I read about this on another website. I'm sure whoever stole the systems will eventually get caught.

Nah, it just always happens!

Xbox 360: (one of three stories I found--there are probably more) http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2006/11/26/xbox-360s-stolen-by-the-truckload/

Playstation 3: http://www.switched.com/2008/09/29/truck-of-playstation-3-games-stolen-recovered-stolen-again/

Wii:  Unfortunately, only stories from this incident are popping up on Google.  I'm too lazy to dig through them all.

DS:  http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2006/06/15/232-million-worth-of-black-nintendo-ds-lite-systems-headed-for-europe-stolen.htm

PSP:  http://kotaku.com/5693771/canada-truck-heist-nets-1-million-in-psps-ps3s

There was even a Gamecube warehous robbery!  When a new console launches, somebody is going to steal a truckload of 'em.

yea i'm sure they are, but they have to recreate Wii success in another gemic. otherwise they'll have watever Wiiu success is.

i cant image a "Nintendo Thug" lol!

No matter how many times I hear this said, I still don't get it.  The Super Nintendo (SNES) followed the NES without complaint or confusion.  The Game Boy Advance followed the Gameboy and sold 80+ million units.  The XBox 360, followed the XBox and doubled it's sales.  I don't get the insistence that Nintendo did something unprecedented by not issuing a radically different name to their next-gen systems.   The 3DS is over 24 million units sold without even being on the market for two years, despite the insistence by some that no one knows it's different than a DS.  And Wii U is trending above 360/XBox 360 launch window sales.   Are we really going to say that the average consumer (exceptions not withstanding) is so dumb that they need to be spoon-fed console names in numerical order?  PlayStation 3 is not out-selling PlayStation 2, so this method does not guarrantee that you will outsell your predecessor anyway.

I think I read somewhere (Then again, I could be totally making this up. I'm not entirely sane.) that Nintendo can track stolen systems online, now. Or maybe it was Microsoft. Anyway, I don't see why it would be difficult for Nintendo to track the consoles if they have the serial numbers, as long as someone uses the console online. Find the person that used it online, send Bowser and Donkey Kong to their house (or law enforcement) and remind them that it's a crime to buy stolen property--even if you didn't know it was stolen.

In the past, I've registered devices and looking online, it would tell me if it was a pink PSP or a 60GB Xbox 360. Batman would find those stolen consoles in no time and now, Batman is available on the Wii U.

No one is saying it's unprecedented....people are saying it's stupid. Are you honestly going to tell me now there isn't a lot of confusion among average consumers about the system? Lol come on man open your eyes and look around. I read two stories just yesterday about how the guy at the check out mistook it for an accessory for the wii! 

Ninty really messed up their unveiling at E3. With a different name it could have been avoided too. They have followed names like wii sports, wii play, wii music, wii fit....and now wii u. Not hard to see why people might get confused. All the promotional material has been paying most of it's attention of the game pad. This adds more to the confusion.

They basically set themselves up

I re-iterate my question as to how Microsoft was able to double sales of it's console from XBox to XBox 360 without completely renaming the system or putting it in numerical order (XBox 2) if that is the case.  XBox is not the name of the company, so it wasn't required in the title.  Yet, they left it there and sold twice as many consoles.  I worked in retail for 13 years.  Stupid people do not represent the entirety of the "average consumer", and everything should not be required to be dumbed down exclusively for their understanding.

Mugen:

Offcourse it will take a some time (just like ipad, iphone, ds, ps, xbox, and tv's... and most other producs) before all the "casual"... get it right.. But to say it's specialy nintendo's problem is just ridiculous.

U are mayby not to familiar whit how big franchices work.. but one of the key factors is to make the brand recognizable..

So just relax.. All people (old and young) will know the wii u is "the new shit" from nintendo, in just 6 month.. And that's incredible fast.. think of it.. most "casuals" don't know the diffenrets between the ipad's and iphone's, and some how they still do pretty well..

You know, before I even got to the punchline I was like "how the hell do 7000 Wii's come out to 2 million dollars?!"