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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
oniyide on 08 March 2015
Samus Aran said:
oniyide said:

I know loads of people who do know what it is. They have been in Targets, Gamestops, Best Buys, Walmarts, etc. They know it exists and STILL dont want it.

And I know loads of people who don't want a PS4 either, what's your point?

Go down the street and ask 1000 people about the current gen consoles. Most people wouldn't know the Wii U while they would kn1ow the other two.

You're not seriously suggesting the Wii U has as much brand recognition as the PS4 are you?

ummmm no. I dont know why you jump to crazy conclusions.

I'm suggesting that more people are aware of Wii U than some people make it out and they just do not want it. Lack of knowledge and confusion is probably an issue, but its not a major one or even one of the major ones.



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oniyide on 08 March 2015
teigaga said:

Well the only relevant people to ask that question to is people who work in retail.

A few thoughts though:

You can't buy a gamepad by itself (or at least not without contacting Nintendo directly)

The name is obviously a contributor to its poor performance, but if there was underlying demand for what the system was offering (hardware/software) it could get past that.

People are confused at what it is, most things I'm confused about I pay no attention to. My sister owns a wii asked me if I was getting a PS4 for Christmas ( I did't)I told her I was getting a Wii U for christmas (I didn't in the end). Her response was, we've already got that, you can burrow mine if you want. I said no this is the Wii U its a new console, she asked why are you buying it? I said because MArio kart 8, she asked doesn't that work on the wii? I said no.... Long story short, she is completely over the wii and wii fad, she has no thoughts to offer on the gamepad, she has no idea whats going on in Nintendo world and has no interest in finding out. The name is obviously an issue for this conversation to have happened in 2014. My sister is not a massive mario fan but she spoke to me about the new Zelda game (like 6months after it was announced), so she's excited about that, lets see what she see's fit to do when its released.

My take: If you were to think something was a $70+ accessory and it turned out to be $300 Mario Kart box (or in my sisters case, a Zelda box) you would probably laugh and walk away.


so even when people do find out they generally still dont want it. 



slab_of_bacon on 09 March 2015
oniyide said:


so even when people do find out they generally still dont want it. 


I'm ok with that.  Sucks for them they won't experience it's awesomeness though.



Feel free to check out my stream on twitch 

curl-6 on 09 March 2015

I've talked to multiple people in just the last few months, (over 2 years after the system's release) who still thought Wii U was a tablet accessory for the Wii.

A games store near me had a sign up recently reminding people that Wii U games would not play on their Wii because it was a separate console. No such sign was needed for PS4 or Xbox One games.

The average consumer doesn't even know what a "Wii U" is.

The problem is very real, and very big.



slab_of_bacon on 09 March 2015
curl-6 said:

I've talked to multiple people in just the last few months, (over 2 years after the system's release) who still thought Wii U was a tablet accessory for the Wii.

A games store near me had a sign up recently reminding people that Wii U games would not play on their Wii because it was a separate console. No such sign was needed for PS4 or Xbox One games.

The average consumer doesn't even know what a "Wii U" is.

The problem is very real, and very big.

 

First off, I wouldn't call it a problem.  I agree, that there are people who don't care enough about video games who will make the mistake about the Wii U.  But how often are these people buying video game consoles?  i.e. Would they have bought the Wii U under a different name?  Nintendo makes quality products that stand the test of time and are looked back on favorably.  Perhaps they've always catered to casuals... and this time around they casually opted to wait a few years or even until Nintendo makes a newer console.  

 

PS Honestly, I have yet to run into anyone who mistook the one for the other.



Feel free to check out my stream on twitch 

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curl-6 on 09 March 2015
slab_of_bacon said:
curl-6 said:

I've talked to multiple people in just the last few months, (over 2 years after the system's release) who still thought Wii U was a tablet accessory for the Wii.

A games store near me had a sign up recently reminding people that Wii U games would not play on their Wii because it was a separate console. No such sign was needed for PS4 or Xbox One games.

The average consumer doesn't even know what a "Wii U" is.

The problem is very real, and very big.

First off, I wouldn't call it a problem.  I agree, that there are people who don't care enough about video games who will make the mistake about the Wii U.  But how often are these people buying video game consoles?  i.e. Would they have bought the Wii U under a different name?  Nintendo makes quality products that stand the test of time and are looked back on favorably.  Perhaps they've always catered to casuals... and this time around they casually opted to wait a few years or even until Nintendo makes a newer console.  

When consumers confuse your current console with your last, that's a huge communictions failure.



V-r0cK on 09 March 2015

I've come across a few parents that thought the Wii U was just a hardware upgrade with a new tablet controller.

From these parents I've talked with, aside from the name confusion they had and the similar console design the Wii U looks compared to the Wii, it was also because the Wii U used the same wiimotes & nunchucks controllers. Because of this they thought the use of the same controller means its the same system.



gatito on 09 March 2015

I don't think the name is actually a problem, it just wasn't advertised very well or at all. I mean, Xbox One is arguably more confusing but the mighty marketing machine made sure to raise awareness. They could have named it XboxTurd as longs as they spent billions in ads everywhere.



slab_of_bacon on 09 March 2015
curl-6 said:
slab_of_bacon said:
curl-6 said:

I've talked to multiple people in just the last few months, (over 2 years after the system's release) who still thought Wii U was a tablet accessory for the Wii.

A games store near me had a sign up recently reminding people that Wii U games would not play on their Wii because it was a separate console. No such sign was needed for PS4 or Xbox One games.

The average consumer doesn't even know what a "Wii U" is.

The problem is very real, and very big.

First off, I wouldn't call it a problem.  I agree, that there are people who don't care enough about video games who will make the mistake about the Wii U.  But how often are these people buying video game consoles?  i.e. Would they have bought the Wii U under a different name?  Nintendo makes quality products that stand the test of time and are looked back on favorably.  Perhaps they've always catered to casuals... and this time around they casually opted to wait a few years or even until Nintendo makes a newer console.  

When consumers confuse your current console with your last, that's a huge communictions failure.

I don't feel as though we are communicating very well either.  I'm saying that people who get confused aren't serious about purchasing a console to begin with.  I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but that said actual purchasers are most likely informed.  

When you use the word "consumer", are you referring to shoppers or consumers of other consoles?  Naturally, a Wii U consumer would have successfully navigated mentioned name "problem".

 



Feel free to check out my stream on twitch 

gabzjmm23 on 09 March 2015

one of the celebrities in my country (a mom) was talking about a console, she doesn't know that XBOX One is a newer generation console than XBOX 360. of course, if you are a gamer you've know but for her, One = 1st version. and thinks 360 is a newer one.

sorry off topic, but that is the scenario i've just known. For the Wii U there is a one instance about Wii and Wii U, she is an owner of Wii but seems literally confuses herself even though she knew that Wii U is a new console, maybe an MS fangirl because of Kinect which she rarely use her XBOX One. But most people i know would easily distinguish a Wii U from Wii since we knew a little bit of Japanese culture and Wii and Wii U are way two different consoles.