Topic: Punk'd by Nintendo

[Nick DiMola]

Check out this post over on Kotaku Did Nintendo Punk Us with Wii?.

It appears some analysts think that the whole Wii title announcement is a type of viral marketing because Wii has not been patented in the US, Europe or Japan. All I have to say is interesting but highyl unlikely, worth a read though.

[RickPowers]

First, you can't patent a name.  You can only trademark it, which only gives you the right to use that name exclusively.  Even that's not so clear cut, though, since companies with trademarks in different industries can use identical trademarks (so long as there is no chance for consumer confusion).

That said, it's wishful thinking.  You don't NEED a trademark to use a name, in a legal sense.  Not to mention that the "evidence" presented only amounts to it not being trademarked, and people in the marketing world simply thinking it was a bad choice.  It's meaningless.

A lot like Wii.

[Kairon]

debunked.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Sir_Stabbalot]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
debunked.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

...Please let him be lying...

[Bill Aurion]

Haters = owned... =D

[Zach]

It would be one heck of a prank, I probably would have a good laugh about it.  It would be like new coke, but on purpose.   I dont think its real though.

[nemo_83]

[NWR_pap64]

While I appreciate the confirmation from Nintendo, they also debunked the rumors of there being a re-designed DS...

[couchmonkey]

...The dif being that Nintendo hadn't OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED the redesign before releasing a debunking statement.  

[Requiem of Darcness]

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
Haters = owned... =D

You can keep thinking that, but when the "haters" are spending their hard earned dollars on the 360 and PS3, Nintendo = owned.

[Hostile Creation]

"You can keep thinking that, but when the "haters" are spending their hard earned dollars on the 360 and PS3, Nintendo = owned."

Your prediction for the future gaming market based on such limited information is amazing!  Can you tell me when the Dow's going to be doing in the next few weeks, too?  ARE YOU  THAT GOOD

[Jin-X]

Quote
Originally posted by: Hostile Creation
"You can keep thinking that, but when the "haters" are spending their hard earned dollars on the 360 and PS3, Nintendo = owned."

Your prediction for the future gaming market based on such limited information is amazing!  Can you tell me when the Dow's going to be doing in the next few weeks, too?  ARE YOU  THAT GOOD

Predicting that the name and the image it creates will hinder sales in NA isn't very hard to figure out.

[NWR_pap64]

Quote
Originally posted by: Hostile Creation
"You can keep thinking that, but when the "haters" are spending their hard earned dollars on the 360 and PS3, Nintendo = owned."

Your prediction for the future gaming market based on such limited information is amazing!  Can you tell me when the Dow's going to be doing in the next few weeks, too?  ARE YOU  THAT GOOD

I'm sorry, but the pro Wii followers also have the chance to be wrong with their views and beliefs.

NO ONE, especially the haters nor the pro Wii people, can predict Nintendo's future, especially with limited information.

True, a lot of people predicted that the DS was going to be the next Virtual Boy because the idea was so insane and the initial games were so weak the PSP had a better chance at attracting gamers, because it was a "true" gaming machine. But lo and behold, the DS is a hit around the world and it's a phenomenon in Japan.

The same may happen with the Wii. The market can be unpredictable sometimes. Just when you think something will happen, the opposite happens instead. The haters may think that the Wii will fail because of the name, but the opposite may happen.

However, that doesn't mean there is the chance that the Wii can fail.

After all the Dreamcast seemed to have a very bright future ahead of it...
- Great games
- Third party support
- It redeemed the Sega name for a while
- Some really unique games
- New franchises
- A good online service
- An excellent ad campaign
- And a lot of sales in the first months

Now look where it is...

So yeah, Nintendo's odds are 50/50 on this one.

[Jin-X]

Quote
Originally posted by: pap64

Quote
Originally posted by: Hostile Creation
"You can keep thinking that, but when the "haters" are spending their hard earned dollars on the 360 and PS3, Nintendo = owned."

Your prediction for the future gaming market based on such limited information is amazing!  Can you tell me when the Dow's going to be doing in the next few weeks, too?  ARE YOU  THAT GOOD

After all the Dreamcast seemed to have a very bright future ahead of it...
- Great games
- Third party support
- It redeemed the Sega name for a while
- Some really unique games
- New franchises
- A good online service
- An excellent ad campaign
- And a lot of sales in the first months

Now look where it is...

So yeah, Nintendo's odds are 50/50 on this one.

The prob with the Dreamcast was really simple, EA dissed them and when the #1 publisher doesn't make any games for you, you are screwed (I hate EA, but that doesn't stop the fact that they are the #1 publisher sales wise). And #2, the PS2 hype machine.

[The Omen]

Quote
Haters = owned... =D

Can you be any more annoying?  You didn't come up with the name, so stop acting as if it's a personal attack upon you when someone says they don't like it.  

[Dasmos]

Seriously, have any of you played the Wii, held the controller in your hand or even know all the secrets Nintendo is yet to discolse? No.

Are you all going to predict its downfall on a name? The Internet is a stupid, stupid place.

[Nick DiMola]

I'm personally not crazy about the name, but I can move past that because it is still the same old Revolution, and it is going to rock all of us hardcore.

[NWR_pap64]

Quote
Originally posted by: Dasmos
Seriously, have any of you played the Wii, held the controller in your hand or even know all the secrets Nintendo is yet to discolse? No.

Are you all going to predict its downfall on a name? The Internet is a stupid, stupid place.

Well, guess what? You haven't either...True, the word is VERY good on the Wii controller, but we don't know about the other games and if the idea truly works.

Also, can you predict it's success based on just faith and belief of Nintendo? None of us can.

I'm sorry, neither the haters or the Wii lovers can't predict how the Nintendo Wii will do. Like I mentioned already, the markeplace can be a very weird thing as just when you think something will happen, the opposite happens instead.

But Nintendo will not be a success either just because you have faith in them. This is Nintendo's battle, not ours. All we can do is sit on the sidelines and wait for the results...

[Bill Aurion]

Quote
Originally posted by: The Omen

Quote
Haters = owned... =D

Can you be any more annoying?  You didn't come up with the name, so stop acting as if it's a personal attack upon you when someone says they don't like it.

I'm having a great time watching people get into a huge piss over a NAME, then watching as their little conspiracy hopes are shattered, and then watching them have an even greater whine...

(Ahaha, personal attack, I don't think so...)

(Edit: I wonder how many enemies I've (and other Wii advocates such as Deg and Hostile Creation) unjustly made because of me mocking the whole "urine" argument and this whole tirade in general...It's pretty sad, really, considering I hold nothing personal against any PGC member...A NAME is tearing this community apart, and it's not the name's fault...)  

[Dasmos]

Quote
Originally posted by: pap64

Quote
Originally posted by: Dasmos
Seriously, have any of you played the Wii, held the controller in your hand or even know all the secrets Nintendo is yet to discolse? No.

Are you all going to predict its downfall on a name? The Internet is a stupid, stupid place.

Well, guess what? You haven't either...True, the word is VERY good on the Wii controller, but we don't know about the other games and if the idea truly works.

Also, can you predict it's success based on just faith and belief of Nintendo? None of us can.

I'm sorry, neither the haters or the Wii lovers can't predict how the Nintendo Wii will do. Like I mentioned already, the markeplace can be a very weird thing as just when you think something will happen, the opposite happens instead.

But Nintendo will not be a success either just because you have faith in them. This is Nintendo's battle, not ours. All we can do is sit on the sidelines and wait for the results...

The thing is if it's bad, it's bad. I am not going to defend Nintendo do the death if I don't like what I see, but I won't write Nintendo entirely out the whole game industry over a name. Nobody has seen anything, nobody has demoed anything from Wii, yet and until then I will reserve my judgement. I personally feel Nintendo know what they are doing, and yes, "lol, thay dun't no wut thay r doing wen choozing names." It may not be the best name. but I like it and Nintendo, they do know games. There is no denying that.

[Hostile Creation]

Mostly I was joking, but I never made any assumption about Nintendo's success.  I never said the name Wii would sell millions based on the name alone.  The difference is, he did make a ridiculous assumption like that.

[Ian Sane]

"Seriously, have any of you played the Wii, held the controller in your hand or even know all the secrets Nintendo is yet to discolse? No."

Well no one is saying the Wii is a bad console, just an unmarketable one.

And predicting that a Nintendo console will flop is EASY.  They've had two consoles in a row that underperformed.  Three if you count Virtual Boy.  The Wii flopping is merely the status quo.

Nintendo is still doing the "live with the unpopular decision we have made" routine.  Did that work with the N64?  No.  Did it work with the Cube?  No.  When has it EVER worked?

[Hostile Creation]

"The Wii flopping is merely the status quo."

NES, SNES, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, DS.
And N64 and Gamecube didn't flop, they were just overshadowed by the competition.  They met the quota, they just didn't do as well as they deserved.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
I'm having a great time watching people get into a huge piss over a NAME, then watching as their little conspiracy hopes are shattered, and then watching them have an even greater whine...

(Ahaha, personal attack, I don't think so...)

(Edit: I wonder how many enemies I've (and other Wii advocates such as Deg and Hostile Creation) unjustly made because of me mocking the whole "urine" argument and this whole tirade in general...It's pretty sad, really, considering I hold nothing personal against any PGC member...A NAME is tearing this community apart, and it's not the name's fault...)

It doesn't take a marketing major to determine that giving an excellent product an awful name can and likely will kill it.

First of all, I've confirmed this with quite a few European friends: in many parts of Europe, "wee" is a widely accepted synonym for urine in everyday ADULT language. "I need to go have a wee in the loo."

Second, the urine argument has long since passed about the US and far, FAR more valid arguments have been made but you've instead chosen to cling to the urine argument.

I don't know what kind of HOLE someone has to live in in order to not grasp the fact that image is THE #1 deciding factor in US marketing. I'm not condoning it, and I don't follow it personally, but it's the goddamn truth and anyone who believes even for a SECOND otherwise needs to pull their head out of their ass.

People in the US buy iPods because it's fashionable, not because it's a good MP3 player. Apple created a trend and people follow it like sheep.

What has killed Nintendo these past two generations? Was it games? HELL no. I STARTED my Nintendo gaming with the N64 and I've been privileged to experience the games it and the GC alike have given me over the years.

And yet both of those consoles were last place in their generation. So, it's not GAMES which Nintendo is losing on, so what else is there? WHY on earth would Nintendo sell fewer consoles in the US than in Japan? Why is the PSP almost neck and neck with the DS in the US despite having zero killer apps?

IT'S IMAGE, GODDAMN IT!!!!

And what irks me more is that, BEFORE this whole fiasco, we all seemed to agree that Nintendo could probably stand to lose the image that it's aimed at children Then, they announce that the Rev will be renamed to one of the silliest, most ridiculously childish names imaginable, and many people here go into "fanboy alert mode": despite all logic, they LOVE the name and blindly approve of it.

If the N64 and the GC have lost Nintendo home console market share because of their image, how is the next console being pronounced "wee" not a severe blow to Nintendo's chances for recovering any market share in the US?

[wandering]

Quote
A NAME is tearing this community apart, and it's not the name's fault...

The power of wii has infected everyone on the ship. Being an android, I am the only one not affected. Therefore, I can say with absolute objectivity, that there is only solution: everyone who does not like the name 'wii' needs to piss off because they are stupid.