I can see this being a common problem with Wii's casual base. Wii's had so many peripherials - Classic controler, nunchuk, wheel, gun, balance board, UDraw, Pro controller, etc. It's naturally to assume this is another one.

While it's true they can't buy one for their Wii, they may still go to the store and be shocked and not understanding of the WiiU's price point. $299 for a controller? F- that....

I was goign to mention 3DS myself

MANY people here think it is just a new model and nothign different about it.

WiiU will have the same problem.

why would it not?  we have topics created to anything iwata, reggie, peter, patcher, jafe, ect say.  why not fallon?

Wii U does give the average consumer the impression that its just some type of Add-on for the Wii. Nintendo had the chance to change the name at E3 2012 and they did not. likely too late to change names now.

This confusion will likely be a problem in the beginning when pitching it to consumers. A very concise advertising campaign in the months to come should help some with this, but no doubt there will still be some confusion surrounding its first few months of release.

And even when some people think the Wii U is a Wii extension it is unimportant. Even this people will get the whole truth by time.

Regardless it shows the common interest in Wii U. All mainstream media reported of the Wii U, some reported about the Xbox too. Sony was almost completely ignored and when some reporter ort article mentions Sony it was always in bundle with words about the financial crisis of Sony.

my point to.. why should this be any different than iphone, ipad ps1,2,3 and almost any other brands.. AND as i mention before.. Nintendo are one of those brands, where people very qukly, finds out.. So relax.. The Wii U and upad will be knowed by 95% of gammers and kids. by the end of year.. (and the rest in few month after..)

Sometimes people just don't get it... Same thing happened to the 3DS at launch, people thought it was just another version of the orginal DS, like the DSL, DSi and DSiXL. Not realizing that it was an entirely NEW system all together. Maybe names like DS2 or Wii 2 would better inform the public that its a completely different product.

That's true. Right now there is a lot of confusion about it, but after launch I believe that WiiU will be well known as a stand alone console.

Name is just a minor problem, some time after launch everyone will understand WiiU is not an add-on.

It's obvious that this confusion could be a problem right at launch, as it was for 3DS.

Jimmy Fallon thought this was a good idea:

He makes a lot of mistakes.