Wheeeee!!!!
As company strives to appeal to mass audience, the Revolution gets renamed: Gamers scream: Why!
Nintendo officially ditched its long-used codename for its next generation machine Thursday, revealing Wii as the final name for the product.
Pronounced like “we” (or “whee,” I suppose), the name is meant to emphasize that “this console is for everyone,” Nintendo said in a flash video which introduced the name change.
“The other systems have an extension of their current names; ours is a new leap to something different,” Perrin Kaplan, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs for Nintendo of America, told me. “A lot of thought went into the name.”
Wired as come out in defense of the name. (Thanks Gregory!)
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.
Yet another take on the name, not so favorable this time…
“The biggest key to figuring out it’s a bad name is when they explain it,” he said. “You don’t have to explain a good name, you have to explain a bad name.”
The funny guys at Penny Arcade have a great take on the name!
Wii reminds me of the flash animation “Weeeee!”
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/weeee.php
I think it’s kinda cool, it’s refreshing to hear a console name that isn’t along the lines of ‘Uber System’ or ‘ZBox Turbo’ etc…. Anyway, it isn’t
“So who wants to come over to my house and play with my Wii?”
it’s gonna be…
“Shall Wii play?”
It is pure marketing and I think it will work, because even parents who have no idea or desire to know what the latest ‘Playstation 360’ is will remember the name ‘Wii’. Not only that it’ll be the cheapest system too. It’s gonna make massive headway for Nintendo, possibly make them #2. Personally, I am gonna get one because I like the retro games library that’s gonna come with it. Will only get a Playstation 3 if ‘Ico’ comes out on it. Xbox has no games I like.
Wii shall see…
Example of marketing genius I thought realised this has:
Christmas break, Dad asks son what he wants “Dad, I want a Wii!”, Dad laughs saying “you want… a wee?”, “no Dad, the console ‘Wii’!”, Dad laughing finds out it costs $100/$150 and thinks “OK, I’ll get that…”
After christams break, around the water cooler, “so…. what you get for little [insert kids name here]?”…. “I let him have a Wii!”. Cue laughing and explanation that it’s a console with a weird name. Sale done, money in Nintendo’s bank, end of marketing genius.
“parents who have no idea or desire to know what the latest ‘Playstation 360′ is will remember the name “
But where will the parents remember the name from?! Or to put it another way, do you buy stuff merely because you remember the name?! Certainly their kids are not going to ask for a Wii. (Although, they will probably ask to take a wee!)
And sure parents will see ads for the Wii on TV, but what parent is going to buy a $200 gaming console their kids don’t want?! I can hear it now…
“Honey, we bought you a Wii. Yeah, I know you think the name is gay. Yeah I know all your friends will laugh at you. Yeah, I know you’ll get beat up everyday if anyone finds out you have one… So why did I buy it?! Because I remembered the name. That’s a good enough reason to spend 200 bucks, right?!”
The name has to be more than just memorable. It has to be cool (to get kids to ask for it) and memorable.
“Example of marketing genius I thought realised this has…”
Nope, read my comment #35. You’re assuming incorrectly that a kid would ever ask for a Wii.
“Nope, read my comment #35. You’re assuming incorrectly that a kid would ever ask for a Wii.”
It is common knowledge that kids come up with new terminology and new words to differenciate them from their parents. In the UK where I live if you are over the age of 25 it can be difficult to completely understand anyone under the age of 16, due to vocabulary differences. So I believe YOU are assuming that children will reject the console because of its name but are not taking into consideration the fact that it may come to mean something very ‘cool’ to them, at least if given a little time. I concede that at the end of the you may be right, but personally I believe this name will be a factor in driving the consoles success not a hindrance. I think it’s good, I prefer it to Xbox 360 which is basically meaningless. ‘Wii’ according to the press release is all about being together, and I really like the principle of that and believe it will be adopted by the youth without being, as you put it, ‘gay’ and unpopular. I chuckled when I first saw it but the toilet humour aspect of it wore off after about 10 seconds when I realised why they had used that name. Anyway, kids in Japan will prefer this name as it is easier to pronounce for them and ‘wee’ is not a toilet related word.
“So I believe YOU are assuming that children will reject the console because of its name but are not taking into consideration the fact that it may come to mean something very ‘cool’ to them”
You’re correct. I am assuming based past experience that kids laugh at things associated with urination and other bodily functions.
However, you are speculating, without any evidence, that kids will suddenly find products named after urination to be cool. While it’s possible, it’s not very likely.
My last post seems to have been severely edited because I made a point about how names and words shift meaning with cultural evolution. Not sure why it was chopped but hey, never mind.
“that kids will suddenly find products named after urination to be cool.”
It is not named specifically after urination! They didn’t stand up and say “we are going to name this after a bodily function” did they?
Anyway, what about this? How could a company called ‘Virgin’ ever have hoped to succeed with such a name? Yet here they are, an international brand with airlines, trains, space travel, mobile phones… Wouldn’t you have to be a total loser to have virgin branded stuff or fly on a virgin airplane, cause surely it must mean you’re a virgin right? Got any virgin records? Must be a virgin…. all your friends are gonna laugh at you! Is that the case though? No, the brands name was a massive advantage because it grabed peoples attention, as well being run by an extremely competent tycoon who knew the market well. Nintendo are also savvy, the name will shift in the culture and people won’t think twice about the name because it will become cool, like virgin has. That is evidence of a brand name using the an unusual name to its advantage.
Hmm … some of you have changed my mind … sure Wii sounds weird, but, come to think of it XBox 360 sounds really stupid – cliche or something — and no one calls urination “wee” past about … 3 years old (except the commentators on this blog) — and the new consoles will be (and should be) judged on their game selection and quality, not how dumb their name sounds anyway. Wiive le Reveloution (ok, that was a really bad joke …)
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