Is Wii a fake name?

Crash · 05-01-2006, 01:21 AM

There have been rumors about this. Since there is barely a week left before the big show, how many of you think this is a PR stunt to attract attention and discussion about the Revolution?

They did it with celda. Told us part 2 was cell shaded, and then hit us with a "realistic" version.

Quote:

this is from the ign boards, but it makes alot of sense. short: The nintendo PR punked us all.

Since things are going crazy right about now, I thought I'd add to it.

Kotaku Article (excerpt below)
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/punkd/d...wii-170381.php
I spoke with branding company Igor International yesterday about Nintendo’s choice of Wii as the new name for their next-gen console.

During the interview Steve Manning became convinced that Nintendo had deliberately picked a bad name for the console and that it was, in fact, fake. Manning thinks that Nintendo is creating an enormous viral campaign by releasing a fake name and then coming back during E3 and announcing the real one.

Snark Hunting Article (excerpt below)
http://www.snarkhunting.com/2006/04/...-wii-brilliant
Crazy? Here is the first clue, “By letting the gaming community vent now about the name, they will be less distracted as launch titles for the system are announced and initial reports about what it’s like to play the games begin to come in.” Allowing your audience time to vent is not SOP in a name announcement, and also telegraphs that Nintendo knows what a stinker this name would be. Second, it’s not possible to engineer a worse name for this product.

Third, and this is a big one, there are no trademarks registered by Nintendo nor by any dummy corp in the U.S or over there for Wii. This is unprecedented for Nintendo and it is not possible that this is an oversight. If Wii were the name, they would have registered it. In fact, no new trademarks have been registered by Nintendo at all. This leads us to conclude that Nintendo has in fact registered the real name under a dummy corp, which is SOP when trying to keep a name a secret prior to launch.

Given that their video game audience is the same demographic as Punk’d, this whole campaign is perversely elegant. Except of course for failing to make the illusion complete by registering a TM for Wii.

So is Wii the real name and Nintendo does the typical (use carts, purple cube, create celda) or is this a very intelligent PR stunt to get more attention?

You decide.

Typhoid · 05-01-2006, 01:25 AM

I sort of think it's a PR stunt, now that you say it.
Because look, it got people talking about Nintendo's new system more than they already were.

It's like an actor who has a movie coming out will usually do something huge and unexpected close to the release, to get in the news.

manasecret · 05-01-2006, 01:38 AM

Clearly it's been a good PR stunt to name it Wii, but they're not changing the name. C'mon, accept it and move on.

You guys are really moving slowly through the ol' Kübler-Ross model of grief. Still stuck in denial.

There's no option to "Yes I think they're keeping the name Wii. <---note the period"

GameMaster · 05-01-2006, 01:44 AM

Nintendo never lies to their gaming family.

Wii welcome the name with open, loving arms. Won't you?

Teuthida · 05-01-2006, 02:09 AM

No, Nintendo just hates to have a product that's acceptable from every angle.

DimHalo · 05-01-2006, 03:30 AM

I think/hope it is a stunt. But if I am wrong, I will accept the name with open arms because it is still Nintendo and that's what matters.

Besides, I have a tendency to call all of my nintendo systems "Nintendo" so this one won't make much of a difference.

Dyne · 05-01-2006, 03:32 AM

From the very beginning I knew it was.

But we'll see.

Teuthida · 05-01-2006, 04:14 AM

I figure it's not because only in English does it sound bad.

Quote:

Wii sound similar to "yes" in French, "how" in German, "good" in Japanese and "top" in Korean

And we all know how few English speakers play video games.

Lucid Faia · 05-01-2006, 07:13 AM

Is it just me, or was Revolution a really kick ass name for a console?

Jonbo298 · 05-01-2006, 08:04 AM

I wouldn't mind if Ninty went and changed it to the Nintendo Rev. Just something shorter but people know what the full name is. Makes it seem less tacky when looking back 20 years from now

If the Wii name stayed, I'll still buy it. Just not enjoy the name as much

Fox 6 · 05-01-2006, 10:19 AM

All you're polling is broken dreams.

MuGen · 05-01-2006, 11:21 AM

All of the dispute about the name and the Rumor mill exploding about it being fake is just showing how much fans disapprove of the name whether or not they say They will get used to it or they willl accept it.

History has shown that a name is so much bigger than just a word... it's a brand. I don't think they named the shoe Nike for the hell of it because it's just a name. Thats why so much time is spent on naming. Because they want it to become a brand.

Jason1 · 05-01-2006, 02:44 PM

I guess there is some decent evidence there, but I doubt it is a fake name. Mainly because its just so Nintendo to do the exact opposite of what would be good for them.

Teuthida · 05-01-2006, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuGen

All of the dispute about the name and the Rumor mill exploding about it being fake is just showing how much fans disapprove of the name whether or not they say They will get used to it or they willl accept it.

History has shown that a name is so much bigger than just a word... it's a brand. I don't think they named the shoe Nike for the hell of it because it's just a name. Thats why so much time is spent on naming. Because they want it to become a brand.

Nike is much better in that respect. Ancient Greek god of victory. Over and done with.

Wii...well you see it sounds like "we" which is you and me and the i's are people playing a game and the W is from the sound a cat makes according to this one guy we know...

Neo · 05-01-2006, 03:42 PM

Unless Kaplan is straight-up lying then it is a real name. There was an article on IGN about this.