Well...as many among you, I watched the nintendo E3 press conference live, hoping to find out what was true of all those rumors. The console took the majority of the attention, but by then, I was already disappointed because of the name. "Wii u"? I mean...really?
I could barely follow the reasoning Reggie showcased (something about the thing being not only for "WE", but also for "YOU"), but it didn't quite stick. Especially not how they somehow thinks it is a thing that "...is about being perfect for you. It’s perfect for the novice gamer, expert gamer and everyone else in-between.” (source).
Nice going. Unfortunately, the fact that you have to explain it to begin with is a clear indicator of a name being bad. The easier the name, the easier it sticks in your mind. And vice versa. I'm a reasonable fanboy, but I cannot for the life of me remember what the reason for the name was (I had to look it up). Nintendo marketing will have a tough job selling the name of the wii u. And why? Don't they know that a good first impression is half the work?
Ey...I was willing to cut them some slack. After all, the wii isn't much better when it comes to the name. But at least it's short, witty and rolls off the tongue easily. The wii u doesn't have that. On the contrary: it's too short to abbreviate but too hard to pronounce quickly. In addition, I don't even know how to write it properly. Is it "wii u" or "wiiu"? Or even "wii-u"? Nice going with the logo to clear things up, nintendo. Also nice to screw up internet searches. Just try searching "wii u" on this very forum and you'll see what I mean.
As such, I propose alternatives. Not that I think this will make it to a board meeting, but damnit...we are the ones who will provide them mouth-to-mouth advertisement, so I'd rather want to defend a console that isn't named like a Goddamn sound of a siren.
Let's see:
-Wu is the logical abbreviation of something that was already short enough. I would have gone for wü instead (which is even more in the direction of a compromise than wu), but that accent is on a pretty annoying spot (I don't even know where it is on a QWERTY-keyboard) and I have no idea how the people who's language includes that accent would read the result (I dont think I can properly explain what that accent does in Dutch, btw). As such: wu. No idea if it would attract fans of the Wu-tan clan or what it means in Chinese and Japanese (I hope nothing too offending), but probably not bad.
-Ryu is the Japanese word for 'Dragon' (who said video games didn't teach you anything?), and it wouldn't surprise me if the similar sound (Ryu, wii u) had an influence on the reason of the current name. Heck...for all I know, "wiiu" could be Japanese for sexual potence, which would make it an EXCELLENT name for a console...in Japan. Unfortunately, that conotation is lost outside that region. I bet that for most people, 'Ryu' wil remind more of that Street fighter character than anything else. IMO, it's still miles better than the current name.
-Cafe: well...what's to say about it? It may not have the cool impact of 'revolution' (the codename of the wii), but it's not a bad name. I don't think it will appeal much to hardcore gamers, but it's still more of a neutral terrain than the current name, which reminds them of a console for kids.
-wii2: my personal least favorite alternative name, but hey...why not mention it? At least it's straightforward. As such, it's on the poll.
-siren is the comedy option of the poll. The comedy part about it is that even this name rings better than wii u. Really. I included this in the poll mostly because I predict this name will be used by people regardless. Not officially, but it will stick a lot easier, exactly because it makes fun of the name (like 'sexbox' or 'paystation'). As such, I'd say it's better to just adopt the name as the real thing before it becomes something to mock us.
-other: well...my inspiration only reaches this far. I'm curious to what names you think we should give it. Sure: joking around is allowed. Even then: I bet I'd rather call it "consoleholder" or "WiiHD" than Wii U.
-finally: just because I can rant about the name doesn't mean I'm right. If you think I'm wrong and the wii u is a good name, then that's fine with me. I don't have to agree with everyone. You can tell it, we can happily disagree and go do some other business. I must warn you though that arguments like "nintendo knows what they're doing" or "I don't care what the name is" aren't going to change my mind. The only advantage to the name isn't even so much an advantage as a doublesided sword: the connection to the wii. The wii is a succesfull console, so that MAY boost sales a bit. On the other hand: with the name, the backward compatibility, the supported wiimote controllers and even the looks being the same, it may appear nintendo is just bringing out a boosted wii.
So...what do you guys think?
I could barely follow the reasoning Reggie showcased (something about the thing being not only for "WE", but also for "YOU"), but it didn't quite stick. Especially not how they somehow thinks it is a thing that "...is about being perfect for you. It’s perfect for the novice gamer, expert gamer and everyone else in-between.” (source).
Nice going. Unfortunately, the fact that you have to explain it to begin with is a clear indicator of a name being bad. The easier the name, the easier it sticks in your mind. And vice versa. I'm a reasonable fanboy, but I cannot for the life of me remember what the reason for the name was (I had to look it up). Nintendo marketing will have a tough job selling the name of the wii u. And why? Don't they know that a good first impression is half the work?
Ey...I was willing to cut them some slack. After all, the wii isn't much better when it comes to the name. But at least it's short, witty and rolls off the tongue easily. The wii u doesn't have that. On the contrary: it's too short to abbreviate but too hard to pronounce quickly. In addition, I don't even know how to write it properly. Is it "wii u" or "wiiu"? Or even "wii-u"? Nice going with the logo to clear things up, nintendo. Also nice to screw up internet searches. Just try searching "wii u" on this very forum and you'll see what I mean.
As such, I propose alternatives. Not that I think this will make it to a board meeting, but damnit...we are the ones who will provide them mouth-to-mouth advertisement, so I'd rather want to defend a console that isn't named like a Goddamn sound of a siren.
Let's see:
-Wu is the logical abbreviation of something that was already short enough. I would have gone for wü instead (which is even more in the direction of a compromise than wu), but that accent is on a pretty annoying spot (I don't even know where it is on a QWERTY-keyboard) and I have no idea how the people who's language includes that accent would read the result (I dont think I can properly explain what that accent does in Dutch, btw). As such: wu. No idea if it would attract fans of the Wu-tan clan or what it means in Chinese and Japanese (I hope nothing too offending), but probably not bad.
-Ryu is the Japanese word for 'Dragon' (who said video games didn't teach you anything?), and it wouldn't surprise me if the similar sound (Ryu, wii u) had an influence on the reason of the current name. Heck...for all I know, "wiiu" could be Japanese for sexual potence, which would make it an EXCELLENT name for a console...in Japan. Unfortunately, that conotation is lost outside that region. I bet that for most people, 'Ryu' wil remind more of that Street fighter character than anything else. IMO, it's still miles better than the current name.
-Cafe: well...what's to say about it? It may not have the cool impact of 'revolution' (the codename of the wii), but it's not a bad name. I don't think it will appeal much to hardcore gamers, but it's still more of a neutral terrain than the current name, which reminds them of a console for kids.
-wii2: my personal least favorite alternative name, but hey...why not mention it? At least it's straightforward. As such, it's on the poll.
-siren is the comedy option of the poll. The comedy part about it is that even this name rings better than wii u. Really. I included this in the poll mostly because I predict this name will be used by people regardless. Not officially, but it will stick a lot easier, exactly because it makes fun of the name (like 'sexbox' or 'paystation'). As such, I'd say it's better to just adopt the name as the real thing before it becomes something to mock us.
-other: well...my inspiration only reaches this far. I'm curious to what names you think we should give it. Sure: joking around is allowed. Even then: I bet I'd rather call it "consoleholder" or "WiiHD" than Wii U.
-finally: just because I can rant about the name doesn't mean I'm right. If you think I'm wrong and the wii u is a good name, then that's fine with me. I don't have to agree with everyone. You can tell it, we can happily disagree and go do some other business. I must warn you though that arguments like "nintendo knows what they're doing" or "I don't care what the name is" aren't going to change my mind. The only advantage to the name isn't even so much an advantage as a doublesided sword: the connection to the wii. The wii is a succesfull console, so that MAY boost sales a bit. On the other hand: with the name, the backward compatibility, the supported wiimote controllers and even the looks being the same, it may appear nintendo is just bringing out a boosted wii.
So...what do you guys think?
