod' on the games market and it will be interesting to see how it pans out. - iGNOSaurus, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8But you sure can put it out with Wii!
- smithco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5If you look at Nintendo's product history the answer is obvious. All you'll need to do is rub a power mushroom on your GC disc to make it a full sized one. When you want to reduce it's size again, just rub it on a Goomba.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5This is it, its embarassing.
- knightcrawler75, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The first time I saw wii I thought it was WWII.
- ByteGuerilla, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4What I love is the way the people making all the Wii/Wee jokes seem to be the same people who called Nintendo childish.
In the words of Mr. Solo, "laugh it up, fuzzball"
I'm sure you'll all get over yourselves soon and then we can start discussing E3. - Slackwise, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@Misled
I think you're thinking of "Calpis Water", which is a fairly tasty drink. They sell them at the local Asian marketplace down the street. Good stuff.
http://www.asianmunchies.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=A&Product_Code=I023&Category_Code=D
And about Calpis Water failing in America, here is the usual article from WikiPedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calpis_Water - 1ivewire, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3As others have said, "wii" doesn't really mean anything in Japanese. Famicom/Nintendo had meanings though I thought it was weird they marketed the English name in the Japanese market and vice-versa. Their past system/console names have had very simple, fun-sounding English names that people could understand. I'm gonna call it Revolution for as long as I can or until people can use the name in a sentence without laughing.
- Unicyclelarry, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4But then you would have to rhythmically clack the parts of the controller nun-chuck (spelling?) to walk...
- tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3A lot of people are saying "It's just a name, focus on the hardware". That might be true for the digg-using, technology-aware market. We can look at the hardware and say 'OK, that's cool, despite the name'.
But for non-techies, who are N's target with this as I understand it, the name is very important. This name is going to be the first impression for many people. It sounds like a baby gurgle and while N is traditionally a family company, I don't think it's something that's going to make peoples ears prick up and listen. It's also not self-explanatory - now, that's true of other brands too (Google, Amazon etc.), but those companies don't share their name with urine. Using odd words for products is becoming commonplace, but usually the word is a real word, just nothing to do with the product. Wii is completely made up and will mean nothing to anyone.
I can imagine a non-techie family sitting around the TV, when a Wii ad comes on. Instead of being interested, they laugh at the connotations. Surely that isn't a good thing. I love N stuff and I can look past the name, but in a world where marketing can make or break a product, I'm not so sure that the planet-at-large will be able to. - ScottPictures, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I put the "Wii" logo on the computer screen and called over my mom who would not know a video game if it bit her. I said," what does that say?" She said,"we". This is what Nintendo wants, people who don't play games are turned off by the names Xbox, Playstation. They sound like names that are designed to appeal to 18-34 year old males, oh wait they are. Wii is appealing to non-gamers, and gamers who think the name is stupid (me included) are still going to buy it if the games are good.
- samdu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I wish someone would ask someone from Nintendo how they got around the problem of a standard sized slot-load drive accepting the tiny GameCube discs. I don't know of any other slot load drive that will accept media smaller than CD/DVD-sizes. For instance, the slot-load DVD drive on my computer and the slot-load DVD drives on iMacs will get an aneurysm if you try feeding them mini-CDs/DVDs or business card sized media. Will there be an adapter of some kind or does the drive actually have no problem with small media?
- eddieroger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Vote with your dollars. Don't like the name, don't buy the console.
I know, you weren't planning on it anyway. - eddieroger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Or, more likely, and as I've said with the NES, SNES, 64 and GameCube,
"I'm going to play Nintendo" - ByteGuerilla, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5It would be a crime for Nintendo not to use that phrase to market the console in the English-speaking world.
All in all I love the new name though. - 1ivewire, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3In katakana, you can write a "Wii" sound with an "u" followed by the ten-ten and a small "i". As far as I know, it's just a sound and doesn't really mean anything.
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