DayLahs

well?

Lets take a look at some of their mistakes...........

Purple man purse AKA Gamecube-no online support,
Virtual Boy
N64-Cartridges, rediculous game prices at first, lost the Final Fantasy franchise


Funny slang aside, the problem destroying Nintendo in the west is their horrible kiddie image. Is it unfair? Yes. But's it's real. And it's killing them. Naming it Wii re-enforces every unfair stereotype about the company. It's not gonna change my enjoyment of the system one bit, but to say Nintendo of Japan didn't screw over their western counterparts is naive. Riding a wave of hype and expectation, only to come to a screeching halt with the worst name I've ever heard for a console, besides nGage we count it. Sure, it doesn't affect the games or any of us who are already going to buy it, but some of us do like to see a company we spend a lot of money on succeed and this is a horrible move. The problem is that you have to question what type of marketing people came up with this, and what they'll fail on in the future. Their 'mission statement' is a passage of colossal retardation, especially given that this seemed to be the generation where they came out fighting and trying to be taken seriously. Nobody will take the name seriously, ever. That's a big problem even if people don't want to admit it. To casuals, image means a lot, and to Nintendo, casuals will mean a lot.

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sonicblue

Cartridges on the N64.

That mistake more than anything else that Nintendo has done is the reason why things are the way they are today.

I don't feel Wii is anywhere near as bad as people say it's going to be for Nintendo's future.

Iris

Give it awhile and see how true that is. If people hear a word for long enough it becomes mundane and recognizable. That isn't the same as liking it, but it's better than nothing.

To answer your question, this is a strange move, and one that could impact sales a bit, but it's not going to ruin them or anything. My hype for the Wii is just as fervent as before.

About the kiddy image, I don't see how this makes them look immature. If anything, once the "wee" idiocy is past it seems way more mature than names like Gamecube.

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Darkdolphin

Worst move is still using carts.

I don't see Wii hurting the system that much, if at all. Its not a great name, but its going to be fine after a few months of hearing it, probably. I don't think it enforces a kiddy image, but rather an inclusive one, since their goal is getting everyone to play the console.

I'd still say the "kiddiest" name is PlayStation. Just think about that....Play....Station. Sounds like it should be something put out by Fisher Price for kids, but no one even reads the name like that anymore.

Crunchy

Releasing the Gamecube so ignorantly. I could make a huge ass list of things wrong with the launch.

zelda_freak

It seems that using carts put nintendo a generation back. For example, when they first did cds with the GCN, they didn't have DVD support, while PS2 and Xbox did. Now with the Wii, they finally do (at least I believe they do). Plus, if they had used CDs as a format with the 64, they probably wouldn't have scared so many 3rd party developers off.

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Blueblur1

I'm hopping on the cartridge mistake bandwagon as well. Wii isn't so bad. Its a little odd, but when actual people see the console and the name, it'll evoke an iPod like theme which everyone in the US is familiar with. For all we know, it could turn out to be a big success (the name). I mean, right now it does have everyone talking about it.

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kinopio

'Pussiying up' to their so called fans by announcing Twilight Princess. The closest they've ever been to the famed 'beginning of the end'.

The cartridge issue was overblown way out of proportions. It was just some third parties' attempt at justifying their backstabbing of Nintendo. The carts themselves were fine and perfectly capable.

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AdamChrisH

Oh... My... God... I'm agreeing with DayLahs. First for everything! *cuddles*

djsilvertiger

Yesterday I was totally on both sides of this. At first I just did not like the name period. I saw the video and thought maybe that could change my opinion. Then later at work I was just angry at Nintendo, they were only considering Japan. This morning I feel like I will like the name from now on. The piss jokes are old to me now and I'm more accustomed to seeing it as "We."

I had thought the name was bad but for different reasons than XBox 360. I was expecting a video game console name. I can't logically think Wii is stupid because I use the word "We" all the time. XBox 360 is the nasty result of trendy ideas being thrown at each other. I'm not here to knock the 360 right now, just showing how these two names don't really compare.

God Blessa!

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AdamChrisH

I just think when spoken it's a far too general name to catch on to anything, it'll cause more confusion than anything. I mean, at schools, if a kid comes up to his friends, asked them what they did at the weekend and they replied "We played on our Wii's" you're going to get the most confused reaction ever.

I just hope it's not too long to tack Nintendo onto the official name and called it the 'Nintendo Wii', as that slightly more workable. Otherwise, I just see lots of people taking the piss while others are puzzled.

Assman

I thought Nintendo wasn't competing with MS and Sony, and why would it matter? But then again, they do have to make money.

Bionic Commando

On paper, the name isn't so bad. It's saying it aloud I can't handle. I don't think i'll ever call it by the name Wii in real life unless i'm joking. I couldn't seriously approach a Retail Employee and ask for a Wii.

I'd say launching the Gamecube was one of their biggest mistakes. It was purple, it was launched with a Luigi title rather than Mario, it couldn't play DVD's and it had virtually no online support. It really was half-assed. I used to be a complete diehard fanboy but when I saw the console I genuinely felt betrayed. They promised so much and delivered so little. At that time I jumped ships, bought a PS2, stopped buying NOM and didn't even buy a GC at launch and I never looked back. I waited for 6 months or more till I gave it a chance.

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Spawn

Cartridges for N64.

The name is still fine with me. I've read through dozens of pages of forum and blog reactions today here, at IGN, at several other online publications. And the more I read the name (even if it's in one of the stupid threads with the pee-jokes in them) the more I get accustomed to it.
I love the little flash-video, I love the logo itself, but in the end I must agree that it feels a little bit weird saying it out loud. I'm not instantly making connections with urine all the time, that's not the problem, but the word just doesn't smoothly roll of the tongue.

What a wonderfully redundant thread this seems to be though, here we are again discussing why Wii is or isn't good for each of us, with just the slight addition that we give our opinion on if it's the 'worst mistake by Nintendo ever'.

Iris

I usually agree with you, Kino, but that's just crazy talk. Regardless of why they did it, Twilight Princess looks like it will be brilliant- a fitting end to the Gamecube's life and a good place to start for people buying the Wii.

I dunno, I like the simplicity of it. Just Wii sounds better than Nintendo Wii in my opinion.

That may not be a bad thing. If someone who was clueless about MP3s saw the term iPod for the first time, they were probably intruiged about it and wanted to see what it was. Likewise, if a non-gamer sees something called a Wii they'e not going to think it's a games console. They'll approach it without the usual attitude that the machine is above their heads, or will hold no interest for them.

Hmm. The name is growing on me literally as I'm typing, now that I've come to regard the word "we" as having three seperate meanings instead of associating it with "Wee". If other people have the same reaction, Nintendo may be on to something here. At the very least, they're being original- Wii really isn't similar to any name I've heard before.

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acornkid

*shrugs* As far as I'm concerned they could have called the thing "BUYAPS3INSTEAD" and I still wouldn't have cared. It comes down to this: It's the most intruiging console in years. And unlike previous gimmicks, this is a full-fledged console. So it's probably gonna work. Why are people so upsessed with trivial stuff?

bleeper2.0

Yet the games cost more to manufacture and guess who ended up paying for it? The consumer the ps1 had cheaper games and gained a lot of support. Also Nintendo losing a lot of 3rd party support was proably the most foolish thing during the n64 and GC era. However i doubt they pale in comparison to calling their next console piss,.

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unkwon

If it's one thing I'm getting tired of is the constant ONLINE thing with the GCN, it hurted it but it was MORE than that it was the smaller diskpace, lack of main system ram, lack of third parties compared to the PS2 and Xbox, the expenses of third party development, Hell it was mainly the lack of powerfull singleplayer games that "killed" it not the online support.

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Kuriboo

The GC era was to me where they made there most mistakes. Purple box, disc size, lack of third partys continue....

But Wii is not a bad name, you have to start some where with a name. I mean look at Google, and my last name for that. It all had to be made up.

Just because the name is dfferent, new, unique, does not make it a failure, or a mistake. Just because they didn't name it the GameSquare or some crap like that they deserve so many props.

Of course as you can see I think the name is awesome.

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