I especially like the praise of the name, something that brings back old memories of hatred when it was first announced!
Quote And now the back story on that crazy name.
When Nintendo announced in April 2006 that it was changing the code name of its forthcoming console from Revolution to its permanent moniker, Wii, the world said, "What?"
Nintendo executives can't be that naïve, right? They do know what people will think of, right? Wait, is it maybe just a strategy to build buzz?
No, yes and sort of.
Nintendo was not naïve. In fact, it hired a respected branding and naming giant, Interbrand, to come up with the name (along with dozens of others that were discarded).
And, yes, Nintendo executives did know the urinary connotation of the word. They were prepared for the jokes and snickers but also knew those would run their course.
And while executives insist the name wasn't meant purely to inspire buzz, the selection and announcement were indeed wellfounded in strategy. Wii the name cannot be shortened or bastardized.
Wii the name refers to the inclusiveness and we-ness of playing together. Wii the name has two i's that physically mimic two people or two remotes. And Wii the name is global -- it's pronounced the same way in most any language.
As for the announcement, it was the timing that was strategic. It came just weeks before the console's first public unveiling at E3, the most important gaming show of the year. The intent was to let the comments and snickers rise up and then die down by the time it came to checking out the hardware and software, says George Harrison, senior VPmarketing and corporate communications at Nintendo of America.
"We knew that people were going to make fun of it," says Perrin Kaplan, VP-marketing and corporate affairs. "We knew there would be a little rainstorm before the sun showed up again."
And, they ask, a year and a half later, can you imagine it being called anything else?
Well, no, actually, Wii can't.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: son of lucas on October 15, 2007, 12:36:46 AM
It's still a stupid name. I don't know much about creating brandnames, but I know that there are plenty of short words out there that can't be associated with urine or genitelia. And Nintendo's overall marketing is hardly impressive. Their biggest boost in that area comes from media articles, not Nintendo itself.
They're succeeding despite massive incompetance in their marketing department.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Shift Key on October 15, 2007, 01:22:18 AM
Quote Originally posted by: son of lucas It's still a stupid name. I don't know much about creating brandnames, but I know that there are plenty of short words out there that can't be associated with urine or genitelia.
ANGRY PANTS TIME. EVERYONE PULL THEM UP AND LETS TRAVEL TO LAST YEAR
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: son of lucas on October 15, 2007, 04:51:57 AM
I didn't bring up a topic trying to say that making your brand a laughingstock weeks before your big unveiling was a stroke of calculated genius.
The Wii is a success because people love the product. The executives and hardware guys who came up with and executed the concept get all the credit from me.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 15, 2007, 04:59:44 AM
And the funny thing is that no one really associates Wii with urine, it has made a name for itself.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Crimm on October 15, 2007, 05:11:52 AM
Quote Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix And the funny thing is that no one really associates Wii with urine, it has made a name for itself.
YOU SAID PEE PEE
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Kairon on October 15, 2007, 07:38:33 AM
Despite some holdouts, the general acceptance of the name vindicates those who embraced it almost immediately.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 15, 2007, 07:47:57 AM
Regardless that is just one part of this, it really shows a big turnaround for Nintendo in the general publics eye when it comes to marketing.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Adrock on October 15, 2007, 07:54:24 AM
Wii is still a pretty lame name. However, a console makes a name for itself. If the controller didn't catch on and Wii failed to capture an audience, we'd probably still hear people making fun of the name. Most consoles have pretty dumb sounding names, but we all remember them, mostly, by how they performed in the market.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 15, 2007, 07:56:58 AM
Quote Originally posted by: Adrock Wii is still a pretty lame name. However, a console makes a name for itself. If the controller didn't catch on and Wii failed to capture an audience, we'd probably still hear people making fun of the name. Most consoles have pretty dumb sounding names, but we all remember them, mostly, by how they performed in the market.
The way I look at it, there is far more evidence backing the pro of then the negative. I would think a highly respected trademark designer would know much more about what they are doing then the average joe.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Kairon on October 15, 2007, 08:03:29 AM
Quote Originally posted by: Adrock Wii is still a pretty lame name. However, a console makes a name for itself. If the controller didn't catch on and Wii failed to capture an audience, we'd probably still hear people making fun of the name. Most consoles have pretty dumb sounding names, but we all remember them, mostly, by how they performed in the market.
The name by itself is dumb. But the name combined with the console? The name viewed holistically as part of Nintendo's overall strategy? Genius.
The proof is in the pudding, I'm afraid.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: King of Twitch on October 15, 2007, 08:03:47 AM
>>Nintendo was not naïve. In fact, it hired a respected branding and naming giant, Interbrand, to come up with the name (along with dozens of others that were discarded).
Hmm I remember Kaplan saying she came up with the name.
Game Informer, 4/27/2006: GI: Whose idea was Wii?
Atwood: It was actually several people internally. But beyond that, we aren’t disclosing specifics on how the name came about. But it was several people at NOA and NCL.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 15, 2007, 08:05:00 AM
Quote Originally posted by: MJRx9000 >>Nintendo was not naïve. In fact, it hired a respected branding and naming giant, Interbrand, to come up with the name (along with dozens of others that were discarded).
Hmm I remember Kaplan saying she came up with the name.
Game Informer, 4/27/2006: GI: Whose idea was Wii?
Atwood: It was actually several people internally. But beyond that, we aren’t disclosing specifics on how the name came about. But it was several people at NOA and NCL.
I really don't think Kaplan came up with the name, I don't recall that. My guess is that NOA and NCL worked with a 3rd party to develop the name.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Strell on October 15, 2007, 09:10:33 AM
Jesus.
Is it 2006 again?
I've seen forum threads whining about graphics this week too. But the name crap again?
There is not enough alcohol in the universe for this sh*t.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: IceCold on October 15, 2007, 09:54:58 AM
Marketing isn't only advertising. You guys need to learn the four Ps.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Mashiro on October 15, 2007, 10:02:18 AM
Product. Place. Price. Promotion.
=)
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Kairon on October 15, 2007, 10:06:43 AM
Yeah... I guess it's true that most gamers think of advertising as the one big C: commercials.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: vudu on October 15, 2007, 10:45:37 AM
Quote Originally posted by: IceCold You guys need to learn the four Ps.
Don't forget STP!
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 15, 2007, 10:53:00 AM
Well before the Wii, Nintendo only had the Price P!
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Ian Sane on October 15, 2007, 11:05:25 AM
Nintendo winning any sort of marketing award just seems so ironic. Though the console is selling so something's going right and I'll give them credit.
I think a big part of it is that the product itself is so "neat" for lack of a better word that people became curious about it and thus made an effort to familiarize themselves with it more. They made sure to try it out which they never did with the Cube. With the Cube everyone assumed that it would have the problems of the N64 and Nintendo not only f*cked things up in such a perfect way so as to confirm that bias but also didn't publicize any reason to not think that. Regardless of what Nintendo did right or wrong the Wii made people look at Nintendo again and they found a decent product because Nintendo always releases pretty damn good stuff. Odds are if people actually bothered to check it out they would have liked the Cube more than they did as well. Nintendo's greatest accomplishment with the Wii was making something so unique, different and interesting that everyone had to check it out. If that was all on purpose that's pretty good marketing I suppose.
I still won't give the name credit. It's dumb. It's stupid. Although I meet people who actually talk about the Wii outside of my core group of friends the first time anyone I knew mentioned it there was a sort of embarrassed tone to their voice. Most people I meet say "Nintendo Wii" to set the topic of conversation and only after that does just "Wii" get used. Maybe in Japan that name was a big deal but here I still think the console suceeded despite the name, and definitely not because of it. Everybody who heard that name made fun of it at first and I don't think many people checked it because it had a name that sounded like pee. They checked it out because when they found out what Wii was it sounded like a cool concept.
Though maybe having a stupid name was the plan. Having radio DJs making fun of your console's name is better than them ignoring you outright.
I don't think Nintendo Revolution being the exact same console with the same games and same ads and same everything but the name would have sold worse.
I think if the competition is on the ball next time and Nintendo follows the same marketing strategy this time around but doesn't have something as unique and interesting as the remote was it won't work as well. Now as the market leader it's always their spot to lose and unless they make a huge mistake they'll be okay, but take away the remote and the name and look of the console and ads and all that stuff isn't very impressive. I felt at the time that the controller change was not necessary for success but looking at what Nintendo did it was. I think a more traditional console would have worked but sure as hell not with this marketing strategy. A major overhaul of their marketing as well as policies towards virtually everything but game design itself seemed essential but instead Nintendo kept those things largely in tact and just made such a major change to the hardware that people had to notice. It's kind of a freakshow strategy.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 15, 2007, 11:15:51 AM
All I have to say Ian, is there is more circumstantial evidence of the name being positive then the name being negative. Nintendo has run a brilliant marketing strategy all around, and the name was just one part of it, heck even my Operation Management teacher praised Nintendo's marketing INCLUDING the name.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Ian Sane on October 15, 2007, 12:07:14 PM
"All I have to say Ian, is there is more circumstantial evidence of the name being positive then the name being negative."
Because the console is actually selling, right? If things are going good it's kind of makes sense to assume it was all a brilliant plan in every way. But that's something a company shouldn't assume. Other factors can affect things. Hell do you think the Wii would have done as well as it has if the PS3 wasn't such a f*cking joke? There's an example of something affecting that outcome that was never part of Nintendo's plan. So next time Nintendo can't just do the same thing and have it work. They have to analyze it. What really contributed? What didn't matter? What did we succeed despite of? What did we get lucky on? What did we earn? What did we get unlucky on?
I've never heard anyone say anything GOOD about the name. It's either a joke about it or they don't mention it at all. Nintendo mentioned "we" like the name suggested togetherness. I've never encountered anyone making that connection beyond the original name defenders on this forum. "Urine" is still the only association I've ever seen from people in my day to day life and no I don't just hang around with people that think like I do. It's not like I'm all buddy-buddy with all my co-workers for example. The piss jokes suggest to me that at least the people I've talked to merely tolerate the name.
I do like the logo though. The two i's that look kind of like people was a good idea and having Wii flip over to Mii is pretty clever.
Was the Gamecube a bad name? The console didn't sell to Nintendo's expectations. Is that enough evidence to suggest the name screwed things up? Maybe it had no effect. Maybe the name was good but other factors overtook it. Personally I thought it was a good name but it wasn't a big enough deal to help things. Since the Cube was a flop was everything about it bad? No. I'd say Nintendo should have, and probably did, look at what still was a good idea despite the failure and what the real problem was.
I'll admit when I thought the name was so bad that it would completely f*ck everything up I was wrong.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: that Baby guy on October 15, 2007, 12:08:16 PM
My two cents? Nintendo's marketting isn't really good, but for the first time in years, it isn't bad, either. Of course, I say it isn't bad because it doesn't seem as strange, out there, and inaccessible to everyone as previous commercials and advertisements have been. I say it isn't good because it isn't really getting people talking about games. The hottest Nintendo game isn't really water-cooler conversation anywhere, because people don't care that much. Sure, it'll be talked about a little bit once a month, but not thanks to marketing. That's a problem to me, but it's still a victory that the Nintendo ads haven't been stupid, like they could be.
As for the naming aspect, I think naming the system the Wii was brilliant in a way. Compare: Xbox, Playstation, Revolution, and Wii. The first three seem geeky, high-tech, very unaccessible, and intimidating. The last one sounds like it could be anything, and is intriguing. The name really was instrumental. It shows a new idea in videogames, and not in an intimidating way.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 15, 2007, 12:11:01 PM
Actually I think the name Gamecube did hurt the system along with other things (including the design). It sounded like a kids system, and the look of the system didn't change that either! I do want to say that you don't have to consciously get the "We" connotation, you can also get it subliminally or sub-consciously. Wii was a great name for the simple fact that it can't be shortened, and the name itself drives interest in what it is. Some of the best advertisers are ones that can think of a name that is so different that people need to know what it is, and when it becomes mainstream it may even become synonymous with that type of product.
I actually hate the Revolution name now, it sounds confrontational and it could have had an impact sub-consciously with people, Wii is weird, but it doesn't invoke possible confrontational meanings and is more "accepting". Heck some of the most successful brand out there have short names, such as iPod. One thing I will NEVER understand is "we" is used all the time but people like to focus on some stupid westernized context that is immature beyond belief. Though now that the Wii has become popular I am hearing the name being used by itself without Nintendo attached to the beginning.
Also Ian, have you ever admitted you were wrong? Just curious.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 15, 2007, 12:26:50 PM
This relates. Business Week also picked Nintendo and Wii as one of the best global brands.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Mashiro on October 15, 2007, 12:41:13 PM
Quote Actually I think the name Gamecube did hurt the system along with other things (including the design). It sounded like a kids system, and the look of the system didn't change that either! I do want to say that you don't have to consciously get the "We" connotation, you can also get it subliminally or sub-consciously. Wii was a great name for the simple fact that it can't be shortened, and the name itself drives interest in what it is. Some of the best advertisers are ones that can think of a name that is so different that people need to know what it is, and when it becomes mainstream it may even become synonymous with that type of product.
Agreed.
Wii has established itself in the mainstream, it's widley successful and all I can say is this . . .
You can say all you want about other factors leading to the consoles success (and I agree PS3 being a phenomenal flop is one of them) but when push came to shove, on launch day, and weeks after launch, in my community people of all ages were lining up for the system. Some for Zelda, some for Wii sports and the thrill of trying a gadget that actually lets you have motion controls.
Word got out and 3 weeks of waiting in line to try and get one makes me believe Nintendo HAD to do something right, and all that wild success and continued success means they really did do something right. Not all of that can be attributed to the PSfail.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 15, 2007, 12:43:00 PM
I also agree, Sony dropping the ball helped Wii, but all indications is that it still would have been successful because it has drawn in a different crowd from the one that would have gotten a PS3 early on. When you have a system that people in nursing homes play, you did something RIGHT.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: SixthAngel on October 15, 2007, 06:19:39 PM
Remember that Ian never thinks a company ever does anything right, they just don't screw up or screw up less then the competition.
The name Wii is pretty brilliant. Besides what has been mentioned here and more importantly it is easy to pronounce remember and differentiates itself from the competition with the name alone. Another important point is that it never has to be shortened. The xbox360, Gamecube and playstation 2/3 quickly become shortened because they are too long or have nonsensical numbers. Every system but the Wii has some little graphic that represents the console but the Wii's graphic is just the name. People will never wonder what some symbol means and will always immediately know it is the Wii. I think Sony should have had the balls to stick with their original controller design, it got laughs just like the Wii name at first but everyone would have forgotten relatively quickly.
The Wii hype train had already began before launch. The e3 before launch had massive lines for Wii hands on time with little to none for other systems in comparison. That has nothing to do with dropping the ball but Nintendo getting everyone on board the Wii train as early as possible.
Lets not forget the decision to pack Wii Sports in outside Japan. They realized how the different markets behaved and made the right call.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Adrock on October 15, 2007, 07:43:52 PM
I still consider the name silly, but I was never put off by it. For me, it is the console with the most games I want to play. I'm a sucker for Nintendo games and they could call their console anything and I'd buy it as long as the quality was there.
In terms of the general public, the Wii by any other name would still be recognizable as "that system where I wave sh*t around." I still hear people who are surprised by the whole Wii/We connection. I always thought Nintendo's explanation was kind of convoluted. I hardly think the name is as important as people made or are making it out to be. Before people thought it was a mistake, but now that Wii is a bona fide success, it's treated as a stroke of genius. Honestly, I think it was neither. It's just a name, it was always just a name. The slick design of the console and (mostly) its innovative approach to control is why it's selling and what it's known for.
Think about how dumb most consoles names sound. They were successful/unsuccessful for a variety of reasons. I just don't think the names had very much to do with that.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 15, 2007, 08:12:00 PM
The name of the console wouldn't have any real effect on whether or not gamers would buy it. Whether you like Nintendo or you don't, whether you like the motion controls or the specific games that are made, that's what goes into making the decision for a gamer. I do think, however, that among the non-gamers it matters at least a little bit. I don't think that the console would be having the same level of success if they had kept the name Revolution.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: son of lucas on October 16, 2007, 05:06:03 AM
Well, I guess the bottom-line on this one is that success makes geniuses out of fools.
Quote
The name of the console wouldn't have any real effect on whether or not gamers would buy it.
That's a beautiful sentiment, but it's also complete bull.
Anyone remember when Disney announced the name of "The Emperor's New Groove"? It killed the movies positive buzz and is still looked at as an embarrassment for the company. But if you actually watch the movie, you see that it's got a Warner Bros. vibe that makes it one of Disney's fresher attempts in the years just before they closed down production. People just didn't give it a chance.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: NWR_insanolord on October 16, 2007, 05:53:00 AM
It is not complete bull. The gamers that don't buy the Wii do so because they want better graphics, or they don't like the motion controls, or they don't like Nintendo's recent track record or the games they make. Sure, some gamers make fun of the name, but the name isn't why they didn't buy the console.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 16, 2007, 05:57:08 AM
That is a good point, usually when people don't like something (well the less mature ones) they mock the name or something.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Ian Sane on October 16, 2007, 06:27:23 AM
"One thing I will NEVER understand is 'we' is used all the time but people like to focus on some stupid westernized context that is immature beyond belief."
It's simple English. You would never say "the we" to refer to us. The only time "the" would be in front of "we" would be for urine. "The we are going to the store" isn't a correct sentence but "careful to not slip in the wee" is. Maybe Nintendo wanted the console to be just called Wii with no "the" in front of it but it's naive to think people would do that. It's like assuming that because Nintendo spelled it "GAMECUBE" all in caps that everyone else would too. I think the whole thing just reaks of Engrish. The Japanese Nintendo execs who came up with the name probably didn't realize that "we" as in "you and I" doesn't work as a proper noun while "wee" as in "piss" does.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: BigJim on October 16, 2007, 06:40:11 AM
The effect of the name can't ultimately be proven either way. Just because the Wii is popular, it doesn't prove the name is a positive. But while nothing particularly positive is said of the name, it doesn't mean it's not effective. It helped get attention for any number of reasons. The Wii is bigger than the sum of its parts, and that is why it's successful.
Sure, the other systems' problems helped to SOME extent, but I give credit to Nintendo for creating the "noise" in the first place. Most, if not all, of us saw the E3 2006 video where everybody was racing towards the Wii booth. Nintendo created a great level of curiosity. Sony and MS had nothing to do with that. Nintendo gets full credit for creating a "package" people were eager to experiment with. The name only added to the intrigue.
Good or bad, it didn't matter. It probably wasn't even the point. It got a reaction, and that's what mattered most. THAT is good marketing.
Anecdotally, I don't hear piss jokes anymore. I only hear "Weeeeeee" in a high-pitched voice, which has a fun/silly connotation. Maybe sometimes to pick on it, but most of the time not.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: couchmonkey on October 16, 2007, 07:49:28 AM
Everyone I know has fun with the name. It's a joke or it's not, but now that the machine is out there, Wii isn't a stupid word, it's...just another word. I personally think the name was a great choice. We can't prove it, but I believe it's non-threatening compared to other console names.
As for the larger issue of winning a marketing award, I do feel Nintendo's marketing has been strong on this product, but I also feel that the product really sells itself. I guess it is a marketing success in that Nintendo designed the Wii well in the first place.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on October 16, 2007, 08:23:27 AM
I still think better names were possible, and I still laugh at the unintentional innuendo sometimes, but I knew the name wasn't going to be a problem when Stephen Colbert gots him one on TV to box the Mii of a politician. When he first said the name, he squealed it in a high-pitched voice, and he didn't make any jokes about it beyond that. I don't know if Nintendo paid for that moment, but it went a long way toward allaying my own qualms.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Smash_Brother on October 16, 2007, 08:36:00 AM
I still think they could have chosen a name that wasn't a proper noun, but it did its job aside from that by making Nintendo stand out from the competition.
I still think Sony's colossal failure had something to do with the Wii's success.
I'm certain that the number of parents who went looking for "the next" Playstation and gawked at the $600 price tag helped Nintendo because it forced those parents to look at the competition. Also, the media typically chooses to love one and only one console and the others are thrown to the wolves. Since the PS3 was such a joke, it forced them to reconsider.
Had Sony shipped a $399 PS3 with some decent games, I'm quite certain that fewer Sony fans would have abandoned them and gone looking for greener pastures, including the media types, meaning that those media types would have otherwise remained in Sony's camp and been mocking Nintendo and its "wee" the whole time.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 16, 2007, 09:21:47 AM
Quote Originally posted by: BigJim The effect of the name can't ultimately be proven either way. Just because the Wii is popular, it doesn't prove the name is a positive. But while nothing particularly positive is said of the name, it doesn't mean it's not effective. It helped get attention for any number of reasons. The Wii is bigger than the sum of its parts, and that is why it's successful.
Sure, the other systems' problems helped to SOME extent, but I give credit to Nintendo for creating the "noise" in the first place. Most, if not all, of us saw the E3 2006 video where everybody was racing towards the Wii booth. Nintendo created a great level of curiosity. Sony and MS had nothing to do with that. Nintendo gets full credit for creating a "package" people were eager to experiment with. The name only added to the intrigue.
Good or bad, it didn't matter. It probably wasn't even the point. It got a reaction, and that's what mattered most. THAT is good marketing.
Anecdotally, I don't hear piss jokes anymore. I only hear "Weeeeeee" in a high-pitched voice, which has a fun/silly connotation. Maybe sometimes to pick on it, but most of the time not.
Surprisingly I agree with everything you said Big Jim. I still love the LOOK of the Wii name, it makes for an attractive package with the name in grey and the rest in white.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: BigJim on October 16, 2007, 09:59:46 AM
I agree I like the look of it too. Very clean and modern. They borrowed a bit from Apple in that regard, I think.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Kairon on October 16, 2007, 10:02:43 AM
Laughter is the best medicine.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Mashiro on October 16, 2007, 10:25:01 AM
Yeah Nintendo definitely took a queue from Apple in that regard.
Which was a very smart and good thing =)
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: IceCold on October 16, 2007, 01:53:13 PM
Quote Sure, the other systems' problems helped to SOME extent, but I give credit to Nintendo for creating the "noise" in the first place. Most, if not all, of us saw the E3 2006 video where everybody was racing towards the Wii booth. Nintendo created a great level of curiosity. Sony and MS had nothing to do with that. Nintendo gets full credit for creating a "package" people were eager to experiment with. The name only added to the intrigue.
Thank you very much BigJim. I always get annoyed when people say that Nintendo is only succeeding because Sony screwed up. It obviously helped, but the effect was minimal - Nintend would have sold tonnes of consoles regardless.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 16, 2007, 02:02:31 PM
Quote Originally posted by: IceCold
Quote Sure, the other systems' problems helped to SOME extent, but I give credit to Nintendo for creating the "noise" in the first place. Most, if not all, of us saw the E3 2006 video where everybody was racing towards the Wii booth. Nintendo created a great level of curiosity. Sony and MS had nothing to do with that. Nintendo gets full credit for creating a "package" people were eager to experiment with. The name only added to the intrigue.
Thank you very much BigJim. I always get annoyed when people say that Nintendo is only succeeding because Sony screwed up. It obviously helped, but the effect was minimal - Nintend would have sold tonnes of consoles regardless.
The lines at E3 proved that the Wii had something special going for it. I think people forget how crazy things were then!
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: UncleBob on October 16, 2007, 02:21:38 PM
I still dislike the Wii name. In retail, I get to deal with customers asking for the "Double-You-Eye-Eye", the "W 2", the "Wii 2", the "Wii game" ("Do you have any Wii Games in stock?" Yeah... like 30 different ones!), the "Why" ("Whi"?), et cetera. To this very day, people still ask for the system and manage to screw up the name.
The connections to the iPod name are weak at best. Sure, they're both "plain", but iPod is like Coke or Kleenex. It's become a universal term for any MP3 player for the general public. I don't think "Wii" has what it takes to be the brand the general public associates with video gaming anymore. Although, remember when you used to "Play Nintendo"?
Don't get me wrong - the Wii name isn't *hurting* (per say), but, as I said when it was first announced, the name wouldn't hurt anything. However, customers know how to say "X Box" and "PlayStation" (or PS2/PS3, if you will).
Nintendo's next system should be called the "Woo"... Then, I can alternate between the two systems on a shelf - Wii-Woo-Wii-Woo-Wii-Woo-Wii-Woo-Wii-Woo....
But then, would we have Moos?
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: that Baby guy on October 16, 2007, 02:25:52 PM
I think it will be hilarious when Nintendo has to market the "!!M," remember, that's the upside-down "Wii." I hope it isn't just a Wario Ware thing, and that it's an actual product. I want to see what they do with it.
Title: RE: Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: Kairon on October 16, 2007, 02:29:55 PM
Mii 2.
Title: RE:Nintendo Wins Marketer of the Year
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 16, 2007, 02:30:58 PM
I think given time people will know how to say Wii and will associate it with gaming. Realize that both the PS and Xbox brands have been around for quite awhile.
