August 8th, 2011

Nintendo talks about the name of the Wii U

56 Comments

Katsuya Eguchi of Nintendo has explained the purpose behind including ‘Wii’ within the name of their new console, explaining that “there were also things [with Wii] that we weren’t able to accomplish with that system, that we would have liked to see in it. Wii U is kind of the natural progression in looking at what we did, how we changed gaming.”

He went on to say:

This is the next logical step for us and we wanted to convey that in the name. in addition to that there are many Wii users out there – and we are very appreciative of this – who invested in lots of peripherals, such as more Remotes, balance boards, Classic Controllers, and they can continue to use these peripherals with Wii U as well. We wanted to make sure they understood that.

I still believe the name could do more harm than good, but I’m assuming Nintendo has more data than my anecdotal evidence. For the most part though ‘Wii U’ is just annoying to say. Even so, I am getting used to it.

  • Lene

    The problem is: now N has to make adds to explain to retar-… to explain to people the 3DS is a new console, not a 5th version of the DS.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRrviEHeN2M

    They may meet the same problem with the U (see? I call it “U” ^^)

    • iDork622

      Yeah. It definitely needs a catchier name than Wii U, or just U (though that is VERY catchy). i was thinking The Wonder Machine of Dreams and HD Zelda, but I think that’s a bit long.

  • ShaDow

    I don’t like name and I want them to make a new classic controller somewhat like the PS3s controller with no need for remote. Having both analogs on top is still better than Xbox360s controller. Who decided to put one up and one down?

  • Lene

    The controller with one analog up and the other down is the design of the Gamecube controller. The left A became the main control since the N64, this is why it is on top. The right one is much less important than push buttons.

    And talking about the GC controller…. if they could make a new one. Wireless, with a 4th shoulder button and new colors…

  • ShaDow

    Yeah but both on bottom just feels better for FPS but GCtrollers fell so much better for Smash.

  • Kai-Jozefu

    Concerning clever marketing … the name “Wii 2″ would be “fun”.

    For example in a commercial: “We, too, would like to play.”

  • Matthew

    Wasn’t this in the EDGE interview a couple of weeks ago?

  • Nintendo8461

    I think it would be better if they just called something like Nintendo U.

  • Nintendo8461

    Yeah. I wish they would Nintendo U, that name actually sounds cool.

  • http://www.wix.com/destroyah/broknrhytm2 D2K

    I still wish they had gone with UNES (Ultra Nintendo Entertainment System). It would have been a message to the world to say that Nintendo is ready to reclaim the dominance they had with that system and retribution for dropping the ‘Ultra’ from the N64. Wii ‘TOO’ would have been a better name as well.

    Anything is better than Wii U.

  • bob

    I want to play U and U Sports and U Balance Board don’t sound right.

  • Craig

    It’s only following the usual Nintendo pattern… N64 because it was 64-bit graphics… Gamecube because it was a gaming cube… Wii because they wanted to focus on people playing together and having everyone want one… Now Wii U to symbolize keeping that going but also giving you what U want too – pleasing everyone’s gaming needs. You shouldn’t judge by name… You could have a weird name but you wouldn’t like it if someone told you and it doesn’t make you bad does it? Think about it :)

  • Craig

    Um… They never lost anything to be fair – Sony rallied people to be against Nintendo and brought out these ridiculous macho games just to outshine Nintendo – basically telling people that if you play war games, stab others in games and like to shoot virtual people, you’re a real man and that’s what you should be… Which disgusts me. I lost respect for Sony’s attitude and caring towards gaming mid-PS2 when they changed and became arrogant, narrow minded brainwashing biggots.

  • cpgt1996

    amen

  • http://www.wix.com/destroyah/broknrhytm2 D2K

    Um no.

    Sony PlayStation – 118 Million units sold
    Nintendo 64 – 32 million

    PlayStation 2 – 145 million units sold AND COUNTING…..
    Nintendo GameCube – 21 million

    The defense rests. I appreciate your enthusiastic support of Nintendo, but lets deal in reality here. Nintendo got spanked in the two previous console wars. Before then it was all Nintendo.

    Nintendo Entertainment System – 61 million units sold
    Sega Master System – 13 million

    Super Nintendo – 49 million units sold
    Sega Genesis/Megadrive – 39 million

    So actually the only console war Nintendo has dominated in the past was the NES VS. the Master System. The SNES/Genesis war was pretty close. It hasn’t been until the Wii that Nintendo has been on top in home console sales. I don’t expect Sony or Microsoft to catch Nintendo this gen so it’s safe to say that the Wii is this gen’s winner. If the Wii ‘U’ is successful then it will parallel the success Nintendo had in the late 80′s and early 90′s of having back-to-back number one home consoles (and the reason why I make that distinction is because I understand that Nintendo has dominated hand-held from the beginning till now. This is about HOME consoles.)

    That’s why I said what I said.

  • http://www.wix.com/destroyah/broknrhytm2 D2K

    And to add to that, as far as violent games go Nintendo has as much a hand in that as Sony did. It was Nintendo that started the FPS craze for consoles with games like GoldenEye007 and Perfect Dark. Before that FPS games were mostly only popular on the PC. Sony and Microsoft expanded on the foundation Nintendo built.

    It really wasn’t until recent years that blood-lust became the norm in video games. What gave Sony the edge was third-party support. They had more games by volume, and a larger variety of games. When sales are concerned quantity often wins over quality. Nintendo may have had a better quality product, but there wasn’t enough of it to go around.

  • Rhino Pubes

    That is unreasonable for you to say something like that. Most people who own DS’s don’t know much about the 3DS, and just by the name of it it sounds like another iteration (DS, DS Lite, DSi DS XL). I mean, i can imagine kids asking their parents for one, and their parents saying “don’t we have one of those already?” It isn’t that drastic of a name change like the Gameboy was to the DS.

    I can see the same issue with the Wii U, when the masses hear that, they will associate it with the Wii, some may even think it is an accessory, because lets be honest Nintendo likes to throw plastic at us. It’s all bad marketing, im sure Nintendo was hoping to maintain brand familiarity, but it looks like it will end up doing more harm than good especially for the Wii U.

  • http://5ony.deviantart.com 5ony

    So adding the “U” at the end of “Wii” was kind of like adding the “Super” at the beginning of “Nintendo Entertainment System”? You know, since the SNES was the natural successor to the NES or something like that.

    I mean, it’s not like we got the Nintendo 128, Nintendo GameRectangularPrism, or Game Boy Dual Screen, since those systems were pretty different to their precursors.

    Right?

  • http://www.wix.com/destroyah/broknrhytm2 D2K

    I don’t know. It just seems to me like Nintendo is trying too hard to be creative with this name. Wii 2 or Wii ‘TOO’ would have made a lot more sense and still kept the ‘Wii’ brand alive. It’s not a deal-breaker by any means, but the name Wii U just feels like an annoying gnat or fruit-fly in the room.

  • blaxalb

    I could see it:
    Someone playing by themself, then a few people come in and say that, and join with the Wii Remotes
    ???
    Profit!!

  • abbe

    I believe that maybe half of the consumers believes that wiiu is a new controller, just like the Udraw tablet. Well, thats what happens if you dont show the console itself. Take notes nintendo.

  • Lene

    They don’t show the console a lot because the console is not that important. It is just here to run the game, it is a “disc reader” combined with a calculator.

    Nintendo always tried more or less to focus on the controller, because it is the most important. This is what makes you interact with the game. N did a lot about controllers. What would be modern consoles without all the things (D-pad, shoulder buttons…) that now became standard features?

    Forget about the console, it is just a back-ground device to run the game. What you should care about is the controller in your hands and what is happening in your TV. This is how consoles are supposed to work. They are not the aim. They are the MEAN the play video games.

    Conservative? Nintendo?
    They are like half a century ahead! Maybe this is the problem, in the end…

  • J

    Here’s to hoping the name is changed before release.

  • http://MSN Brandon Matthews

    I have to agree with you, Craig. They really have lost a lot of credibility when they have become arrogant. Their negative influence had corrupted the fans that used to support Nintendo which saddens me… :(

  • James

    Even though at E3, they said, “Our new home platform” about a million times…

  • zxride64

    They need to advertise the wii u well. They need to make sure that the people think it is something like a “wii 2′ instead of a new iteration of the wii sold with some new controller.

  • zac

    its going to be called a wii like the 3DS was called a ds. lol my friend thought the wii u was a wii like just a add on

  • Levi

    Not to mention it was confirmed that Nintendo would announce a new console before E3 and it was all over the internet.

  • zac

    Hey I will make the Wii U in to a pay me $5 demo!!!! lol jk. Only people touching my Wii U is my family and mii also what sucks is that I don’t have a Wii so no Wii remotes that’s why i think Wii U has to come with 2 controllers Wii U controller and Wii controller

    This in news Wii U Controller is the most expensive controller you can buy

    $100 LOL HOPE NOT!
    Maybe $30-80

  • Andy

    My thoughts exactly, from a moral point of view. Unfortunately the world is a darker place than what used to be when we started gaming (for me that was 30 years ago).

  • ZeldaCrazed

    “WE would like to play, with YOU.” i heard this somewhere n i thought it was the perfect slogan for the Wii U…

  • BR!AN

    I’m confused… is the Wii U a whole new console, or is it just that new controller that I’m guessing works with an old Wii?

  • http://OperationMoogle.wordpress.com/ Brian L.

    When I first heard the name, I didn’t like it much. I was looking forward to simply “Nintendo.” I think the name will get some getting used to for some people next year, but giving that they’re also trying to remind the 88 million Wii owners out there that the Wii U continues the legacy of the Wii through its peripheral support and backwards-compatibility while being a major improvement in the next-gen console wars.

    I think that as much as they want the hardcore gamers, that they want to appeal to those many who are not labeled as “core” gamers as well. Sure, some gamers may not like the name “Wii U,” and some idiots will be dumb enough not to buy a console based on its name, but I think the Wii U will be a harder sell to Wii owners than PS3 and 360 owners, actually.

    Slap a Battlefield 3 or a Metal Gear Solid 5 onto the Wii U with some nice Wii U-exclusive features, and you’ve sold a lot of core gamers. The screen WILL sell the experience to gamers, even many of the cynical ones, once they’ve had a chance to play it in a GameStop. It’s one of those experiences that’ll shut up a lot of cynics once they’ve actually played with it.

    However, it may prove harder to sell Wii U to some of those people already content with their Wii consoles. So in keeping with the spirit of the Wii’s philosophy of inclusive, while expanding next-gen gaming into new territory, I think in time, they may satisfy both ends of the spectrum.

    Wii U has a controller that places a focus on YOU, with people able to see YOU while you game and with YOU able to input your own input into the games in a wide number of ways. Yet, since anyone can play and enjoy Wii U, it’s still “WE” at its core. Not to mention, most languages in the world can say “Wii U” with no problem (just like with “Wii”).

    I think it was probably a tough choice for Nintendo. Keep in mind that they have developers who do nothing but come up with ideas for their consoles and names. They went with this one to do what Wii didn’t quite live up to and what even Sony and Microsoft are trying to do now–make gaming about “us.” I’ll support the name “Wii U” if they can deliver that concept with it.

  • http://MSN Brandon Matthews

    You were lucky, you basically lived in the golden age of gaming. I envy you!^^

  • Belinni

    Usually if I where to buy something I would do a small bit of research on it, especially if I had a child. Just a google check on the name and any question would be answered…

    Besides, anyone remember the Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advanced? I’m not sure why this issue is coming out now but it HAS been done before and by the same company nonetheless. (Though I have to say, they DID make one too many DS upgrades, the least they could have done was hold back the XL from America/Europe so that more people would buy the 3DS less than a year later…)

  • Belinni

    Do you know how annoying it is to say Wii 2 in a spanish accent when speaking to someone who doesn’t know english? I’d much prefer the Wii U name. Maybe it’s just me but it just rolls better than simply slapping on a big 2 to the name and calling it a day.

    If things where like that then the next Xbox would be called Xbox 720! Why would they call it that? Will there be buttons on the console I have to press as well?! Because the control already has buttons all around(360 degrees)!

  • Belinni

    “Don’t play with yourself! Wii will play with U.” You just reminded me of this. I don’t remember where I heard it though…

  • Tails the Foxhound

    I went out and bought 3 Wiimote Pluses (the fourth will be the gold Zelda one), an arcade stick, 3 more Nunchucks, and 3 new Classic Pros in preparation for the Wii U. My body is ready.

  • blaxalb

    Both of those slogans would also work well with the commercial description I made up in reply to one of the first comments.

  • http://www.wix.com/destroyah/broknrhytm2 D2K

    When it comes to a singular name of a product it is usually pronounced the way it is spelled instead of pronouncing the words and numbers of the product. For instance when someone says XBOX 360 in Spanish they say ‘XBOX 360,’ and not XBOX trecientosesenta.

  • blaxalb

    That’s funny ’cause in Brazil they say “XBOX trezentossessenta (360 in portuguese)”, same thing with the numbers for playstation, are you sure you didn’t mean the only way around?
    And when it comes to the words in the names of videogames they tend to sort of mix the way the combination of letters are pronounced in english with the way they are in portuguese.
    Spanish is a similar language to portuguese in comparison to other languages, so it seems surprising if they refer to videogames the way they are in english. It also seems like it would be difficult to pronounce things the same way for most people.

  • http://www.wix.com/destroyah/broknrhytm2 D2K

    The whole reason why Nintendo wanted to keep the name ‘Wii’ because it was an easy word universally and because it is recognizable due to the Wii’s success. So apparently they disagree that it would be difficult for everyone pronounce words the same way.

  • ShaDow

    Wii U is an OK name. Revolution was the original name for Wii but Japanese people can’t pronounce L and it sounded weird to them. Did u know Wii stands for Little White Box? I need to buy three Motion plus controllers still but I’ll hold out for the classic pros because Nintendo might make a new classic controller. Hardcore players will be upset if theyy don’t come out with one with analog triggers, no need to attatch Wiimote and 4 shoulder pads like PS3s controller.

  • blaxalb

    Yes, but I wasn’t talking specifically of the word Wii, I was mostly referring to the example you gave of people pronouncing “XBOX 360″ the same way they do in english as they do in spanish, even the numbers. In portuguese it’s not pronounced very differently, but the numbers are said in portuguese.

  • Neoxon

    Guess who else has their body ready (besides me)?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO7veqYXTQg

  • Tails the Foxhound

    If Nintendo doesn’t bring back their “Who are you?” ad campaign (obviously using ‘U’ in place of ‘you’) for the Wii U, I’m gonna be so mad at them.

  • AM

    Name it Wii 2 or Super Wii 2. The problem is the same as with the 3DS people will think that is a minor update. But for the Wii U the box also looks the same so people might be mistaken. They should do what they did with Revolution and rename it.

  • ShaDow

    Don’t hate on Sony without the facts. It is people like Jack Tretton(more of a troll than person but whatever) who own the playstation brand that use The other competitors technology and dis Nintendo to get more sales and support.

  • ShaDow

    Don’t blame Sony blame the people they hired for the Playstation Brand.

  • http://MacroManJr.blogspot.com/ Brian L.

    I personally do blame the people at Sony, but I also have lost respect for the PlayStation brand itself over the years.

    I generally lost great respect for Sony as a company when the founders, two chill dudes, could no longer run the company and a bunch of greasy suits took their place, around 1994.

    And when Jack Tretton became president and CEO of SCEA, any respect I had left for the PlayStation brand went out the window. PlayStation has become home to some of the most sterile games out there, painfully generic games, exclusively appealing to the lower sides of human interest, with a sort of bland limited “dark” color palette I just don’t like seeing my games, and their spokespersons constantly putting down the competition they so often imitate. They promote this false ideal that being an everything-a-thon is “better” and to me they don’t feel like a company that really cares about gaming itself. They’re a company who innovate in other electronics, but did nothing truly new for console gaming (except introduce MORE proprietary standards…)

    Things just haven’t been the same with Sony to me since those monopolizing suits took over around the mid 90s. I still think Sony makes some good products, but their philosophy as a company sucks. So I generally don’t buy their products, as a personal preference. This is all just my opinion, of course.

  • http://MacroManJr.blogspot.com/ Brian L.

    The Wii U is a whole new console independent of the Wii console, featuring a new controller (the controller with the touchscreen) and can support all your original Wii peripherals and games from the Wii console.

    The Wii U is not a mere add-on for Wii or a mere controller–it’s a new HD console, but it’s controller gets most of the highlight.

    Here’s a picture of the console itself:

    http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/06/wii-u-console-only-600-1307468645.jpg

  • Totaldude911

    And you didn’t mention the Wii vs. everything else, because they actually sold more Wiis? I mean, I love the hell out of my other consoles, but that’s just a blatant disregard for the Wii’s stellar sales.

  • E.L.

    Why Nintendo U? It should be the Nintendo WU…Like how they try to woo new/old customers in buying new systems…..Never mind.

  • Jmaster720

    Horrible name for a console is INDEEDLYDEED Horrific :D

  • Jmaster720

    ok name………More like the worst name nintendo has made yet! I prefered striim or BEAm or ANYTHING Thats not WII U

  • Jmaster720

    How do you expect it to play battlefield 3 or the zelda tech demo :P ?