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I have YET to see a so-called "good opinion" on the name...All I have seen are elementary school-level urine jokes and insecure forum members...And yes, I do find this level of thinking to be very, VERY moronic...
Gamers in the US are easily swayed by image. EVERYONE in the US is, gamers are no exception. With Red Steel, the Rev looked like it would do what Nintendo has needed to do for a while: take back some of that older demographic market share and earn itself something other than a 3rd place finish.
Revolution was an EXCELLENT name: it described exactly what Nintendo intended to do. The word "Revolution" has been known far and wide as the act of change via force, and that's a pretty bold statement by Nintendo, one which EVERYONE in the world can recognize.
"Wii" lacks that power. It doesn't have the oomph, it doesn't have the name recognition and it sounds like some marketing executive was just trying far too hard to come up with something new and daring.
"Wii" play together? That's not very far from Xbox Live's tagline "It's good to play together."
So, the reasons why I think the name is a bad idea:
1. It's a bad pun. Puns are like passing jokes. Naming a console after a pun? Huh?
2. It loses massive appeal in the US. I don't care what anyone says, Nintendo needs to take back some of the US market and this is arguably their last chance to do so. The name "Revolution" is a very strong name, one which every American can relate to. There are plenty of gamers who I'm sure were on the fence but will decide not to own a "Wii".
3. Nintendo needs as broad of an appeal as it can get. Now is not the time to be changing a name which is already very well received to a name which needs to be explained before anyone even knows how to pronounce it. If I didn't know beforehand, my guess would be that it's some kind of German stereo system, not Nintendo's revolutionary new console.
4. The name just sounds diminutive, weak and lifeless. The DS was named the DS because that's what it was: a handheld with Dual Screens. The Rev was going to be the Revolution in home gaming. The KISS motto (keep it simple, stupid) was the WAY to go here. It worked for the DS and I have no doubt it would have worked for the Rev.
I think the name is a bad idea. I know it's going to hurt sales. There's not a doubt in my mind that Nintendo will LOSE sales because of this name change.
Furthermore, our opinions don't matter. We're PGC posters: we're the hardest of the hardcore Nintendo fanboys. You think what WE think of the console name means anything? We're already guaranteed sales.
We're not Nintendo's target market because they don't need to do any marketing to us. Their target market is the player who wasn't going to buy their console and I know for a fact that they've alienated likely thousands of those with this weak and unimpressive name.
Topic: 1UP on last secret "perhaps the most intriguing element of the system" (Read 15138 times)
