Topic: Nintendo Reveals Wii U Coming in 2012

[FZeroBoyo]

My first comment: The name. At first, my reaction was "Really? Wii U?". I thought it was pretty simple, perhaps even lazy even with the "it's something WE can play but there's something for YOU". A few hours later, I haven't totally accepted it, but perhaps it will grow on me by the time next year's E3 rolls around.


The controller looks pretty interesting and I'm quite intrigued at how this thing will be utilized. Of course, it was mostly revealed instead of fully detailed, which I expect will happen at large game shows within the next year.

[motang]

Can't believe I already go used to the name! 

[NWR_insanolord]

Remember how when Nintendo named the Wii everyone thought it was the worst name anything ever had? And how after a little while nobody really cared anymore, and now it sounds completely normal?

[Caliban]

Remember how when Nintendo named the Wii everyone thought it was the worst name anything ever had? And how after a little while nobody really cared anymore, and now it sounds completely normal?

That's true, but Wii U? It's like you're trying to whistle and failing miserably.

[Stogi]

I've been pronouncing it backwards ever since it was announced. UuuuuWiii /rick james

[Adrock]

I got used to calling it Cafe. I even got used to seeing it referred to as Stream. WiiU sounds silly, but I won't lose sleep over it.

I can see why Nintendo wouldn't want to do away with the Wii brand, especially since all of its peripherals carry over. The U part is what everyone seems to have issues with. At least Wii sounds like a real word. WiiU just reminds me of that awful movie Kung Pow: Enter the Fist.

I'm not really sure why Nintendo is so attached to symbolic nomenclature. They come up with a philosophy and meaning behind the names, but you can come up with something no matter what you call it. "Stream" is a really easy name to come up with some BS meaning. If I were to keep the Wii name in tact, I would have called it "Wii Tour" and my silly philosophy would involve "touring" your house with the controller. Get it? I also have this idea for a "Jump To Conclusions" mat. You see, it would be this mat that you would put on the floor and would have different conclusions written on it that you could jump to.

Nintendoⁱ would also work and they could just reuse the DSi's philosophy. They wouldn't even need to come up with something new.

[Mop it up]

I didn't mind the name of Wii when it was first announced. Wii U is just stupid, though I agree that it isn't going to have an effect on its sales.

[Chozo Ghost]

The Atari Jaguar may have been one of the worst consoles (certainly one of the worst selling anyway) of all time, but it had one of the best most badass names.

Wii-U rhymes with Pee-Yew, and that's the sort of jokes were probably going to be hearing a few years from now when Nintendo enters into its 4th consecutive mid-late generation drought. 3-4 years into the Wii-U's life cycle Nintendo will gearing up for the Wii-U2 and so the Wii-U is going to have its lineup of games cut left and right so they can be diverted to that new console... so its just going to be an endless vicious cycle.

The only way it will ever be broken is if Nintendo uses some of the resources that we all know they have to buy or create some new studios so they can be able to develop for more than one system at a time. Half the studios should still be developing for the old system while the other half works on launch titles for the new one. That seems to be how Sony and Microsoft do it, but Nintendo can only seem to manage one or the other, so that's why we have the games drought late on in each console's life. If Nintendo were in dire straits like Sega in 1999 then it would be excusable, but Nintendo has billions of dollars so why can't they do it?

ETA: Also, it would really help a lot if NOA was made more autonomous and not made up of emasculated "yes men". When Nintendo of Japan informed NOA of the name of the new console apparently no one at NOA (or any other english speaking region) had the balls to tell them how ridiculous and idiotic that "Wii-U" name sounds in the English language. Maybe in the Japanese language it has some poetic qualities or looks good in Kanji, but to those of us who read and speak English its terrible. Someone needed to tell them that. Obviously Reggie needs to be replaced. He did not kick ass or take names as he did at previous E3s. I imagine Iwata has his balls in a jar somewhere...

[Enner]

Their war chests go directly to R&D. Or maybe they are saving them for a rainy day that will last years.

Also, I don't recall the Wii name ever having a kanji name. I think it has been katakana or straight English. You can probably check 4gamer.net to see.
Maybe they think Wii U is cute and like cute names. Hmm, it does sound cute and fun to say. We-you!

[NWR_Lindy]

Sure, on the one hand it sticks with the Wii brand, which is huge.  I get that.  But on the other hand, isn't it just the slightest bit confusing for consumers?  I can see it in Best Buy now..."No ma'am, that's for Wii U, not Wii.  What's the difference?  Well..."

[gbuell]

Yeah, but it's not like the exact same confusion hasn't occured for PS2/PS3, Xbox/Xbox 360. Anyway, there is no chance in hell that Nintendo will ever change the name so I suggest everyone try to get used to it fast.

[Adrock]

No, they're not changing the name. I'm pretty much used to it, typing it is still pretty weird because I don't know how to stylize it. Is it Wii U or WiiU or Wii-U? Gah... The only things that may change are slight changes to the controller (nothing major, I'd say something like how the original Wii remote was shorter and the Nunchuck had a larger plug) and possibly the design of the console. Unlike every other piece of hardware they've released in the past 15 years, Nintendo made a point of not emphasizing the WiiU console itself. That may suggest that it's not final. Again, nothing really major. At the same time, the original DS revealed at E3 2004 was far from final so I guess you never know.

[Ceric]

Yeah, but it's not like the exact same confusion hasn't occured for PS2/PS3, Xbox/Xbox 360. Anyway, there is no chance in hell that Nintendo will ever change the name so I suggest everyone try to get used to it fast.

Here in the United States its more traditional to put new Single Letters on revisions.  Perfect Example, DS -> DSi -> DSiXL(Though to be honest the XL makes it sound like it could be a different system) | 3DS->3DS<Alpha> for the next revision.  Something else to take into consideration is that even the gaming press is having a hard time getting a clear form of the name out and they've had to deal with some weird names. 

Since their is a young gaming presence I can see anyone under 12 having a hard time differentiating the name from Wii while speaking especially to someone who isn't into games, think Grandparents, Parents, etc..  Though as for Brand confusion on the software. 

Outside of the box the Wii and Wii^u discs will probably look the same.  I'm hoping Nintendo does not go with the White boxes used for 3DS and Wii Games.  Having distinctly different looking generic boxes from Wii will help distinguish in the store between the different games.  Sort of like a Blu-Ray disc box is a little shorter and rounded at the top to make it look different then a DVD Case.  I honestly wouldn't mind them going to a case that was just big enough to hold the 12cm disc, though that would look like a CD Case, one of the reasons DVD Cases are taller.  Another thing that will cause a bit of brand confusion is using Wii Accessories.

Its pretty easy logical leap to go from using a Wiimote as a primary controller (Which the Demos seem to be hinting you could do) and thinking this is a revision to enable the uMote.  Something it is clearly not.  Nintendo needs to make it very clear that this is a new device with everything you love about the Wii but, its not a Wii.  Its better and it is its own consoles and should be judged accordingly.  (aka The Console itself should not look like the Wii or a mini XBox 360)

[gbuell]

According to e3.nintendo.com, it's Wii U.

I agree that there's a lot of potential for brand confusion, given the prominence of Wii remotes in all the multiplayer experiences shown thus far. I like the look of the console itself though, and see no huge reason to change it for change's sake. I just think Nintendo needs to show the unique game experiences that this console will have, and show them clearly and often.

[Ceric]

According to e3.nintendo.com, it's Wii U.

I agree that there's a lot of potential for brand confusion, given the prominence of Wii remotes in all the multiplayer experiences shown thus far. I like the look of the console itself though, and see no huge reason to change it for change's sake. I just think Nintendo needs to show the unique game experiences that this console will have, and show them clearly and often.

And without the Wiimote anywhere in view.