PotionBleue
Member
I think some people are full of bad faith here. MANY consumers wouldn't be able to tell the difference between iPhone 1, iPhone 2, 3, 3G, 4GXDY, iPhone 36 or whatever.
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Target doesn't know what a Wii U looks like
- Thread starter Wario64
- Start date
Twenty7KVN
Member
True but apple has a way cooler pubic image. Apple phones and tables are must have devices the wii-u isn't.
BadAss2961
Member
Nintendo really couldn't have been lazier with the Wii U design.
Maybe not. But they sure as hell know that there's a new iPhone out and they want it like yesterday.
That's not Wii U, that's a Wii redesign that took out BC. The Wii U looks pretty different from Wii since it's very round on the sides.
The console design has nothing to do with it, Nintendo could have called it the Wii2 and shoved the parts in unused Wii cases and this still wouldn't be their problem. It's a rectangular black box like almost every other console on the market. This is sloppy work and it falls on whoever designed the ad.
Bacon_Boss
Member
All they have to look for is the number (or letter), that should tell them the difference. Wii U doesn't have and being almost identifical to the Wii does not help.
This doesn't matter for two reasons:
1) They're numbered (even if the numbers don't always make sense). Higher numbers mean better/newer products to the average consumer.
2) The general consumer knows that Apple releases an iPhone every year and that this year's iPhone is supposed to be so much better than last year's iPhone which was so much better than the year before.
Neither of these apply to the Wii U.
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
So that's what a WII U looks likei thought it was a wii.
Ok is this a joke? I understand some random mom or dad not knowing what a Wii U looks like, but a GAF member? You should be as ashamed as Nintendo!
PotionBleue
Member
How is Wii -> Wii U different from iPhone 3 -> iPhone 3GS, or iPhone 4 -> iPhone 4 S ? There is no number change there.
Same question. Also iPhones are almost identical, actually Wii -> Wii U is a slightly bigger change.
Blood Diamonds
Banned
Wii U is the ultimate test for costumers and employees.
"Hello there, I'm looking for that Tablet Controller for the Wii?"
"Um... yeah I think we have it.
Wait, sorry. it looks like it's not an add-on?"
"But it's called Wii, see?"
"Oh you're right uh! well uh, maybe it's a new console? No... wait the console looks exactly like the Wii"
"Really?"
"I don't really know, I think it's just a controller... Say, might I interest you in an Xbox One or PS4? You can pre-order it here!"
"Wow, really? That would be great!"
"Hello there, I'm looking for that Tablet Controller for the Wii?"
"Um... yeah I think we have it.
Wait, sorry. it looks like it's not an add-on?"
"But it's called Wii, see?"
"Oh you're right uh! well uh, maybe it's a new console? No... wait the console looks exactly like the Wii"
"Really?"
"I don't really know, I think it's just a controller... Say, might I interest you in an Xbox One or PS4? You can pre-order it here!"
"Wow, really? That would be great!"
Wickerbasket
Member
Honestly, I spent like 10 mins trying to work out what was wrong with the picture before noticing it wasn't a Wii U; they look really similar to each other.
Enosh
Member
that you have to post a picture of the wii u on a gaming forum is kinda hilarious and sad at the same time
ThoughtsOfSpeaking
Banned
I own a Wii U and didnt notice.
ReConstructDead
Member
What is this "pubic image" you speak of?
metalslimer
Member
I'm laughing my ass off because this could be a very meta joke or another part of the clusterfuck
Just in case you didn't know thats the Wii without gamecube BC
"S" and "X" letters in technology related products often mean that it's an improved version of a previous product. A normal consumer has more chances to see that a Wii S, Wii 2 or Wii X is an improved Wii.
Wii U might sound different, if it was alone, but it actually has to differentiate not just from the Wii but also from:
Wii Wheel
Wii Remote
Wii Balance Board
Wii Motion +
Wii Sports
Wii Fit
Wii Play
Wii Sports Resort
Wii Fit +
Wii Play Motion
Wii Party
Which is why the normal consumer can't tell the difference from a simple view.
I honestly couldn't have told you what a Wii U looked like until I saw one at PAX - surprise it's a Wii with rounded edges! Nintendo never shows the console itself in any of their marketing materials...or at least they don't champion it's design AT ALL because I never took any notice.
K
kittens
Unconfirmed Member
It took me about thirty seconds to figure out what the mistake was. I thought it was something wrong with the gamepad maybe, hah.
I totally get why Nintendo designed Wii U like the Wii (or perhaps they redesigned the Wii to look like Wii U). They wanted to have a product that the expanded audience was familiar with, like how iPhones and iPads are similar. But naming it Wii U instead of Wii 2 was their goddamn error, they have so many Wii related accesories and the Wii U box has the gamepad as main attraction so people mistakenly think it's a tablet accesory
Mr.Squirrel
Tom
So the marketing people at a retailer messed up, and I that means Nintendo messed up? You do realize that there's a strong possibility that the person who made that ad doesn't even play video games. Them knowing the difference between a Wii and Wii U is like you knowing the difference between crest ultra and crest whitening burst.
soxinthebox
Member
Last night my partner asked what the new black box next to the TV was and I just told her it was a Wii.
#partoftheproblem
I did it in anticipation of the next question on how much it cost...
Even a name as trite as Wii 2 would have solved this problem.
Probably.
Doubt it. Really should have just started fresh. But, we all knew this as soon as they announced the name.
Same here, add me to the enormous laundry list of posters who had to look at the actual Wii U pic to tell the difference. If "core" gamers nearly a year after release can't accurately identify the system as compared to the previous one, it's hardly a surprise that the casual crowd still doesn't even know it exists or thinks the gamepad is just an add-on. It's actually kind of hilarious how bad Nintendo utterly dropped the ball on the marketing and branding of this thing.
The idea was that the Wii name was unique and different (and it was in 2006) so that simply hearing the name made it sound crazy, funny, mysterious and exciting. Having it be Nintendo Revolution would make it sound like another game console; which after the Gamecube being exactly that, Nintendo did not want.
I liked the Revolution name, but the Wii name was genius.
Boss: "I have the perfect name. "Wii U."
Marketing guy: "But sir, Wii sales dropped off more dramatically than any platform in recent memory."
Boss: "What is your name, son?"
Marketing guy: "My name is Bill, sir."
Boss: "Bill, I have a task for you. I want you to leave the office today and research possible alternatives for our new console's name. Please take your things with you. It might be a long trip."
*locks door*
Marketing guy: "But sir, Wii sales dropped off more dramatically than any platform in recent memory."
Boss: "What is your name, son?"
Marketing guy: "My name is Bill, sir."
Boss: "Bill, I have a task for you. I want you to leave the office today and research possible alternatives for our new console's name. Please take your things with you. It might be a long trip."
*locks door*
This puts the blame on the Wii brand rather than the U of the name; which is misguided since the Wii continues to outsell it.
rhizomatic
Member
Maybe eventually, but that's hardly the most important thing for Nintendo to focus on right now.
So your contention is that the Wii brand is healthy, just not the Wii U. On what basis?
IsntChrisL
Member
I noticed the mistake right away and thought Target really fucked up.
Then I read page after page of replies from people saying they couldn't figure out what was wrong with the picture. Nintendo, you really fucked up.
Then I read page after page of replies from people saying they couldn't figure out what was wrong with the picture. Nintendo, you really fucked up.
Even a name as trite as Wii 2 would have solved this problem.
Probably.
Wii 2 is pretty much the only way they could have used the Wii name.
People thinking Super Wii would have solved this probem are kidding themselves.
Of course, the problem goes beyond the name. The fact that they continue to use Wii Remotes alongside the gamepad, rather than the pro-controller is mind bogglingly stupid. Of course people think its just an add-on when they present it as such.
LMAO. Oh, wow; I'm just cracking up.
No doubt. You would think that they have learned their lesson from the naming & design of the 3DS, but no.
This is Nintendo's own fault. Not only did they make the Wii U look very identical to the Wii "redesign," but they gave it the same name as it's predecessor & made it even more confusing by sticking the letter "U" after it.
No doubt. You would think that they have learned their lesson from the naming & design of the 3DS, but no.
This is Nintendo's own fault. Not only did they make the Wii U look very identical to the Wii "redesign," but they gave it the same name as it's predecessor & made it even more confusing by sticking the letter "U" after it.
Wii dropped off beause nintendo dropped it off, not the general public.
I feel that Nintendo wanted to take advantage of the Wii brand (which has very wide brand recognition), but instead got trampled by it due to having the name seem like a subset of the Wii brand rather than a new installment of it (add-on vs. a new console).
I think there are those that would be interested in a new next-generation Wii console ("Nintendo keeps making all these dumb add-ons like Wii Fit and Wii U, when will they make a new system"), but obviously there is very little evidence out there one exists, unless you are in-the-know about games (like reading GAF).
Because really, the Wii brand and legacy is about the Wii remote, it's what got people hooked and playing games; which the Wii U doesn't even include.
Lyot
Member
A change of name wouldn't have changed much the situation. Everything about this system screams "monumental fuck-up". Everything is an aberration: The name, repeated console design, the gamepad, the marketing, the price, the lack of games and third party support, lagging away in graphics again...
I mean, is there even a single thing Nintendo did good with the Wii U?
And believe it or not, I'm very sympathetic of Nintendo as a company, but they dropped the ball hard this time.
Heck, GAF members themselves were confused about this system in which they thought that it was something like a upgraded Wii or thought that it was a Wii add-on back when the system &/or the controller was revealed.
Who could blame them? The one to blame for all of this is Nintendo themselves for making the product too confusing for people.
st1nk nuts
Member
I also had no clue what was wrong with it. I brought it up to the wife and she thought, just like everyone else, that the wii u was an add on to the wii. I asked had it been named wii 2 would that have helped, she said yes...
Did they happen to do any market research on the wii u name? doubtful.
Did they happen to do any market research on the wii u name? doubtful.