Mels_Smileys45
April 28th, 2006, 11:17 PM
What's in a name?
http://i3.tinypic.com/wqzcde.jpg
Yesterday, Nintendo rocked the gaming world announcing the final name for their long hyped up coming console. It's out with the Revolution, and in with Wii. It's caught everyone by surprise, with the forums exploding in an overabundance of toilet humour and 'Wii' punnery. With this in mind, we decided to all sit down around our metaphorical table and discuss Nintendo's latest move...
Jeremy, Contributor:
From a personal stand point, the name change is irrelevant to me. All I need to know is that it is a console from Nintendo and I know that it will satisfy my gaming needs. However, it's the others that I'm worried about. Sure, most Nintendo fans will buy it and be very happy. This may even be more so if it lives up to its innovative promises. The thing that worries me is that this name change will kill a lot of the appeal that the Revolution/Wii had in the first place. Just like the cartridges did it for the N64, and the purple colour did it for the GameCube.
Nintendo keep saying that they've learned from their mistakes but they are still shooting themselves in the foot on a regular basis. It is also another sign from Nintendo that they don't give a rats' about anything other than their own backyard. Despite being a global brand, Nintendo continue to go about their own business and rely on the world to feed off their scraps.
Simply, I think that it is a bad name because it will most likely become synonymous with another generation of damaging yet totally avoidable errors. It's not just the name but the implications and actions that follow. It may be a good move in Japan (and inadvertedly, France), where Wii is obviously much easier to roll off that Revolution. It may be a decent move for Nintendo to get a simple recognisable phrase not unlike DS ("Dee Es"). There is (arguably) a logical reason behind it, but it cannot be destined for long term success.
Perception is an important thing. With this name, now comes a new preception - and you can look in any forum to see what kind of perception has been generated in a matter of hours. Unless the last few secrets of the machine are really revelational (they may be), I cannot see how this is ment to appeal to the people who aren't already guaranteed to buy it. Yeah, the video is nice and the new icon looks good, but they feel arbitrary in the comparison to the "real" implications. I can already see myself looking three to four years down the track and finding myself in another struggle to finding games and units on shop shelves. Man, I really hope it's region free...
The N64 and GCN had some of the best games of their time. And as we can see, that's counted for little in the face of perception. We can say that iPod, Yahoo and Google are now insititutional, despite the initial apprehensions - but Wii? For every person that says grow-up, another five toilet jokes pop-up. Unfortunately, it looks like it's the true minority that will be suffering in the face of human irrationality... Again. And all because of one three letter word.
Source: http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=4349&sid=337f60d57910e8b5e56accfdf3b0a4f8
For Nintendo, The Glory Is In the Game
Washinton Post
http://i3.tinypic.com/wqzjg5.jpg
It's almost a radical thought in the video game industry these days: What if a new game console were actually just about the games -- and not about having a zillion other multimedia features?
That's the question posed by Nintendo's new console, scheduled for debut later this year. The Wii -- pronounced "we" -- does not feature scorchingly advanced technology, compared with its rivals, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3. And, unlike the competition, the device does not push a DVD replacement technology or strive to be the living room's all-purpose media center.
It's almost as if Nintendo is sometimes in a different industry than Microsoft and Sony.
"Those companies really have their eyes on each other," said Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo vice president of marketing. "They want the same place in the home. We just aim to be the best at what we do -- the gaming experience."
Kaplan would not say how much the Wii will cost, except that it will be less than the competition. Microsoft's Xbox 360 costs $400. Sony has warned that the PlayStation 3, which does not yet have a price tag, will be expensive when it is released later this year. Some analysts think the price of Nintendo's device will be about $250.
Nintendo's biggest risk with the Wii may be the game controller, a radical departure from the two-handed, button-covered ones that come with most consoles. Wii players will have a motion-sensitive controller that can be used with one hand. To swing a bat or cast a fishing pole in a still-hypothetical game, players might be able to make a similar motion with their controller, rather than pushing buttons and pulling triggers.
Some analysts predict that the innovative device will allow for new kinds of games -- especially the kind that might be more light and social, a contrast to long and intense solo-player games such as Oblivion, the recent Xbox 360 hit from Bethesda Softworks. "The controller makes the box significantly more interesting than the other two consoles," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. Game publisher THQ Inc. is developing games such as a new SpongeBob SquarePants title for the Wii. Kelly Flock, executive vice president of publishing at THQ, said the Nintendo controller inspired some of the game's action, though the SpongeBob game will be available on at least one other console.
The Wii's lower-tech profile gives it another advantage that game publishers may appreciate: Costs for developing games for the Wii could be a fraction of what it takes to develop games for the other consoles.
In an industry where game development costs are approaching $20 million for the Wii's more complex rivals, that gives the Wii a definite appeal.
"It means that people will be able to make creative risks" on games for the Wii, Flock said.
Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042802071.html
http://i3.tinypic.com/wqzcde.jpg
Yesterday, Nintendo rocked the gaming world announcing the final name for their long hyped up coming console. It's out with the Revolution, and in with Wii. It's caught everyone by surprise, with the forums exploding in an overabundance of toilet humour and 'Wii' punnery. With this in mind, we decided to all sit down around our metaphorical table and discuss Nintendo's latest move...
Jeremy, Contributor:
From a personal stand point, the name change is irrelevant to me. All I need to know is that it is a console from Nintendo and I know that it will satisfy my gaming needs. However, it's the others that I'm worried about. Sure, most Nintendo fans will buy it and be very happy. This may even be more so if it lives up to its innovative promises. The thing that worries me is that this name change will kill a lot of the appeal that the Revolution/Wii had in the first place. Just like the cartridges did it for the N64, and the purple colour did it for the GameCube.
Nintendo keep saying that they've learned from their mistakes but they are still shooting themselves in the foot on a regular basis. It is also another sign from Nintendo that they don't give a rats' about anything other than their own backyard. Despite being a global brand, Nintendo continue to go about their own business and rely on the world to feed off their scraps.
Simply, I think that it is a bad name because it will most likely become synonymous with another generation of damaging yet totally avoidable errors. It's not just the name but the implications and actions that follow. It may be a good move in Japan (and inadvertedly, France), where Wii is obviously much easier to roll off that Revolution. It may be a decent move for Nintendo to get a simple recognisable phrase not unlike DS ("Dee Es"). There is (arguably) a logical reason behind it, but it cannot be destined for long term success.
Perception is an important thing. With this name, now comes a new preception - and you can look in any forum to see what kind of perception has been generated in a matter of hours. Unless the last few secrets of the machine are really revelational (they may be), I cannot see how this is ment to appeal to the people who aren't already guaranteed to buy it. Yeah, the video is nice and the new icon looks good, but they feel arbitrary in the comparison to the "real" implications. I can already see myself looking three to four years down the track and finding myself in another struggle to finding games and units on shop shelves. Man, I really hope it's region free...
The N64 and GCN had some of the best games of their time. And as we can see, that's counted for little in the face of perception. We can say that iPod, Yahoo and Google are now insititutional, despite the initial apprehensions - but Wii? For every person that says grow-up, another five toilet jokes pop-up. Unfortunately, it looks like it's the true minority that will be suffering in the face of human irrationality... Again. And all because of one three letter word.
Source: http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=4349&sid=337f60d57910e8b5e56accfdf3b0a4f8
For Nintendo, The Glory Is In the Game
Washinton Post
http://i3.tinypic.com/wqzjg5.jpg
It's almost a radical thought in the video game industry these days: What if a new game console were actually just about the games -- and not about having a zillion other multimedia features?
That's the question posed by Nintendo's new console, scheduled for debut later this year. The Wii -- pronounced "we" -- does not feature scorchingly advanced technology, compared with its rivals, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3. And, unlike the competition, the device does not push a DVD replacement technology or strive to be the living room's all-purpose media center.
It's almost as if Nintendo is sometimes in a different industry than Microsoft and Sony.
"Those companies really have their eyes on each other," said Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo vice president of marketing. "They want the same place in the home. We just aim to be the best at what we do -- the gaming experience."
Kaplan would not say how much the Wii will cost, except that it will be less than the competition. Microsoft's Xbox 360 costs $400. Sony has warned that the PlayStation 3, which does not yet have a price tag, will be expensive when it is released later this year. Some analysts think the price of Nintendo's device will be about $250.
Nintendo's biggest risk with the Wii may be the game controller, a radical departure from the two-handed, button-covered ones that come with most consoles. Wii players will have a motion-sensitive controller that can be used with one hand. To swing a bat or cast a fishing pole in a still-hypothetical game, players might be able to make a similar motion with their controller, rather than pushing buttons and pulling triggers.
Some analysts predict that the innovative device will allow for new kinds of games -- especially the kind that might be more light and social, a contrast to long and intense solo-player games such as Oblivion, the recent Xbox 360 hit from Bethesda Softworks. "The controller makes the box significantly more interesting than the other two consoles," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. Game publisher THQ Inc. is developing games such as a new SpongeBob SquarePants title for the Wii. Kelly Flock, executive vice president of publishing at THQ, said the Nintendo controller inspired some of the game's action, though the SpongeBob game will be available on at least one other console.
The Wii's lower-tech profile gives it another advantage that game publishers may appreciate: Costs for developing games for the Wii could be a fraction of what it takes to develop games for the other consoles.
In an industry where game development costs are approaching $20 million for the Wii's more complex rivals, that gives the Wii a definite appeal.
"It means that people will be able to make creative risks" on games for the Wii, Flock said.
Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042802071.html