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

[Nirvana_Nut85]

Norris2k said:

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.

To address the first part of your response: 

New Design: Apple has proven that is irrelevant 

Interent Buzz: The name plays apart of that as well as poor marketing

A Powerful Product: Substantially more powerful than it's predecessor

Good Ads: Agreed, as I said marketing plays a significant role

Different Games: Have you even tried the Wii U?

New Games At Launch: Substantially more than PS4

Customer wanting product: Again poor marketing resulted in lack of consumer knowledge

I'm delusional? You obviously do not have a grasp on the basis of how marketing works. A poorly named product that does not clarify to the customer that it is a different product than it's predecessor is not going to acheive awareness and sales with the casual consumer. Simply naming the Wii U "Wii 2" would have allowed for substantially higher sales (I'd estimate the ltd would be around 12 million at this point) and led to a lot less confusion. Hell, even major news networks (CNN) ran storys about hte Wii U being an add on. People are not going to pay $349 for an add on.  I find it amusing that you do not believe the naming of a product matters. Why do you think companies like Sony, Apple, Samsung do so for alot of their electronic devices when releasing a predecessor? Because it's easier for the casual consumer (which is a large basis of Nintendo's base) to be aware that it is different from the previous entry. If Nintendo wanted to continue the Wii name, they should have used numerals until the third or  fourth iteration before changing it to something like Wii U.