Well maybe if they didn't keep showing the damn thing being used with existing Wii peripherals like the balance board and Wiimote / nunchuck, then people won't be so confused about whether or not its an actual new system or just another controller add-on.

And it would also help if they didn't keep showing games that looked like regular Wii games being played on it instead of HD games like Pikmin 3 or Assassin's Creed 3.

That could be a problem - Nintendo needs to address and explain to consumers why they need to spend a bunch of money to get a New Console to replace their Wii.

An important part is about making the consumer think they NEED your product.

Did they show off Playstation 1-looking games and hardware that looked similar in design to a PS1 when they first showed off the PS2?  And same thing with PS2 and 3?

Thought so.

Blame Wii Fit.

Seriously to the casual they are the same thing, Wii (add word here) is a Wii input peripheral. They really should change the name or else the grandmas that helped them win this generation will be confused as snot. It's good Nintendo seems to be going after core gamers because they could call it the Wiii and we'd know the difference.

So did I after the E3 2011 reveal.

And Nintendo hasn't.

I think it's because it still uses the Wii name, the consoles look very similar, and because the Wii had several peripherals/controllers, many people might assume that the new controller is just another addition to the Wii. Just like 3DS, it won't be a huge problem for too long.

That said, Jimmy Fallon's ignorance on the show is inexcusable because first, he is not "gaming illiterate", and second, he has Reggie and the WiiU featured on his show for crying out loud. It'd be like if he had an actor as a guest and said, "You can see him in the new movie... wait, is he in a new movie? I think he's starring in a new movie. You can see him in a lot of past movies...".

Nintendo's new console looks just like the old one, plus they only show the controller. Of course there's great consumer confusion. First CNN runs a misinformed story, now Fallon does the same thing. This never happened with the 3DS, everyone knew it was a new console (even if not everyone understood that it was next-gen right away). They could have a very dangerous situation with the Wii U when parents show up at stores expecting to just buy a controller for their kid's Wii console. When they're told that they have to buy a new box to use it, along with a few hundred more dollars, there could very well be a whole host of lost sales. This isn't the public's fault, it's Nintendo's for doing quite a poor job of designing and marketing this Wii 1.5.

That was golden