Post by: Jonnyboy117 on May 03, 2006, 07:35:11 PM
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I want to do a little experiment with you all, and it's easy to participate.
Today, Nintendo announced that its new game system will be officially named "Wii". It is pronounced the same as "we". Without knowing anything else about the system, or even video games in general, what do you think of that name?
Jonathan
Here are the answers. (I'm not including names because I didn't ask their permission to use their names.)
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My immediate reaction is that it would be pronounced "why."
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I can hear the wii-wii jokes now.
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wwII missing the second w? or wii not?
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I think it's pretty lame. Besides looking like a typo, which probably doesn't really matter to the text messaging crowd, the sound "wee" sounds small and insignificant. Are they trying to play off "we" as in "all us players"? Or maybe they're trying to piss off the French and misspell "Oui."
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I took it for a typo and had no clue how to pronounce it.
My first thought was "wiki" without the "k," and then, as Ricki says, WWII without the second "W".
By the way, here's a riddle I saw online yesterday:
Q: Where do dogs keep their music?
A: In an I-pawed.
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It reminds me of Intel's 'viiv', which I read as a rather ridiculous way of jumping on Apple's roman-numeral bandwagon. Where a 'w' comes into that I'm not sure. But that's what it makes me think of.
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Perhaps, it's meant to evoke "wheeee!"
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I read the item in the paper this morning, dismissed it as not a catchy name, thought maybe the company hoped the product's popularity would establish the name and that it would work because of its difference and peculiarity. If I associated it at all, it was with Wikopedia.
At this point, I explained the purpose of soliciting these responses and briefly mentioned my own antipathy towards the name. The following responses were posted after that point:
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One more afterthought, on this subject...
Two brand-new words in my vocabulary these days are "wiki" and "wi-fi."
Having no precedents to compare them to, it's taken me a while to get it through my head that "wiki" has a short "I" and "wi-fi" a long one. Without a similar clue, "wii" doesn't compute for me at all. Although, if I saw a few thousand TV commercials with the word on the screen in huge letters while being pronounced by a distinctive, erotic/exotic female voice, I'm sure it would begin to sink in.
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Perhaps you should have said that the system was very wiird.
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A little late, but this thread intruiged me. My first read of wii was as "Y" "I", or as the Geordie accent in England would say "whyI", not so much a question, more a speech introduction. But then why not "whyI?", also the technie part of me could read it as w2 as in web2? I suppose the "we" has a more joined in feel to it, which presumably fits better with the online gaming world, than the individualistic "I" sound. However, without your guidance on pronunciation, it is more interesting name
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I skipped by all the responses my first impression..."war
2."it his me as wwii...but remember I have dyslexia so I don't
know if I count as a valid voice...now I'm going back to read
what others posted...
Post by: Kairon on May 03, 2006, 07:42:44 PM
Now, if only they had demo booths out for these people to try...
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Arbok on May 03, 2006, 07:42:52 PM
Post by: Kairon on May 03, 2006, 07:51:31 PM
I would suggest this experiment: Have two links, one of the links is labelled just "Wii" and links to the Nintendo TGS Controller teaser trailer. The other link would be labelled just "Revolution" and links to the same trailer. Which link's thread will get more attention in a non-gamer forum, I wonder?
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Caliban on May 03, 2006, 07:54:34 PM
On topic, yeah that was an interesting experiment, I wouldn't still consider it perfect 'cause your lab-rats had no hands on the system.
Post by: Renny on May 03, 2006, 07:59:12 PM
Viva la Revolution.
Post by: thepoga on May 03, 2006, 08:09:32 PM
It's really frustrating a little bit. I've gotten used to the name, but I find myself trying to be careful in the way I talk about it. Even developers have to be careful. One developer said "You really have to touch the revolution to really understand it." This was AFTER the name Wii was announced. I don't want to have to be careful in how I say the name of something.
Post by: wandering on May 03, 2006, 08:09:49 PM
So the name should evoke 'we' but instead evokes WWII, wikipedia, a typo, small, whee, and wee-wee. Also, people don't know how to pronounce it.
The solution, I suppose, is to include an explanatory tagline in all ads, especially print ads. "Together, Wii will change everything" explains the meaning and the pronounciation.
..I guess we already knew that. The question is, is it worth it to trade off a name which is not understandable without advertising (though lots of advertising will be there), in favor of a name that is short, easy to remember, and non-traditional?
Post by: mantidor on May 03, 2006, 08:25:11 PM
We sure have learned our fair ammount about names this week
I cant recall any name that made me bought or reject a product though. it makes me think the name is really not that important, which makes the choice of the name even more non-sense, they couldve have left it as revolution and I dont see a diferent reaction from the outside crowd, and we would probably have just said "it was expected".Post by: Kairon on May 03, 2006, 08:32:05 PM
Oh, and Wawa, what name were you hinting at in your comparison?
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Hostile Creation on May 03, 2006, 08:39:21 PM
People will hear about the system through word of mouth and seeing what it can do (via commercials, etc). In most cases, people will hear it pronounced. Drawing attention to any name will yield indifferent results. If I asked a bunch of nongamers about the name Revolution without a reasonable explanation, they'd probably be even less interested, because it sounds generic. And confused as to why it's named that, as well.
In short, you should give a reasonable description and mention the name, don't make it the focus. Otherwise you're going to have fundamentally flawed results.
I'm not totally refuting your efforts, they're interesting results. General confusion toward the name, leaning toward both distaste and, later, mild interest. I just think everyone's going about it the wrong way.
Post by: trip1eX on May 03, 2006, 08:54:42 PM
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on May 03, 2006, 08:56:55 PM
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Originally posted by: Hostile Creation
I still think it's ridiculous to draw attention toward the name, identifying it as an entity in and of itself, rather than something describing the product. Which is what it's supposed to do.
If that's the case, why would Nintendo reveal the name in its own announcement, separate from the truly full unveiling of the system at E3? They just dumped it out there nearly two weeks before E3, in such a way that mainly gamers would hear about it, despite admitting anticipation that gamers would not like the name. If this name is meant to appeal to everyone, they should have debuted it in national advertising campaigns and done so at the same time they actually show people what the system is meant to do and how real games are played on it. Nintendo's handling of this matter has been a complete mess, and that's entirely separate from my opinion of the name itself.
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I just think everyone's going about it the wrong way.
Yeah, including Nintendo.
Post by: trip1eX on May 03, 2006, 09:01:26 PM
People's initial reactions are often different than their long term reactions. Any parent that has dealt with their kids knows this.
y.
Post by: Kairon on May 03, 2006, 09:01:31 PM
Only us gamers and other industry people got the premature access.
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Hostile Creation on May 03, 2006, 09:16:22 PM
Nobody's going to hear about it now except for gamers, who will become accustomed to it. If anyone does hear about it, it'll pass from their minds until they start their advertising campaign. I don't see how announcing the name, to a bunch of people who know what the system does, is hurting anything.
That said, it seems like you're evading the point of my post, whether you meant to or not. Nintendo has to announce the name sometime, at least by E3 (and they've already explain their reasoning for doing so beforehand); it would be far worse to change the name after the E3 of the system's release year.
Frankly, you sound more like an indignant gamer than someone who's actually put any worthwhile thought into the matter.
Post by: wandering on May 03, 2006, 09:19:33 PM
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If this name is meant to appeal to everyone, they should have debuted it in national advertising campaigns and done so at the same time they actually show people what the system is meant to do and how real games are played on it. Nintendo's handling of this matter has been a complete mess, and that's entirely separate from my opinion of the name itself.
A complete mess? I disagree.
All of the Wii news released up to this point hasn't made much a splash for non-gamers. So, it'll be like everything is revealed to them all at once, like you want...either when real games are actually shown at E3 and the press reports on it, or when the massive Wii advertising campaign hits. So that covers non-gamers.
For gamers, Nintendo will reveal the most important thing, Wii games, at E3. And when that happens, they want all the focus to be on the games. Not on the lack of HD, not on a sudden name change, not on a funky looking new controller. They've been releasing bits of difficult information during the lead-up to the big reveal not only to keep the Wii on gamer's radars, but also to make sure the big reveal goes as smoothly as possible.
Post by: Crimm on May 03, 2006, 09:24:39 PM
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Originally posted by: Jonnyboy117Quote
I think it's pretty lame. Besides looking like a typo, which probably doesn't really matter to the text messaging crowd, the sound "wee" sounds small and insignificant. Are they trying to play off "we" as in "all us players"? Or maybe they're trying to piss off the French and misspell "Oui."
Well someone got it.
Post by: Mario on May 03, 2006, 09:33:30 PM
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If that's the case, why would Nintendo reveal the name in its own announcement, separate from the truly full unveiling of the system at E3? They just dumped it out there nearly two weeks before E3, in such a way that mainly gamers would hear about it, despite admitting anticipation that gamers would not like the name.
So people like you and Rick can get your editorials and focus group studies out now rather than E3 when people just wanna hear about the games.
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If this name is meant to appeal to everyone, they should have debuted it in national advertising campaigns and done so at the same time they actually show people what the system is meant to do and how real games are played on it.
The first time 98% of consumers hear the name will be in those commercials. Which brings up a flaw in your study, the way the name is presented. It's not supposed to be shoved in peoples faces like "look! Wii! THOUGHTS?", it's just supposed to be there. The name above that awesome system you'll the stores. What's this? Wii.
Post by: IceCold on May 03, 2006, 10:06:36 PM
I think you misunderstood Hostile; he meant that your survey was ridiculous in that it asked the nongamers what they felt about the name in itself, and not as a package with the Wii. 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. So we can judge the name. However, nongamers don't know much about the system at all. So it's unfair to just give them a name and expect them to react to it.
Also, if you said yourself that not many nongamers have heard of the name yet, then why should Nintendo start a marketing campaign now? Chances are those same nongamers won't hear the name until Nintendo starts advertising, anyway.
Post by: Nick DiMola on May 03, 2006, 10:41:46 PM
I personally do not like the name, but I hope Nintendo markets it effectively and it becomes a staple in the English language sort of like iPod. In addition, I think we should all stop arguing about the whole name issue because nobody is going to unanimously agree that the name is good or bad. I say we all stop whining/fighting, and look forward to the sweetness E3 2006 will be.
Post by: Kairon on May 03, 2006, 10:45:50 PM
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Hostile Creation on May 03, 2006, 10:59:42 PM
Post by: ruby_onix on May 03, 2006, 11:19:37 PM
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Jonny, you can vent all you want about the name, but the above few posters are right; Nintendo has handled it as best they could. You contradicted yourself by asking why Nintendo would reveal it in its own announcement, then admitting that "mainly gamers" would hear about it. This thread is about nongamers, right? The backlash from the name would come from the gamers if anywhere, which is why they released it two weeks earlier. The focus at E3 just can't be the name, so it was better to get it over and done with. Then, the nongamers would hear about the name later, together with the system, the games and the controller.
Why do people seem to think that in order for Nintendo to have a name that would be acceptable to non-gamers, it inevitably has to be hated by 95% of the gaming population?
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I think you misunderstood Hostile; he meant that your survey was ridiculous in that it asked the nongamers what they felt about the name in itself, and not as a package with the Wii.
Do you honestly believe that "Wii" is the verbal embodiment of the Revolution?
Post by: Kairon on May 03, 2006, 11:27:18 PM
The verbal embodiment of the revolution is "Itsa-me! Mario!"
Duh! &P
That was the verbal embodiment of the analog stick revolution at least...
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: wandering on May 03, 2006, 11:47:52 PM
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Oh, and Wawa, what name were you hinting at in your comparison?
What comparison? What?
Post by: Bloodworth on May 04, 2006, 12:17:49 AM
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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?
Post by: nemo_83 on May 04, 2006, 01:19:28 AM
Post by: Kairon on May 04, 2006, 01:29:50 AM
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Ceric on May 04, 2006, 05:01:30 AM
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.
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on May 04, 2006, 05:55:42 AM
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.
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on May 04, 2006, 06:03:49 AM
Post by: eljefe on May 04, 2006, 06:39:54 AM
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.
Post by: Kairon on May 04, 2006, 06:47:04 AM
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: eljefe on May 04, 2006, 07:14:47 AM
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
Post by: Ian Sane on May 04, 2006, 08:49:14 AM
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.
Post by: trip1eX on May 04, 2006, 11:30:47 AM
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.
Post by: heinous_anus on May 04, 2006, 02:49:05 PM
And I think "focus" is on the name because a lot of us can't believe the suckiness of it.
Post by: trip1eX on May 04, 2006, 03:02:24 PM
Post by: Ceric on May 04, 2006, 03:06:36 PM
Post by: mantidor on May 04, 2006, 03:22:47 PM
. 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.
Post by: Smash_Brother on May 04, 2006, 05:54:54 PM
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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.
Post by: nemo_83 on May 04, 2006, 05:58:13 PM
"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."
Post by: Stimutacs Addict on May 04, 2006, 06:23:52 PM
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]
Post by: Smash_Brother on May 05, 2006, 07:16:34 AM
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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".
Post by: Ian Sane on May 05, 2006, 08:33:07 AM
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.
Post by: Smash_Brother on May 05, 2006, 09:21:49 AM
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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.
Post by: Ceric on May 05, 2006, 11:02:46 AM
Post by: nemo_83 on May 05, 2006, 12:32:48 PM
Post by: vudu on May 05, 2006, 12:34:12 PM
