[Luca]

Again, none of the names you guys have brought up as counterexamples have as obvious a connotation as "Wii." NONE. "PS3 sounds like pees 3"? Give me a break. Anyone can come up with childish versions of product names that they don't like for whatever reason. It's a different matter entirely when the company does it for you before you even say anything.

[alcimedes]

I think the most obvious answer is that Wii sounds like We.

We being plural, as in a console for groups, not a console for one.

It's still a dumb name.

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Luca Again, none of the names you guys have brought up as counterexamples have as obvious a connotation as "Wii." NONE. "PS3 sounds like pees 3"? Give me a break. Anyone can come up with childish versions of product names that they don't like for whatever reason. It's a different matter entirely when the company does it for you before you even say anything.

But they haven't. You're still the one doing it." Wii" is not "Wee", if the name *was* "wee" that'd be a different story. It is you that is the one that is taking the name and applying the childish connotation to it before you can think of anything else, and news flash, not everyone else is doing this. You're making a big deal out of nothing. Honestly, Urine didn't come to my mind when I first heard it. The first pun I tried to make off it in my mind was Something to do with veni vidi vici. It didn't come to mind of any of my friends I've told, and so far, the only people still giggling about it are forumite gamer nerds.

[sunrain]

I dunno. I didn't think of anything scatological or phallic when I first heard the name. I get what people are saying about the name, but personally I didn't gravitate toward those meanings. I just thought of being a kid and having fun. "Wheeee..." My guess is that's one of the feelings Nintendo wanted to evoke. I don't really have strong feelings about the name, but others definitely do.

What I do know, is that the Wii has my fiancee and some of her friends interested in games. She hasn't really been into video games in the past, but she wants to get one of these. From the perspective of attracting the casual gamer I can already see Nintendo doing its job with this console.

[Kickaha]

God this thread is hilarious.

[ghoti]

What's the negative connotation of "Wii"? That it sounds weak? That it doesn't sound as much like a ten-year-old's idea of macho as "FragStation" or "MegaBox"? That's exactly their idea. It's not supposed to sound like that. And if all the hardcore gamers think it sounds "weak", who cares? The people who are going to buy it aren't going to read ultrahardcoregamers.com. This isn't even targeted at gamers at all. It's targeted at the rest.

Nintendo is extremely good at this, just read all the stuff about Brain Age. No gamer would ever go near it, but it makes people buy DSs that would never have dreamed of doing that. Nintendo is reaching out to people, and ignoring what the elitist hardcore geeks are saying. What a fresh idea!

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Kickaha God this thread is hilarious.

You just had to bring your potty humor into it.

[drewprops]

Five pages of this stuff????
Over a video game console's NAME??
<insert William Shatner quote here>

[Luca]

Originally Posted by ghoti What's the negative connotation of "Wii"? That it sounds weak? That it doesn't sound as much like a ten-year-old's idea of macho as "FragStation" or "MegaBox"?

Straw man.

[Banana]

Here's what good ol' Bill has to say about this.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet."

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by Wrao You just had to bring your potty humor into it.

Oh please, I was a latecomer to the party on that front, and hardly a major contributor.

This thread is hilarious because a) you've got the folks fixated on the potty humor, b) you've got the folks fixated on the folks fixated on the potty humor, c) you've got the fanbois, d) you've got the naysayers... and the funniest part?

Everyone's taking themselves waaaaaay too seriously. This is the best example I've seen in ages of "Internet flamewars are like the Special Olympics - even if you win, you're still retarded."

But really, go ahead, it's just too damned amusing, and I'm laughing my ass off.

Edit: See? 'meh, who cares' NOW you're getting into the spirit!

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Kickaha Oh please, I was a latecomer to the party on that front, and hardly a major contributor. This thread is hilarious because a) you've got the folks fixated on the potty humor, b) you've got the folks fixated on the folks fixated on the potty humor, c) you've got the fanbois, d) you've got the naysayers... and the funniest part? Everyone's taking themselves waaaaaay too seriously. This is the best example I've seen in ages of "Internet flamewars are like the Special Olympics - even if you win, you're still retarded." But really, go ahead, it's just too damned amusing, and I'm laughing my ass off.

I was trying to make a joke... since you haven't really been a major contributor, and you haven't been taking yourself seriously with the comments you have made, you were the most humorous target to accuse of making puerile comments. You see, by taking the joke and the analysis of the joke in a serious and straightforward matter, we effectively kill off all the humor that could have potentially been linked to it. and er... I mean
wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[ghoti]

Originally Posted by Luca Straw man.

ORLY?

Originally Posted by Luca "Wii" sounds either like the aforementioned childhood euphamism for urine, or like something small and weak.

My point was that there was nothing wrong with sounding "weak", because Wii is marketed to people who are over that. They don't want to murder people or blow stuff up or run their cars into others, but have some fun. They want to tease their brains, jump over rolling barrels, whatever. Heck, when Nintendo introduced the controller, they demoed a fishing game. FISHING. Not shooting mutant fish with an RPG, but using one of those fishing rod things on normal fish. Gamers will never play this, but other people may.

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by Wrao I was trying to make a joke... since you haven't really been a major contributor, and you haven't been taking yourself seriously with the comments you have made, you were the most humorous target to accuse of making puerile comments. You see, by taking the joke and the analysis of the joke in a serious and straightforward matter, we effectively kill off all the humor that could have potentially been linked to it. and er... I mean wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

D'OH! Okay, I'm a goober...

Carry on! Carry on! Dance, my puppets, DAAAAAAAANCE!

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Kickaha D'OH! Okay, I'm a goober... Carry on! Carry on! Dance, my puppets, DAAAAAAAANCE!

I'm sorry, I just don't love you anymore. It's not you... it's mii.

[Robo]

I agree that we're all probably taking this too seriously - myself included. I'm a bit of a branding geek, though, and a big video game fan, so it is interesting to me.

Originally Posted by Banana Here's what good ol' Bill has to say about this. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet."

I Heart Shakespeare. That quote is actually in one of my scripts.

"Who are you, Shakespeare?"

"As you like it."

My favorite Shakespearean quote, though, is "Stars, put out your fires..." from Macbeth.

Once I overheard some people at my high school joking about poems. Someone mentioned Shakespeare, and another person said "Shakespeare didn't write poems, you retard!" And nobody corrected him.

I wanted to cry. And beat them with a Shakespearean sonnet.

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by Wrao I'm sorry, I just don't love you anymore. It's not you... it's mii.

It's always "Mii, mii, mii. Help mii. Put mii out. I'm on fire. Mii, mii, mii."

[Luca]

Yeah, we've pretty much all said what we're going to say.

I think the name is stupid. I just hate the way it sounds. I don't think anything's going to convince me it's a great idea. The only consolation to the fans of the name is that I admitted the Revolution wouldn't have been the best name either. But it's still better than Wii.

Proponents of the name say that people who hate it are afraid of change, and that we're childish for associating it with potty humor. They criticize "Revolution" for being too "Xtreme" and say that "Wii" is the perfect way to appeal to non-gamers.

As much as I completely disagree with Wrao, Roboman, and ghoti, there's nothing I can say to make them budge, and there's nothing they can say to make me budge.

Clearly I should have realized this a page or two ago (by my count there are only three pages but I'm not using the default page view), but I didn't, much to the amusement of Kickaha. Oh well, that guy is a retarded loser anyway .

[Banana]

Kickaha and Wrao...

*points to a nearby motel*

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by Banana Kickaha and Wrao... *points to a nearby motel*

*set motel on fire*

Next?

[rasmits]

Here's an interesting article about the name:

Originally Posted by said article “It’s interesting how bad it is,” said Steve Manning, managing director of branding company Igor International, the company behind such names as MTV's Urge and The Signature at MGM Grand. “I don’t know who’s going to love it.” Manning says that anytime a company starts explaining their brand name, it’s a bad sign. “The biggest key to figuring out it’s a bad name is when they explain it,” he said. “You don’t have to explain a good name, you have to explain a bad name.” Manning points out that Kaplan told CNN they released the name this week instead of waiting for the upcoming E3 gaming convention because Nintendo wanted to give fans time to vent. “They knew it was going to be unfavorably received,” Manning said. “I don’t know what the upside is for this name.”

I have to agree. After spending some time after my initial reaction last night, I still can't believe how poor of an idea it is. Everyone's justifications for the name, like that it apparently isn't supposed to sound like a console or that it's supposed to convey a sense of community could have been achieved far more easily with about a million different names. It seems like the reasons for picking the name came after it was actually picked, if that makes any sense.

"Potty jokes" aside, I still think it's a stupid name. I'm not a Sony or MS fanboi by any measure, but I am a consumer.

edit: an interesting response to the article from the Nintendo forums:

"It is smart to give us time to vent, but is it smart to name a product that people have to vent over?"

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Luca Yeah, we've pretty much all said what we're going to say. I think the name is stupid. I just hate the way it sounds. I don't think anything's going to convince me it's a great idea. The only consolation to the fans of the name is that I admitted the Revolution wouldn't have been the best name either. But it's still better than Wii. Proponents of the name say that people who hate it are afraid of change, and that we're childish for associating it with potty humor. They criticize "Revolution" for being too "Xtreme" and say that "Wii" is the perfect way to appeal to non-gamers. As much as I completely disagree with Wrao, Roboman, and ghoti, there's nothing I can say to make them budge, and there's nothing they can say to make me budge. Clearly I should have realized this a page or two ago (by my count there are only three pages but I'm not using the default page view), but I didn't, much to the amusement of Kickaha. Oh well, that guy is a retarded loser anyway .

Well, the big point is that no one *really* cares. So when it comes down to it, we're all pretty much dumb asses. But that's what the internet is for.

[Kickaha]

Originally Posted by rasmits Here's an interesting article about the name:

Wait, wait, wait... they're listening to the guy whose company thought up *URGE*??

Oh jesus, this just keeps getting stupider.

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Kickaha *set motel on fire* Next?

Well, you got any lakes?

[Banana]

Oh, great.

I now have an urge take a wee of a pint.

[Robo]

Wait...a guy from Igor International, who named MTV's Urge, is talking about a bad brand name? Ouch.

I don't love the name, Luca. I like the idea of the name. I like the idea of making up a short, catchy, nonsense word. I even like the two "i"s.

But the name is still a slang term for a bodily function. That's a problem.

I think we'll get over the "OMG WiiWii!" stuff over time, but that still doesn't mean that the name was a good idea.

Like I said before, it's a polarizing name. You usually don't want a polarizing name.

But we'll just have to wait and sii.

[drewprops]

During the dot-com boom a local Atlanta radio station supposedly paid some guy a bunch of money to "reconceptualize" their station. It's called re-branding anywhere else. At the end of the day the guy came up with "Planet Radio" only, not as cool... because he decided that since radio is an aural medium that he could go punny and make it "Plan-It Radio", as in you could "plan" with it.

The were sa-LAMMED with people making jokes about it. Some of the DJs made fun of it long after they let the whole thing drop. Hysterical.

Still, I love well done conceptual idea for a product. It's refreshing, and people do actually seem to buy in at some level when you "re-imagine" something. The problem, it seems (for some), is when the re-imagining broaches multiple cultures and languages. The intensity is easily lost, and America (in particular) is not a country known for our appreciation of nuance (though some of us have heard of this strange concept).

[BarracksSi]

Goddamn it's a stupid name.

Anyone here see the movie That Thing You Do?

The band's name is pronounced like "Wonders", but they spell it with the word "one", as in they are "one group, one band", etc -- so it's spelled "Oneders".

Remember when Tom Hanks's character takes the management job and tells them they need to change their name?

Tom: "You're going to have to change the name. It looks like 'oh-nee-ders'."
Lead Singer kid: "But it's 'One', like we're 'together as one'..."
Tom: "I know. It looks like 'oh-nee-ders'."
Kid: "But it's Oneders, like we're ONE..."
Tom: "I KNOW. It looks like 'OH-NEE-DERS'."

We can try to rationalize the name all we can, and we can drink the Nintendo Kool-Aid and believe that the game-buying public will fall in line.

You have to say this, though -- that MTV guy was right. No name should need an explanation. Especially not something that hopes to be as ubiquitous as a game console for non-gamers.

I still want to get one, and I still want Nintendo to be successful on the console end. But come on -- Nintendo Entertainment System made sense, Nintendo 64 didn't need nearly as much explanation, and even Gamecube made sense. What the hell are they thinking?

I suppose that we ALL will have to WAIT and see the reactions of people who don't follow every little development in the gaming scene.

[BarracksSi]

Besides, not everyone is going to say it looks like "wee". You'll also hear people say, "wih", or "whyy", or stuff like that. We tend to forget how stupid people can be.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by BarracksSi You have to say this, though -- that MTV guy was right. No name should need an explanation. Especially not something that hopes to be as ubiquitous as a game console for non-gamers.

I agree that no name should need an explanation, but that doesn't stop everybody from offering them.

This *is* the corporate world, remember.

"Oh, yes, we believe that adding this loop around our logo symbolizes our position at the "cutting edge" of our field."

"The blue color symbolizes the trust our customers put into our brand."

Remember the Intel rebranding? Yikes. Reminds me of that Dilbert strip when Dogbert designs the company logo by setting his coffee cup on a sheet of paper and dubbing it "The Brown Ring of Quality."