If Wii U had a different name would sales be higher?

[Norris2k]

Nirvana_Nut85 said:

Norris2k said:
"Wii" was already a shitty name and it sold a lot. I don't think IPod was a fantastic name either and it sold so much. No one made a confusion like "ipod, ipad, is it the same ? I can't buy it because I'm not so sure". Name doesn't matter, what matter is having a product that is clear, supported, appealing, at a correct pricing, new, has buzz, and/or is supported by excellent ads...

No one was confused because Apple dumped hundreds of millions into advertising the difference (which they do quite efficiently), whereas Nintendo does not have that kind of capital to do so. Hence a system like the Wii U would have sold substantially better if it was simply branded Wii 2. The causal audience who purchased the Wii would have been able to distinguish the difference.

There are many ways to make the customer understand you've got a new product.

A new design : failed
Buzz on the internet, word of mouth : failed
A powerful product : failed
Good ads : failed
A good name : failed
A clearly different product/games : failed
A bunch of new games at launch : failed
Lot of happy customer hungry for your new product : I suppose it failed

Don't blame the name.

I really can't believe you can have 120 millions of happy customers, 20 of them fans of the brand, have a new product good enough for them, and you don't sell well because of the name. Even if it was for the confusion on the name, (I don't believe that but) the casual public saw multiple time the ads, with supposedly a new gamepad and new games, a name "Wii U" appeared... About 90% of them thought it was just a new gamepad, and 95% of them thought "whatever, I don't give a shit". They didn't think that's a new console, they didn't go ask to the shop for the new pad, didn't search on the internet, didn't ask to a guy that knows, whoever understood didn't dare talking or buzz about it. That's a severe problem, and that's what the problem is. Your naming problem is totally delusional. And I do hope Nintendo thinks better about that, because if that's the way they think, like it's just a little misunderstanding on a very little and stupid naming mistake, they are dead.