Topic: My Wii Focus Group & Results

[wandering]

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Oh, and Wawa, what name were you hinting at in your comparison?

What comparison? What?

[Bloodworth]

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We already know exactly what the system's features are and what it can do. The software part is pending, but we already have a good idea about what it does.

Then why does Nintendo keep saying that Wii will make more sense when the other features are revealed at E3?

[nemo_83]

It is ironic that Nintendo changed the name of their system from Revolution to Wii and are now experiencing a fan revolt.

[Kairon]

Awesome.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Ceric]

I actually find this test more valid then what people would think.  I hate to tell you this but none of us has touched a Wii or seen it in person.  We are actively trying too.  That being said the people who don't actively try to play games and the like could go about there daily life and only see Newstories and ads for the Wii.  There not going to touch it first.  A Wii, despite Nintendo's efforts, can not be as easy to try as Google or Napster.  There online.  You have a computer will travel.

Lets face it the Wii Kiosk are not going to Sit down restraunts, hair salons, and Grocery Stores.  Or the government buildings where you have to go to conduct business.  How about Banks?  These are the places almost everyone goes to.  They have to too survive.  That would be your best bet to get Non-gamers a chance to touch and play it.  Then you have to position it where it would be easy to get to when the person is bored.  Now that thats out back to the study.

I think the best thing that came from this is that in general no one could independently come with a common idea.  These are people with common interests, at least one,  there should have been a migration to a certian feel for the name.  I mean with Google I'm fairly sure a good amount of the response in the more technical area was "Isn't that suppose to be a very large Number?"  Which it was but they misspelled it.

I guess in the end what I'm trying to say is that Nintendo had a name that they worked so hard to give it a common meaning but in the end made it more split then what they started with.

[Jonnyboy117]

I have touched the Wii, held the system with both hands, a full year ago.  And I don't think the name fits it very well.  Now, I haven't played any demos or games with the controller, but I know people who have, and they don't think the name fits either.  So Nintendo must have some shocking new feature to show at E3 if they think the name will suddenly make sense for us.

My little focus group test is not meant to show market viability or anything so complex.  (For that, see Rick's editorial.)  The forum I did it at is full of people with great respect and understanding for words.  The area I posted this thread is actually called "Words & Writing".  So this test was purely focused on the word itself.  For a three letter word, I think it's quite interesting how varied the responses were.

I also wanted to apply a more rigorous (though far from perfect) method to all the anecdotal evidence of "I told my brother" or "my dad called me about it".  The people at this other forum are older people, mostly females, and non-gamers except for the occasional Flash game online.  This is Nintendo's audience for Brain Age (and future games, I'm sure).  I do think it's interesting that their reaction to the name itself is parallel to the gamer audience's reaction, though with predictably less potty humor.  We can't make any generalizations about these results due to the small sample and other possible ways to present the name.  But it's definitely interesting to me, and apparently to soem of you as well, and that's why I posted it.

[Jonnyboy117]

As for people complaining about the staff's involvement in this debate, well, I think that's our job.  You know, I'm not interested in rubber stamping and defending every single thing Nintendo does.  I'm also not interested in attacking every decision they make.  Some of their past decisions which I disagreed with have turned out to be quite smart; others have not.  I don't know which way this naming issue will go.  I hope it works out for them, since they seem adamant in keeping it, but that doesn't mean I should start chanting "Live with it, live with it, live with it."  (Apparently that's what Perrin has resorted to.)  It's an interesting topic that can be analyzed in many ways, and that's exactly what we're doing.  And if you want to take a side and argue it, do so with as much intelligence and deliberation as you can muster, and refrain from personal insults.  This is like debate team.  Argue the issue and not the opponent.  If you're tired of the argument, why are you posting in threads like this one?  Obviously there are people who still want to discuss it, and I think there will be for a long time.  And while E3 should be all about the games, it never is.  (See: booth babes, swag, parties, celebrities, contests, live bands, etc.)  People at E3 are always talking about all sorts of things, and I can promise you that this Wii name will be one of the biggest topics of all.  It is so unusual that for some people, gamers and non-gamers alike, it will seem more important than the system and games themselves.  That's not how it should be, but it is a situation of Nintendo's making, and they will have to deal with the consequences and attempt to direct the controversy in their favor.

[eljefe]

Mr.Metts, Good job!

I thought it was cool

I've thought about showing Wii to another board I visit (indie musicians), however, I'll wait till next week when there is concrete analysis of gameplay.


You didn't let any bias you have taint their first impression

And its reasonable that you 'amputated' the word from its full concept since, after all, it was an English language site.

No one should criticize him for HOW he presented it. Nintendo cannot control HOW word of mouth spreads, so this is accurate.

If they don't like the results, they should recognize that viral marketing is a two-edged sword.



That being said, I would enjoy reading a follow-up survey once there are more official details about Wii.

[I think its significant that, whether Metts likes the name Wii, he hasn't been motivated to make a topic on that other forum for the names of any other videogame systems, past or present.]

And, for the record, I don't mind the name. It could've been better, but it could've been worse. I honestly can't think of what Nintendo could have named to please everyone involved.

[Kairon]

Darn, now I regret that my only online social life is here...on PGC.... trapped.... /cry

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[eljefe]

Kairon, haha

I think that's the amazing power of the net. Here Metts is the boss (on PGC). While, at the other forum, he must choose his words carefully to earn and keep their respect as the youngest member.

Here I'm relatively new. At the other forum I mentioned, I have much more clout.

But I'm as tentative mentioning games there as I am mentioning musical theory here.

Funny

[Ian Sane]

"Q: Where do dogs keep their music?

A: In an I-pawed."

YES!  I'm so stealing this joke!

Anyhoo this sounds very similar to how I presented the news to my family.  The defenders said I didn't do it right, that the entire context of the Wii has to be revealed.  Thankfully Jonny has an advantage in that his focus group has more credibility then any of us just sharing the news with our friends or family, which people will assume probably think a lot like we do.

I think the ultimate flaw with the logic that the whole package has to be revealed at once is that that's not how it's going to work.  Nintendo can't control how people first hear about the Wii.  They can go to all this trouble to make sure all their ads and PoP material outlines the whole picture clearly but that won't even do it.  They can't control how news of the product will be spread by word of mouth.  Some people might explain everything and some won't.  If the name requires a very specific context in order to "get" it then I don't think it has that universal non-gamer appeal that all the defenders say it supposedly has.  A lot of people are just going to hear "Wii" without seeing the whole picture and if that's a problem, if it's damaging for the name to be spread in the "wrong way", then Nintendo should reconsider the name.

[trip1eX]

This thread is why Nintendo released the name early.  To let everyone get their ya yas out.  I'm telling you it's just like a parent who has to discpline their kids for reason their kids can't comprehend now, but they will later.  

Come E3 the focus will taken off the name.  It's on the name now because there isn't much else to talk about.  PLus you have to realize the people that are actually in an uproar about the name are a small minority.  Most folks really don't care one way or the other.  A name doesn't mean anything without a product behind it.  It's that product that will help make the name.  

[heinous_anus]

I don't know, I could think of some names that might totally turn someone off to certain products...

And I think "focus" is on the name because a lot of us can't believe the suckiness of it.

[trip1eX]

I find it humorous someone with a screenname of  'heinous_anus'  is worried about the name Wii.  

[Ceric]

Yeah but a vocal minority and a silent majority, like here in the States, can spell a lot of destruction.

[mantidor]

hahaha, well, I dont think heinous_anus will make a product with his screenname . And I dont know about minority, every single reaction from any single report on the story (hell even CNN) weren't really supportive of the name. You shouldnt really turn off the majority of current gamers, I thought they were an "and" company and that sure includes us.


Also stop comparing Nintendo with our parents, is creepy, they are just a damn company, not our model of moral and ethics.

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: Ceric
Yeah but a vocal minority and a silent majority, like here in the States, can spell a lot of destruction.

QFT

It's the people who don't care enough to talk about games in the first place who Nintendo is trying to market to, and if they hate the name, the only way Nintendo will know is when the second wave of wiis starts gathering dust on store shelves.

[nemo_83]

I read this on Sam Kennedy's 1up blog



"I got a call from Mark about the name just as I was boarding a plane on thursday morning - at first, I thought he was totally yanking my chain, perhaps knowing I didn't have internet access to verify what he was saying. Then I realized he was completely serious (he was calling me to see if I could track down someone to get the news on the site asap), and my heart just sank. I made a call to Luke, fired off a quick text message to Karen, and started to think that this was it - this was Nintendo blowing its opportunity. I knew it was all too good to be true."  

[Stimutacs Addict]

Wii just looks good. It might sound weird, but it has GREAT aesthetic appeal.
I don't know, I just like to look at the name sometimes. It really just looks like there is one "i" if you take the two to equal one

[/hangover]

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: nemo_83
"I got a call from Mark about the name just as I was boarding a plane on thursday morning - at first, I thought he was totally yanking my chain, perhaps knowing I didn't have internet access to verify what he was saying. Then I realized he was completely serious (he was calling me to see if I could track down someone to get the news on the site asap), and my heart just sank. I made a call to Luke, fired off a quick text message to Karen, and started to think that this was it - this was Nintendo blowing its opportunity. I knew it was all too good to be true."

Sigh...

They could still save this by changing the name at E3. Only a very small percentage of what they want their target audience to be knows the console as the "wee".

[Ian Sane]

"They could still save this by changing the name at E3. Only a very small percentage of what they want their target audience to be knows the console as the 'wee'."

I think they have until the first ads start running to change the name or whenever mass production starts (since I assume the name will be on the product itself).  Most people will have no idea what the next Nintendo is called until they can go to a store and buy it.

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane  Most people will have no idea what the next Nintendo is called until they can go to a store and buy it.

Exactly.

[Ceric]

Does the Gamecube say Gamecube on it?  It say Nintendo on the top but that's paper and relatively easily changed.

[nemo_83]

I found it funny that Mark would be the kind of person to call you up when they know you can't get online and tell you something like, "Nintendo is changing the name of Revolution to Snapper."  

[vudu]

Jonny - Out of curiosity, have you trying asking your lady-friends what they think of the name Xbox?