Hardware Would you change the Wii U's name, and if so, to what?

[Deltaechoe]

How about the "Wii Shutup and Take my Money"?

 

[gamefan5]

How about the "Wii Shutup and Take my Money"?

I see the double meaning in that post. Well done. XD

 

[Luigi2012SM64DS]

I would call it the gamebox

 

[YayMii]

I wouldn't mind if they just called it the NintendoU. It still goes with the theme, but avoids the Wii name to avoid confusing the average consumer.

What you meant to say was "Couldn't care less"

It's American English. Even if it seems like the opposite of what people intend it to mean, it's considered proper. Just like the use of double negatives and the word "ain't".

 

[TripleSMoon]

I wouldn't mind if they just called it the NintendoU. It still goes with the theme, but avoids the Wii name to avoid confusing the average consumer.

I like that idea

 

[Midna]

Ultra Nintendo Entertainment System
Shortened to the Nintendo U

 

[TripleSMoon]

Ultra Nintendo Entertainment System
Shortened to the Nintendo U

Even better!

 

[Lily]

I can't stand the name Wii U -- it's like Nintendo heard me when I asked, "How could they come up with a name worse than Wii?" It's dumb no matter how you think or look at it, and dumber still if you open wide and accept their silly explanation for it. If you have to explain the name for people to get it, that's the first hint that you're doing it oh so very wrong.

Unfortunately, I don't have a better name for it. People seem to like "GameCube", maybe they should have just gone with GameCube 2. Even that is better than Wii U.

 

[TripleSMoon]

I can't stand the name Wii U -- it's like Nintendo heard me when I asked, "How could they come up with a name worse than Wii?" It's dumb no matter how you think or look at it, and dumber still if you open wide and accept their silly explanation for it. If you have to explain the name for people to get it, that's the first hint that you're doing it oh so very wrong.

Unfortunately, I don't have a better name for it. People seem to like "GameCube", maybe they should have just gone with GameCube 2. Even that is better than Wii U.

Agreed... though in Nintendo's defense, at least there is an explanation, unlike Xbox 360 (I mean, 360, really?).

What about Nintendo DoubleVision?

 

[Ziggy Zigzagoon]

I would much rather call the Wii U the "Nintendo Café."

 

[Midna]

I can't stand the name Wii U -- it's like Nintendo heard me when I asked, "How could they come up with a name worse than Wii?" It's dumb no matter how you think or look at it, and dumber still if you open wide and accept their silly explanation for it. If you have to explain the name for people to get it, that's the first hint that you're doing it oh so very wrong.

Unfortunately, I don't have a better name for it. People seem to like "GameCube", maybe they should have just gone with GameCube 2. Even that is better than Wii U.

They're running with the pun. Wii meant 'we'. According to Reggie, it was called this due to the emphasis on group play and party games (Wii Sports.)
So now U is 'you'. A system for... Fuck I don't even know, now they have 'we' and 'you' in the title. Are they trying to emphasize group play and single player experiences at the same time?
Anyway, it's all puns. Most people hate puns though so I don't blame you.

 

[JoostinOnline]

I kid you not, the first thing that popped into my head when Reggie said "Wii U" was "It might as well be 'Fuck U'"

 

[TripleSMoon]

I kid you not, the first thing that popped into my head when Reggie said "Wii U" was "It might as well be 'Wii Fuck U'"

Fixed

 

[Taleweaver]

Phew...I remember that introduction (E3 last year) as well. Regie pretty much explaining things as if the audience was full of toddlers. Something as follows...

Reggie: "We wanted to make the wii... but better. So we thought...what is "better" than wii? ....Something that includes not only "us"...but "you" as well...so...I present to you...wii...u"
E3 background: *shows a large 'U' sign underneath the 'wii'*
Me: yeah, yeah, yeah. We get the reasoning, alright. Just...tell us the damn name already.
Reggie: *goes on telling it to be about different values & shit*
Me: erm...weren't you just going to tell us the name of the console?

Honestly...it took me literally minutes to realise that wiiU WAS the name. And up until the very end of the presentation, I kinda expected (or rather: hoped) that someone would step up to say that obviously that WASN'T the real name.

 

[Vampire Lied]

It's gonna be like the 3ds.
Many ppl thought 3ds games would play on the ds, just in 2d.
For some reason ppl recently have the tendency to think that since the name is similar that they can use new games on their old console.
I've even heard ppl ask if ps3 games will play on ps2. Not as often though.
Having to explain that it's a whole new system over and over gets old fast.
Wish they would've gone with an entirely new name.
Even one of the old codenames would work better.
Dolphin, revolution, ultra (64). Hell, ultra nintendo would work.

 

[TripleSMoon]

Many ppl thought 3ds games would play on the ds, just in 2d.
For some reason ppl recently have the tendency to think that since the name is similar that they can use new games on their old console.
I've even heard ppl ask if ps3 games will play on ps2. Not as often though.
Having to explain that it's a whole new system over and over gets old fast.

*Facepalm*

 

[Lushay]

Wiistation360.

 

[Midna]

It's gonna be like the 3ds.
Many ppl thought 3ds games would play on the ds, just in 2d.
For some reason ppl recently have the tendency to think that since the name is similar that they can use new games on their old console.
I've even heard ppl ask if ps3 games will play on ps2. Not as often though.
Having to explain that it's a whole new system over and over gets old fast.
Wish they would've gone with an entirely new name.
Even one of the old codenames would work better.
Dolphin, revolution, ultra (64). Hell, ultra nintendo would work.

Yeah, but if they manage their advertising campaign correctly they can, for the most part, avert these problems. The initial ads for the 3DS didn't explain anything about the console at all. They just need to emphasize that the Wii U is a new console

Even then though, the confusion surrounding the 3DS died down within a few months

 

[TripleSMoon]

It's gonna be like the 3ds.
Many ppl thought 3ds games would play on the ds, just in 2d.
For some reason ppl recently have the tendency to think that since the name is similar that they can use new games on their old console.
I've even heard ppl ask if ps3 games will play on ps2. Not as often though.
Having to explain that it's a whole new system over and over gets old fast.
Wish they would've gone with an entirely new name.
Even one of the old codenames would work better.
Dolphin, revolution, ultra (64). Hell, ultra nintendo would work.

Also, come to think of it, I think we can partially blame Nintendo's past behavior for that confusion. Think about it: There were a bunch of different models of Game Boy, all of which played the same games (Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, etc), then when you had legitimately different consoles with their own libraries, they still kept the Game Boy name (Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance). Then you had the Game Boy Advance SP, which looked WAY more different than any new console compared to its predecessor, and yet it plays the exact same library. And then you have the same problem with the DS series, with the DS, DSLite, DSi, and DSi XL all playing the same games (with the exception of a very small handful of DSi specific titles). That said, I can't really blame the less discriminating customer for assuming the 3DS was "just another DS" with a 3D gimmick added, like how the DSi was just a DS with a different "gimmick" and the Lite/XL were just different size choices.

 

[Taleweaver]

Also, come to think of it, I think we can partially blame Nintendo's past behavior for that confusion.

I don't. Some people will make fools out of themselves no matter what you do.

Nintendo partially sticks with the name because it's familiar and because it plays those previous games (backward compatability). People thinking it'll play new games on their old systems need to check their eyes: it clearly says on the box what it's for.

And perhaps that doesn't sound like much, but have you compared it to the competition? HP dubs all their printers "colorjet" or "laserjet" with an arbitrary number behind it, sometimes followed with some extra letters. Every single variation has their own drivers and ink, and doesn't even properly make it clear which one uses which either. Yet nobody's blaming.
The same goes for scanners, ebook readers and smartphones. It's as if hardware companies are holding back heaps of mediocre machines until one specific name gets a bit of reputation...after which a dozen "new generation" clones pop up with nothing in common with the previous one but the name.


So those peeps who bought games for the wrong console...it ain't nice, but but they learned a valuable life lesson: know what the fuck you're dealing with before buying electronics.