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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - The WiiU name confusion

 

How often you see people complaining about gamepad/WiiU game not working on Wii because he thinks it is an add-on?

Always 26 10.32%
 
Never 160 63.49%
 
Few times 48 19.05%
 
Still trying to make game... 18 7.14%
 
Total:252
Aeolus451 on 26 February 2015

I think that the name confusion is more important because it could of hurt sales with casuals. It's like the xbox one. I've been seeing some blogs or news sites talking about the xbox two in the future. haha. "Ummm yeah the xbox one is really the 3rd xbox console". lol. I think that's a bad idea to give a product a name that's confusing to consumers. I never heard of that stuff about the gamepad though.



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Teeqoz on 26 February 2015
RolStoppable said:
vivster said:
padib said:
As much as I agree with the sentiment of OP, I think the metric is flawed because it's possible that the confused buyers simply refused to buy a U thinking it was purely an add-on.

This. OP got it backwards. If it was like he described the sales would be higher and not lower.

People simply didn't buy Wii U because they thought it would just be an addon.

I am sorry to break it to you two Nintendo lovers, but that line of logic doesn't work when it's brought to its end.

Assumption: Wii U doesn't sell because it's thought of to be just the Gamepad and not a new console.
The catch: In this case people aren't buying something that they assume to cost $100 at most, and they aren't buying it because they have no interest in it. Now if you explain to them that it's actually a $300 product, do you think that's going to raise the chances that they are going to bite?
The conclusion: Wii U doesn't sell because people don't want it. Change the name, same result.


The fun part about this is that I have a friend that was interested in the Wii U when he thought it was an add on, but when he found out it was a standalone console he was like "nope".



DonFerrari on 26 February 2015
GalactoGeist said:
Hiku said:

That might be more commonly heard by store employees. People who come on these forums probably don't associate with people who would confuse the two. I can see how it might confuse some parents who go in to buy a new Wii game for their child.
Some stories were going around from store employees about confused customers. Some made signs that explained the difference.



As for how much the WiiU name decreased the sales numbers of the console? I don't think it has affected it much at all.

DonFerrari said:

At others, how would the name generate confusion for WiiU but wasn't a problem on snes/nes (that many wouldn't know standed for super) or master system/Mega Drive or genesis? Or how would they know if x360 or ps3 was better Xbox or ps2 or x1 versus ps4?

Well I think in the case of Super Nintendo, the word indicates a difference in the name a bit more clearly than just one added letter at the end. And back then the game cases were different in shape and size from NES to SNES. While I believe the shape and size of the Wii and Wii U cases are the same, or similar.
Master System and Mega Drive are quite different names, so I don't think it should case any confusion. And as for Playstation 2 to Playstation 3, I think most people are aware that sequels are often branded with an ascending number, and associate it as such.
This is undoubtedly the reason why Microsoft feel they can't name their consoles with a proper numerical order. Because they would always be one number behind Playstation, and sound inferior to some casual buyers.


OMG LOL, which JB is this? Gold!

What JB? What is JB?



duduspace11 "Well, since we are estimating costs, Pokemon Red/Blue did cost Nintendo about $50m to make back in 1996"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=8808363

Mr Puggsly: "Hehe, I said good profit. You said big profit. Frankly, not losing money is what I meant by good. Don't get hung up on semantics"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=9008994

Azzanation: "PS5 wouldn't sold out at launch without scalpers."

Miyamotoo on 26 February 2015

Wii U name now is not that big problem, beacuse 27 monts later most of people know what is a Wii U.

But in first year was big problem, and then console was damaged most, name confusing influence bad sales, bad sales influence pulling out 3rd party...



DonFerrari on 26 February 2015
Mnementh said:
DonFerrari said:
RolStoppable said:

Believe what you want, but the Wii U is most certainly not an HD version of the Wii.


because it doesn't output 1080p for all games right?

Because the WiiU doesn't target the same market as the Wii did. comparable to the Wii that didn't targeted the same market as the gamecube.


I agree with you, but it was a rol's remark.



duduspace11 "Well, since we are estimating costs, Pokemon Red/Blue did cost Nintendo about $50m to make back in 1996"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=8808363

Mr Puggsly: "Hehe, I said good profit. You said big profit. Frankly, not losing money is what I meant by good. Don't get hung up on semantics"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=9008994

Azzanation: "PS5 wouldn't sold out at launch without scalpers."

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wangjingwanjia on 26 February 2015

Hm, I think the name confusion is a issue, but how big of a problem is more difficult to actually say.

Wii - Wii U
Xbox 360 - Xbox One
3DS - New 3DS
DS - DSi
PSP - PSV

I think all of them sound confusing, at least for a bit. The last one, DS and DSi, I (myself) didn't actually know if it was a new DS or a completely new handheld from Nintendo. 3DS and New 3DS I am aware it is a new system, but at first I was not sure about it as well. Xbox 360 and Xbox One I was aware of all the time as I follow the gaming industry a lot, Microsoft makes no mistakes with their great marketing, and on top of that I even worked for MS at the time. I think most people know it is a new system, even if the name itself is confusing. Wii - Wii U was also no confusion for me as Nintendo is my primary console of choice. But I believe the name is confusing, and I would have found it confusing if I didn't follow the gaming industry so closely. And in my opinion the biggest reason for the confusion of the Wii U is Nintendo themselves, their marketing. They didn't explain good enough to the consumers that this is their new console, and their marketing was far from aggressive.

Now, would I believe the Wii U could have sold more if they named it Wii 2 or "newconsolename". Yes, and no. With poor marketing and no hype nothing will sell well. It could have sold better if either one (name or marketing) was better, but I am confident that the Wii U is just a system that would never had made a big splash, period. They might have sold more but would still have ended up last this generation. At least this is my though.





黑色沙漠 - Black Desert - 검은사막

 

GalactoGeist on 27 February 2015
DonFerrari said:
GalactoGeist said:


OMG LOL, which JB is this? Gold!

What JB? What is JB?


JB is a store here in Australia. That photo is definitely taken at a JB store. That's why I was wondering which store because the ones near me don't have that sign.



      

DonFerrari on 27 February 2015
GalactoGeist said:
DonFerrari said:

What JB? What is JB?


JB is a store here in Australia. That photo is definitely taken at a JB store. That's why I was wondering which store because the ones near me don't have that sign.


I see. Maybe it's an older pic.



duduspace11 "Well, since we are estimating costs, Pokemon Red/Blue did cost Nintendo about $50m to make back in 1996"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=8808363

Mr Puggsly: "Hehe, I said good profit. You said big profit. Frankly, not losing money is what I meant by good. Don't get hung up on semantics"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=9008994

Azzanation: "PS5 wouldn't sold out at launch without scalpers."

gabzjmm23 on 27 February 2015

Alpha characters + numerals seems the norm for the public which doesn't follow each bit detail on what is happening on certain things. But the Wii U seems a bit strange for the public. Agree on poor marketing as well.

But for me, since I follow what is happening then it ain't a big issue.



Teddy on 08 March 2015

You see it all the time of Amazon, such as I bought this game and it doesn't work on my Wii and then someone comments have you got a WiiU if not isn't going to work. Then there is problem with others thinking WiiU console is just an Wii with graphical horse power of a Wii extra. There is a lot of that, maybe they just think it is an updated Wii or someting.