The Wii U's Name Isn't The Problem

[Mythmaker1]

Chark said:

Mythmaker1 said:

Entirely possible. Like I said, It's possible I just lack perspective here. I suppose it could be that Nintendo is trying to market the system in a traditional way, without accounting for how the system is named. I own neither system, so it's mostly speculation for me.

It seems to me, though, that it isn't the name that's the problem, it's the concept. Even if the name misleads consumers, the concept of a touchscreen controller, either for the Wii or the Wii U, doesn't seem to have caught the public interest. It could be that the Wii is too dead for anyone to care about a new accessory, which is kind of shocking for a system with a 100 million install base, but it's certainly possible

Well the name is just part of the confusion. Their marketing of the controller first, and argueably only, is the biggest problem in perception. Even if people hear Wii U and don't get it, Nintendo's marketing doesn't tell them otherwise, so people walk away with the wrong idea. The name is what it is and it is staying, they just need to market it better and the actual console while they are at it.

That 100 million install base isn't comprised of a large percentage of core consumers. There are two strong competitors for core gamers and the majority of core gamers are going to want a system with modern hardware to match where the industry is going. The Wii had mass market appeal. Motion controls become a fad and Nintendo reapped more beneifts than any one from that. But now the honeymoon period is over and they aren't becoming core consumers, and if they did they probably moved to PS3 or 360 and recent sales trends could support that theory. The Wii U probably came out a year too late to take advantage of the Wii's popularity. The Wii hasn't sold very well these last two years. The casual gamer is interested in smartphones and tablets and there is a lot of competition in those. You could even argue Kinect took a lot of those consumers from Nintendo. These consumers are loyal to purchasing one thing or another and if they don't know what the Wii U is they won't be buying.

As a core gamer myself, my biggest gripe with the Wii U is hardware related. Not every core gamer cares, but quite a few do. So it is a mix of lack of successful mareketing to casual consumers and lack of business direction with core consumers. The Wii U is probably selling to all markets....but only reaching a small amount of each.

Fair enough. I don't think there's anything wrong with the name, in principle, but the way they're marketing it could probably lead to some confusion.

I'm definitely with you in saying it came out a year too late. They seem to be trying to have the best of both worlds; the popularity of the Wii and the gap between generations when the competition is weakest. Only it bought them the worst of both worlds; a lot of Wii owners have already moved on, and they weren't prepared to take advantage of the lull leading up to the next gen.