Topic: Revolution no more-Nintendo Wii

[pudu]

I’ve asked for opinions from my family members and most don’t seem to care much. A common reaction was, “that’s strange”. After a lot of pondering I think the awkwardness in the name is mainly due to the fact that it goes against the Enlish language. It simply isn’t natural to take a pronoun such as “we” (or he, she, they, etc.) and use it as a noun. I think it will be very difficult to train my brain that the very common word “we” can now be considered both a noun and a pronoun. It just doesn’t compute in my brain and feels…well it just feels wrong to say it.

To make sure I look at both sides, if Nintendo does somehow succeed and people beging to accept “Wii” as being both a noun and pronoun then people will then basically be saying Nintendo’s new console’s name constantly each day. You don’t see people walking around saying PS3 this PS3 that without even knowing it  

[jasonditz]

Quote
Originally posted by: Smash_Brother
yet the name "Wii" sounds so completely bizarre that I'm sure that market segment will still be scared away by it.

Who's scared by a bizarre name? Seriously, I think this is more a stumbling block for the l33t kiddies than it is for the middle aged housewife or the elderly couple. This probably isn't liable to sound any more bizarre to them than any of the other names.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: wandering New name for new concept! I just went over this.

No it doesn't! 'Revolution' has nothing to do with motion sensing. It evokes other things and therefore distracts from what the Wii actually does.

Thing is, I don't see "wii" doing any better of a job than Rev. Rev has ambition about it, wii is just some made up word some overpaid advertising executive likely grunted out.

[jasonditz]

I told a couple non-gamers, they didn't have any sort of negative reaction, except for the general idea of talking about games, being non-gamers and all. None of them mentioned urine... if we're going to sell that line, we need to put posters on toilets, Revmote shaped urinal cakes, and make yellow the launch color.  

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: pudu
I’ve asked for opinions from my family members and most don’t seem to care much. A common reaction was, “that’s strange”. After a lot of pondering I think the awkwardness in the name is mainly due to the fact that it goes against the Enlish language. It simply isn’t natural to take a pronoun such as “we” (or he, she, they, etc.) and use it as a noun. I think it will be very difficult to train my brain that the very common word “we” can now be considered both a noun and a pronoun. It just doesn’t compute in my brain and feels…well it just feels wrong to say it.

To make sure I look at both sides, if Nintendo does somehow succeed and people beging to accept “Wii” as being both a noun and pronoun then people will then basically be saying Nintendo’s new console’s name constantly each day. You don’t see people walking around saying PS3 this PS3 that without even knowing it

See, that's another issue entirely.

The word "wee" already has a foundation in the english language. It'd be one thing if they invented a completely new word with a completely new pronunciation, but it's like they've tried to replace an existing word with the name of their console.

Even the iPod wasn't THAT ambitious...

[Kairon]

Interestingly, Matt of IGN fame hasn't really gone negative on it. Go figure.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[mantidor]

He had, he doesnt like it, but everyone with a brain knows that the name doesnt matter... the problem is, tha the common people, as a group, as the "mob", are brainless.

[Kairon]

No wii aren't.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Dasmos]

The name's different, it's unusual, but apart from my initial reactions, I like it.

[Shecky]

The whole "we" is a pronoun is the whole gripe in my book.  

In the end though, this is going to be abriviated and altered.  Most people probably won't even pronounce it "we" at all.

Gamecube is GCN right,

Maybe WiiN?  "win"

heh, that's what I'm going to start calling it.

[Mario]

You could always call it NW

[pudu]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
No wii aren't.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Not to pick on your Kairon, but this is something else that has been bugging me.  A lot of people are using it in place of the word "we" and that is just adding to my frustration about how hard it is for me to use the word as a pronoun and not a noun since everyone is using it as a noun...sorry about all this technical English talk but take a gander at my post a few up.  Sorry again Kairon, not meaning to pick on you and I might be one of the only one's bothered by this...

[eljefe]

Quote
Originally posted by: wandering

Quote
Wii      
This area is for discussion and speculation about Nintendo's next-generation console, named Wii.

I don't know if this bodes well for the name, but I couldn't help laughing when I read this.

Anyway. Alot of people are saying that, because everyone liked revolution, and no one likes wii, Nintendo should change the name back to Revolution. So let me be the first to say wii is a better name than revolution.

I like the name 'Revolution'. But it isn't a very good name marketing-wise. It's too long. It's too generic. But worst of all, it describes what the system is intended to do in the marketplace instead of what, you know, it actually does.

...That last point may not seem like a big deal, but, imagine marketing the name. You'd have to use advertisments like 'a revolution in gaming'. This sucks because it wastes time that should be going towards explaing the system. But more importantly, saying the system will 'revolutionize' the game industry is comparitive, and non-gamers, the people who Nintendo wants to court, could care less about how the system compares to what the game industry has done previously. The wii machine will be completley new to them, and the name should reflect that.

People (Ian) are saying the name sucks because it makes no sense. Of course it doesn't make sense! It's describing something new and alien: an entertainment machine that you control through hand movements. It's a new word for a new concept. Imagine how well Tivo would have done if they had decide to name it 'VCR Advance' or something. Sometimes, you can't prop yourself up with a prexisting brand name or concept.

People are saying the name sucks because the name can mean pee, small, or yes, if you are in kindergarten, are Scottish, or are French, respectively. Fine. Maybe Nintendo made a mistake when they came....oh wait, sorry, did I say Nintendo came? Whoops!

Quote
Originally posted by: eljefe

The best part is all the entertaining reactions by people on the web
like this:

Laughing with me not at me I hope

true
the whole lot of it.

and mantidor, regarding wii having personality:

I could come up with alot pseudo-psychological mumbo jumbo to describe my reason for saying that, but I don't think that would carry much weight.

Essentially, the Wii reminds me of me.

I am a poet
I am a musician / visual artist
I am crazy

Everyone has a wacky, quirky side to them. Most people only show glimpses of their locura. Those moments (with family usually, or close friends) are some of the happiest of our day/ week/ or life.

I've been trying to embrace my craziness as much as possible lately. I'm only 20 years old, but I'm dalready isgusted by how many people cage up their true personalities. Hiding their crazy side doesn't make them happier.

In marketing, brand = personality. So a company name or product name immediately communicates human attributes (attractive  or repulsive).

I've owned an NES, an SNES, an N64, a Dreamcast, and a GC. Basically I was attracted to the personality I noticed in each product (not just the name, everything about them).

I'm always looking for ways to support Nintendo (even tho I'm 'poor' by American standards). So unless they stopped oozing their wacky "all-about-fun" attitude I would put down the money for their product.

During the life span of the GC alot of things happened to me that sidetracked me from videogames. It was weird because when I tried to get back into videogames it didn't move me. Forced by a tighter and tighter budget to examine all of purchases more carefully, I decided to only buy videogames with LOTS of personality.

I was sad to realize that there was nothing left to buy when I really scrutinized things. I then decided to concentrate all of my free time and funds on other hobbies, particularly music. I noticed that I COULD live without videogames (something I never thought possible).

That is why I don't own a DS. Even IT didn't live up to incredibly lofty standards (of wild innovation at a reasonable price).

That is why until they unveiled the controller I wasn't going to get the Wii.

I can see that the decisions Nintendo has made are A DELIBERATE STATEMENT. There is SOMEONE behind the decisions. That someone is CRAZY & CONFIDENT.

I respect that in the personality of the people around me, the musicians I listen to, the products I buy.

That's what I mean.



(dangit! I DID get all philosophical!)

[Shecky]

Quote
Originally posted by: Mario
You could always call it NW

An ordinal direction?  Nah

WiiN is much better

[Kairon]

Sorry for bugging you pudu, but it's just so fun! ... You seriously don't find it fun?

This is just like that Brain Age exercise where they give you a word that's a color, but instead of reading it you need to say the color of the text. It's different and unconventional and challenging and provoking... and I just spelled "colour" the american way. NOOOOO! I'm losing my Canadian-ness!

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Hostile Creation]

I've said it aloud, several times.
Now all of you, I'm not sure if your testicles have descended or not, but I've got a pretty deep voice and it sounds reasonably cool when I say it.  Also, a sexy French woman saying it would be just as acceptable.  Even hot.
Just thought I should point out my rugged masculinity.

[eljefe]

just to show you, mantidor

have you ever heard of "serie b magazine"

its one of the best magazines about music                   ever

and it made in spain


see

I am

c
r
a
z
y



That's the kind of randonimity I can pull out on a whim.
I usually hold back on this forum tho. Sorry. Back to semi-normal.

*that felt good*

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: Hostile Creation
I've said it aloud, several times.
Now all of you, I'm not sure if your testicles have descended or not, but I've got a pretty deep voice and it sounds reasonably cool when I say it.  Also, a sexy French woman saying it would be just as acceptable.  Even hot.
Just thought I should point out my rugged masculinity.

I couldn't transition from manly man you to feminine french femme quickly enough and the two images erroneously combined in my visualization... you have scarred me for life, you know that?

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[IceCold]

Quote
I suggest they change the name to Wiim as in "whim". That's a neutral word and they can take their logo and make it so that the last two letters are the 'w' and 'i' upsidedown. Clever logo, international friendly name, doesn't turn off American consumers.

Like West Edmonton Mall (wem)..

Quote
I agree with mantidor, Wii sounds stupid in every language :S

Except French, of course..

Quote
Originally posted by: joedick
Wow. It's only been a few hours and I'm already sick of wee jokes.

Seriously? With your username?

[Galford]

I'm kinda expecting the Internet to crash under the weight of all the urine/p3ni$ jokes I've been reading the last couple of hours.

When I heard that Rev had been renamed to Wii, the first thing that popped into my head was an old man taking a leak on the side of a road and getting hit by an old pickup truck.

Weird huh....

[IceCold]

Quote
Originally posted by: ThePerm
remember how WWF changed their name to WWE, and it completely tanked in popularity?

Get the F out!

I was just going to comment on that - brilliant!

EDIT: And zakkiel's right, the forums have never been this negative. When the controller was revealed there were very few posters (DrGakman comes to mind) that really, really hated it. The rest either didn't know what to think or they loved the possibilities that the controller had. And the trailer that Nintendo made really helped the undecided ones understand the concept.

The only other time I can think of when the majority was negative was for something like when they announced that the USB dongle would only be available online, and that's nothing compared to this.

[Athrun Zala]

Quote
Originally posted by: IceCold

Quote
I agree with mantidor, Wii sounds stupid in every language :S

Except French, of course..

my limited frencho knowledge tells me that the pronunciation of "Wii" and "Oui" isn't exactly the same, right?

but in any case, good point, we can call it the "Nintendo Yes" now

[pudu]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
Sorry for bugging you pudu, but it's just so fun! ... You seriously don't find it fun?

This is just like that Brain Age exercise where they give you a word that's a color, but instead of reading it you need to say the color of the text. It's different and unconventional and challenging and provoking... and I just spelled "colour" the american way. NOOOOO! I'm losing my Canadian-ness!

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

I guess I thought it was a little funny at first but its worn thin for me and it just keeps reminding me how they basically called a system "we"...hopefully given time I'll be able to accept this a little better.  I hate how it bugs me so much tbh.  If it keeps bugging me for a long while and I have to see the new name all over the place I might go crazy.  Anyway, feel free to keep having fun Kairon and anyone else, I'm not trying to be a party pooper or anything.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: mantidor
He had, he doesnt like it, but everyone with a brain knows that the name doesnt matter... the problem is, tha the common people, as a group, as the "mob", are brainless.

I just don't see the necessity for a gamble. I'm sure the console would have sold fine as the Rev. Wii, I'm not so convinced.

Like every made up word, if they blow millions on marketing (time to put those DS profits to USE) then they can get the name into everyone's head and get it recognized, but it could easily backfire and not generate the hype they're aiming for.

If Nintendo ramps up and markets this more than Sony and MS are marketing their consoles, then I could see it succeeding.

Anything less than a multi-million dollar campaign, though, and I doubt Wii will become the household name Nintendo needs it to be.

[Dasmos]

Come on, why is there such drama? It's just a name.

You're not going to kill yourself over a bad name, are you?