Topic: How in the hell were people "confused" about the Wii U name?

[Nile Boogie Returns]

I am not talking about the parent or the uncle or the grandma. I'm talking about "us", the gamer and the gaming press. I remember watching E2 3011 on G4 and after the reveal the panel seemed to be confused about if it was a add-on for the Wii (Adam Sessler in particular). "Did they watch a different press conference than the one I just watched? They said new console  a bunch of times. They said HDTV and showed that Zelda Demo, which any person worth their salt could determine was not possible on a Wii. Yes, they only passively showed the new console to focus on the GamePad but still. This has always boggled my mind. I can't remember the reaction here, but I remember many " " post around the net.

[Ian Sane]

I don't recall that much confusion with gamers.  I always figured any confusion was with retailers and non-gamers.

I suppose if you were a gamer that didn't particularly follow Nintendo and just quickly looked at the first screenshots and didn't watch the conference you might initially not be certain if it was a new product or not but you should have smartened up by the time the console launched.

[Soren]

The E3 reveal focused heavily on the GamePad. Aside from the Zelda demo, they relied heavily on Wii IPs, and Miis. There were constant references to "the New Controller" and "the device", but the only times we saw the console it was tucked away to the side of a big screen TV. 6 minutes into the video they're already talking about backwards compatibility with Wii peripherals.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

I don't recall that much confusion with gamers.  I always figured any confusion was with retailers and non-gamers.

Not the best example but here's a start:


http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=432783&page=108


Read some of this dreck, I don't get it. Then couple that with the reaction that I witnessed (still looking for the footage) and I still don't get it.




Also watching this press conference again...**** YOU EA AND ALL YOUR LIES!

[broodwars]

Also watching this press conference again...**** YOU EA AND ALL YOUR LIES!

Where did they lie? Did we not get an "unprecedented partnership"?!!! 

[Ceric]

So "unprecedented" that it was hard to fit into the definition of a partnership.

I actually had a coworker confused by the name today.

[NWR_insanolord]

Also watching this press conference again...**** YOU EA AND ALL YOUR LIES!

Where did they lie? Did we not get an "unprecedented partnership"?!!! 

EA released a lot of software on Nintendo's previous consoles, so the near-total lack of support on Wii U really was unprecedented.

[Mop it up]

Yeah, it was pretty weird how everyone thought it was a new system, when it was clearly just a new controller for the Wii. It's a nice controller and really makes Wii Sports better, but I hope they announce a new system soon.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

...and then you got Peter Moore up in that sizzle reel " once I saw the new console, my mind started racing at what we could do with it". Argh, why did I even look at this video. Lies, ALL LIES! They even show Battlefield running on frostbite. IT AIN'T CAUSE THEY PUT A "U" IN THE TITLE THAT BATTLEFIELD DIDN"T COME OUT! OK, I'm done

[Ceric]

...
IT AIN'T CAUSE THEY PUT A "U" IN THE TITLE THAT BATTLEFIELD DIDN"T COME OUT! OK, I'm done

Your right its because they put a Wii in it.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

Your right its because the put a Wii in it.

Touche my friend. I wouldn't have went the Wii route either but I also didn't think it was so egregious as to garner so much angst and vitriol. "Nintendo Stream" and "Nintendo HD" I thought were better names but I would have bought the thing regardless. "I'm part of the problem"

And how in the blue hell is FiFA 15 on Wii and NOT Wii U?

[Soren]

And how in the blue hell is FiFA 15 on Wii and NOT Wii U?

The Wii version of FIFA has been the exact same game since FIFA 12.

[Ian Sane]

At the time I felt that having support from EA and Ubisoft meant nothing.  They support everybody.  Support from somebody like Rockstar who basically shuns Nintendo is what would impress me.

Now we're at the point where if next time Nintendo shows a new console they have EA and Ubisoft on board that would be a BIG DEAL.  It would impress the hell out of me.  It's kind of scary that it's come to that.

Of course "once I saw the new console, my mind started racing at what we could do with it" is the same sort of nonsense I heard about the Gamecube and the Wii and the third parties spouting that never gave those systems any decent support.  Third parties care about sales potential.  They won't be swayed by interesting features that could be incorporated into their games, they care about if your system is going to attract a good sized userbase of the target audience for their games.  You could have the damn Holodeck as your console and if they didn't think it would sell, or that it would only sell to certain demographics that they don't think will buy their games, they would ignore it.

[Ceric]

There are some interesting Concept demo's from almost every developer hidden.  The money people though wouldn't let them get made.