Focusing solely on the needs of traditional core gamers is the fastest way to become another gamecube. The Wii was a global phenomenon, and in our microcosm on NeoGAF we seem to forget that sometimes we don't really matter.
Wii U Speculation Thread 2: Can't take anymore of this!!!
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Focusing solely on the needs of traditional core gamers is the fastest way to become another gamecube. The Wii was a global phenomenon, and in our microcosm on NeoGAF we seem to forget that sometimes we don't really matter.
andriasang says it's launching this holiday. Which makes me think November.
September or prior launch out the window?
September or prior launch out the window?
Fess
Member
QFT
Gaff is a neat place to hang out on the web, but I find too many people base their opinions on what console manufacturers should do on the premise that they are uniquely representative of the entire gamer market.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
wasn't iwata's statement that they will launch in all regions BY the holiday?
gotta focus some where apple can't get you. Core game sales were MASSIVE (halo/gears/gta/assassins creed/etc..etc...). It's definitely a missed opportunity. Playing with the casual market is playing with fire. That's why it's important to go after that core market as well.
Has nothing to do with being a niche on the internet.
Cow Mengde
Banned
How can there be a name worse than Wii? Do you even remember the reactions when that name was announced? Someone should find that thread for shits and giggles.
There's a 2 in U if you think visually.
That's what I thought. But andriasang is damn reliable.
Hopefully someone could clear this up.
NSMB Wii and Mario Kart both handily outsold all of your listed "hardcore" (or casual, depending how you look at them) franchise games, and made a lot more money than the entirety of the App Store has ever made while doing so.
I don't think anything has been said other than launching worldwide before the end of the year
Fourth Storm
Member
If I may, I don't think the post implied that Nintendo should focus solely on core gamers. The main point is that it's the system that makes the name and not the other way around. Nintendo should not be using the "Wii" brand as a sort of crutch. If they want to return to profitability and not just coast along, they need something as bold as the name "Wii" was back in 2006. They need to further emphasize what they themselves have been saying, that this is an entirely new concept and proposition.
The've got to do some better communication work with the non-gamers to ensure that it's obvious that this is something new (but use your wii software/peripherals!). There's tons of time for that still... anticipate a massive ad blitz pre-launch and given the confusion from last e3, they'll be very clear that this isn't Wii. It's not nearly as good a name as Wii (yes, i know no one here liked the name
, but abandoning Wii branding is a crazy idea - it gets people interested right away.The hardcore are in the loop. They don't need the communication, and the Wii name is only going to scare off the most fanboyish haters assuming the games are actually there. If the games aren't there, you're not going to get the core anyway.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
yeah but there's no such thing as making enough money. I'm saying it's important to go after it, it's not a niche, it's a shitton of money left on the table. I'm not saying abandon the casual market, if you can have that too then go for it. But relying on it...that is a mistake.
360 focuses on both demographics successfully. Nintendo could do that too, they just need the third party support.
they need to continue to sell the Wii to casuals ala PS2 after PS3's launch. Drop the price to $99, keep the Wii name going. Change the god damn Wii U name to not include the word Wii. Differentiate the two!
I agree that the 360 now is a very good model for the audience nintendo should try to capture. 360 in its first 5 years not so much.
Differentiation really is the key here. That's my only problem with the name Wii U, it just doesn't clearly communicate that the Wii U is a different platform, which is what Nintendo is going for this time around.
Just look at what happened to the 3DS. Heck, go into a Gamestop today and listen in for a while; even though the sales are back on track moms not in-the-know still get it confused for a last gen DS.
If they must keep the "Wii" branding, "Wii 2" is still a much better name. I'm personally on the "Nintendo U" train, but there's benefits to holding on to Wii.
But "Wii U" is just asking for confusion. Nintendo wants to spend their marketing dollars clearly communicating why their next console will be a superior choice than whatever's out there...they don't want to have to waste it clarifying confusion that could have easily been avoided.
Fourth Storm
Member
"Nintendo U wii" with the "wii" being in superscript and the U being capital and bold. How about it? 
The only place the Wii name is tainted is GAF. And maybe other similar hardcore gaming forums/discussions. In every other measuring stick, it is wildly successful and would be as foolish to drop as Microsoft dropping Kinect when it releases its inevitable revision for the Xbox 3. After spending billions in advertising, you want successful brands to carry over.
All of this communication stuff means nothing. You advertise and provide games that people want to buy, people will buy it.
All of this communication stuff means nothing. You advertise and provide games that people want to buy, people will buy it.
It's not so much that the brand is tainted, it's more the "U" being a confusing addition to the name. Either get rid of the U or get rid of the Wii is what I think would solve the problem. And in this case, I'd say the U is vastly more expendable.
And never underestimate the power of effective branding.
ReyVGM
Member
Assuming this turns out to be true*, the Wii name will stay. It's a powerful brand, even if the dudebro's don't like it.
However, the "u" will be changed.
This is the first time Nintendo has changed a console's name after announcing it. Not counting the Ultra 64 because that was a legal issue.
However, the "u" will be changed.
This is the first time Nintendo has changed a console's name after announcing it. Not counting the Ultra 64 because that was a legal issue.
Seriously. :lol
I can't imagine what it's going to be like for me on GAF when the official Xbox3/PS4 threads go up.
Lupin the Third
Member
caligula13
Gold Member
neogaf, you told me publishers will port games to Wii U because of big budgets.
and now a developer says they will not port a game because it would not use what the Wii U has to offer.
neogaf, you told me, history will not repeat itself because it is always about money.
maybe you should call this developer and explain him how the industry should work...
and now a developer says they will not port a game because it would not use what the Wii U has to offer.
neogaf, you told me, history will not repeat itself because it is always about money.
maybe you should call this developer and explain him how the industry should work...
Lupin the Third
Member
I'm on GAF and I didn't say that. It's likely that Nintendo will get way more ports than it did before, but there's no guarantee that greed will force all parties to port their games to Wii U. Sometimes they just won't have the staff or resources.
Is Tomb Raider coming to PC?
Edit: It appears so. Does this developer have a good track record for making PC games take advantage of the platform?
It's way too early to call what the Wii U's 3rd party support will be like, but I've always wondered if there something else behind why some 3rd party devs seem so reluctant to support Nintendo hardware...something that's not as tangible.
I don't think it's hatred for the company. I mean, most of these devs/programmers/industry people grew up on Nintendo hardware. But, at the same time, there's gotta be some reason why devs still don't consider Nintendo hardware even when there's a clear financial incentive this time (the excuse given for not porting Tomb Raider to the Wii U was so appallingly bad they might as well not have said anything at all).
And then you have to remember that, behind all these money-driven businesses are people, and good old-fashioned networking is as much a part of big business as anything else. And, well, how much does Nintendo network with the industry at large? I mean let their people get out there and really mingle with other industry players at big events like E3 and TGS, and really build those relationships that result in things like Street Fight x Tekken - a game that was born in a bar one night.
I could be wrong, I don't really follow Nintendo on the Japan side of things, but sometimes I feel like Nintendo is the Daria of the games industry. They really keep to themselves a bit...which is good because they'll always be unique. But it might hinder them from really getting in good with the popular girls...
IceDoesntHelp
Banned
Yet THQ ports everything. Don't overthink stuff.
IceDoesntHelp
Banned
UNES = Ultimate Nintendo Entertainment System.
Thats what it should be called. Cause all in all, it is the Ultimate Nintendo Entertainment System.
I can agree with that. Ultimate though is a bit premature since its base meaning is "final" or "last". I doubt this is the last console from Nintendo, so I prefer the sexy sounding "Ultra".
DocTarHeel
Member
The 3DS isn't the only console to share a name with its predecessors. Wonder why consumers were so confused by it?
Lupin the Third
Member
It's a handheld that looked extremely similar at-a-glance and, at least in the States, there wasn't a lot of push to emphasize the evolution of the hardware beyond the 3D effect.
Also, the logo is almost identical other than the red 3. Contrast the variations between NDS and 3DS logos and those between the NES and SNES logos.
DocTarHeel
Member
So you are saying the confusion is more a result of advertising and marketing than the actual name itself?
Probably has something to do with the 3DS looking exactly the same. The Wii U design we have seen doesn't distance itself from the Wii either.
Developers do not have to wait for dev kits to start working on a game, so you could still have a quality game with a "normal" 2-year dev cycle. Although it's still likely that launch period games will be ports, simpler games, or games which initially started out on another platform and then bumped up.
the folk most "disappointed" in wii are the ones that wanted re5, bioshock, skyrim, etc... they'll buy u if it has games they want; even if nintendo calls the new system the fFizzzBang>9k and it only comes in teal at launch (well... 96% will still buy it then).
i wish there were more games i wanted on wii, but looking at the pile of stuff i *did* get doesn't make me disinclined to get a wiiu at all.
This.
The name was an issue, but the much bigger problem was the fact that the branding for both machines, apart from the number 3, were effectively identical. The game boxes were a particularly foolish mistake, they were the same colour, the same size and used the same font in the logo. Apart from the 3 the only way to tell them apart was the fact that the logo had switched from one side to the other (and I wouldn't have been able to tell which side it was on in the first place, despite owning quite a few DS games).
I don't blame Nintendo for wanting to keep the Wii brand alive, but if they do, they need to do a few things. Firstly, they need a name which, while including the word Wii, very clearly defines it as a new console. Wii U doesn't do that. It's not an easy thing to do, but MS managed it with the XBox 360 (stupid name though that may be).
Secondly, they need to change the visual aspects of the brand. Most importantly, change the font. A new font in the 3DS logo would have done a lot of good in differentiating it from the DS, and Nintendo should avoid making the same mistake with the Wii U while they still can. The brand's colours need to be changed as well, launching with the same glossy white styling (particularly on the controller) will reinforce any impressions that it's an add-on or re-release. Include the colour red in some way, both as it's the only primary colour left after MS and Sony have appropriated green and blue, and also as it's Nintendo's traditional colour anyway. A black console and controller with a red logo and a red disk-slot light would work, as would red game cases.
F-f-famicom colors! Red and Gold.
EDIT: (Although Red and Gold appeared on the Game & Watch before the Famicom)
EDIT EDIT: (OMG, a Red and Gold WiiU tablet controller would look like a giant Game&Watch)
Error Macro
Member
Yes...YES.
I've been thinking that Nintendo should use red cases, but the black console with a red lit slot? I love it. It would be beautiful.
Just print Nintendo at the top in white.
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