Nintendo Will Not Change Wii's Name
Published June 20, 2006
Many people thought that Nintendo was setting everyone up for a titanic practical joke when they unveiled "Wii" as the official and final name for the next generation Nintendo console.
Then E3 came and not only did Nintendo not "punk" everyone, they unveiled their totally "Wii'd" marketing platform, making "Wii" the official, final, and E3-certified name for Nintendo's next generation console.
Between Saturday and today Gamesforwii.net allowed a rumor to percolate that suggests that Nintendo will change the official, final, and E3-certified name for their next generation console. The rumor was also picked up and commented on by I4U.
I have been a critic of the Wii, but in this case, I will stick up for it, at least in name.
Nintendo is not changing the name of their official, final, E3-certified, and now patented name for their next generation console.
The rumor cites someone named "Mike" who claims to work in the marketing department for Nintendo.
"We have received over 200,000 e-mails with complaints about the Wii, and the console name has been commonly associated with urine. We have been the target of many jokes, and we strongly believe that it's a bad thing for the company's reputation", says Mike, who works at the marketing department of Nintendo.Of course "Mike" doesn't cite where the recent poll came from. Certainly Nintendo did not conduct a poll asking people if they would not buy the Wii based on its name.Mike also adds that people are not taking this new console very seriously. In a recent poll, they found that 62% of gamers think "Wii" sounds childish, and 49% said they wouldn't buy the console judging only by its name.
Mike is a hoax.
Do I have to embed the Wii E3 video again? It's Wii, people!
- Nintendo Will Not Change Wii's Name
- Published: June 20, 2006
- Type: News
- Section: Gaming
- Filed Under: Gaming: GameCube
- Writer: John Guilfoil
- John Guilfoil's BC Writer page
- John Guilfoil's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
As Dynamo stated, the name Wii is at least a stab at being creative, something which both the Xbox 360 (I still don't know where the hell the "360" part comes into play) and the PS3 (Which only proves that Sony can count) obviously didn't try to do at all. Also, if system purchases were based solely on the name, I dunno who would have bought the Nintendo Entertainment System; true, it tells you WHAT it does, but it's a pretty boring name.
People who can't do anything but bash the Wii because of its "childish" name need to grow some balls and realize that the name is an unimportant factor in buying a system (Unless they called it the HappyGayFagCenter I would never buy a HGFC).
Besides, the fact that Solid Snake is being thrown into SSB Brawl is definitely reversing the effect of the name (I know several people who are dead-set on getting a Wii simply for this factor).
"Show time!"
boycott servetown.com the assholes that are spamming us...
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Well, this "Mike" guy does sound like a Hoax.
Even if this supposed poll is true and is from a credible source, it probably happened a while back, just after the name was announced. Most people didn't have the change to let it sink in yet.
Plus, who actually buys a system based on the name alone? Sure, if I were judging it solely on it's name and didn't know anything more about it, I might not buy it either. But, I wouldn't spend hundreds of dollars on something based only on it's name.
Besides, regardless of whether or not people like the name, it does make the system stand out and it catches people's attention. It's like they say, "Bad publicity is better than no publicity." Wii is original, and will stand out much more than Playstation 3, as far as names go.
And it seems like one of those names that you hate at first, but it grows on you over time. I really don't think that the name will do much to effect the system negatively. Aside from the name (which many have questioned), most reactions to the Wii have been favorable. So, I think the system will do just fine.