GoNintendo 'End of Day' thought - How does Nintendo fix i...

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GoNintendo 'End of Day' thought - How does Nintendo fix its Wii U problem?
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Is Christmas really coming up next week? I better start getting some presents! It's amazing how quickly time flies when you're working! I sure hope you guys and gals are ready for the holiday season. If you don't celebrate, I hope you are looking forward to time off! See you in a few, short hours.

Back when Nintendo first announced the Wii U to the public via E3, there was confusion. Even members of the press were trying to figure out whether Wii U was a brand-new system or just a controller add-on for the Wii itself. Nintendo acknowledged this issue shortly after E3, stating that they knew they had to work to fix this.

Here we are ALL the way after launch, with Nintendo having over a year to overcome this issue, yet it still seems they are in the same position. Hardly a week passes by where someone doesn't misunderstand what the Wii U is. Consumers are as confused as ever as to what the Wii U package entails.

Why is Nintendo still fighting this issue? There are a number of reasons that could play into it. Perhaps advertising isn't accurately detailing just what the Wii U is. Maybe it's the console's name itself that is confusing people. Could a change from Wii U to Wii 2 do away with all these misunderstandings?

What do you think Nintendo can do in order to tackle this issue? It's certain that the Big N has to do something to clear up what the Wii U is. If you had the opportunity to set things straight, what would you do to put the system back on a forward-moving path? Leave a comment and let us know.

[ridleysaria]

At this point I don't think they can. Perceptions of a platform are formed very early on and Nintendo is the king of poor perception. Gamecube never shook the image of being the "kiddy, underpowered" platform even though we all know it wasn't true. With Wii I don't think they wanted to turn their image around because they made a lot of money peddling the casual crap. They had plenty of time to do a course correction on Wii U but they chose not to, so they're going to reap what they sow.

[coffeewithchess]

"Even members of the press were trying to figure out whether Wii U was a brand-new system or just a controller add-on for the Wii itself."

I wouldn't want to call somebody a "member" of something, that is apparently either too lazy, or so ignorant they write about something they don't know about.

I sent over a "tip" of a redone Wii U commercial about a month ago now, and I do think the U.S. commercials are pretty horrendous, but that's for the general public...not the press. Part of Nintendo's problem is lazy press outlets and lazy "journalist" in general, but they should have stopped feeding those cows long ago and set them to pasture.

Here's the updated video I tipped over:


I would say better, more targeted ads....that hit on nostalgia factors from the 80s perhaps. This is the holiday season, if you can't sell your *new* system now and keep it going, there are issues. I'm not sure how the Wii U is selling in Europe and Japan, but those regions seemed to have better launch commercials for the system, so I would be interested to know if one worked better than another.

I would also probably start with a shake up of staff, if people do the same stuff on a daily basis, they may be bored with it...don't fire, but reposition staff into something totally different. Reggie gets moved to the warehouse for now to guard against thieves, until NoA brings over Disaster: Day of Crisis and Pandora's Tower.

[CCFanboy]

Honestly I can't see branding confusion being an issue in the long run. Those really into video games will likely be aware wii u is a different console. Some families might not be but if they have a kid who really wants one the kid will explain the difference and they will probably research it themselves.

I actually think bundling the controller with the system helps because if they really think the appeal about wii u is the controller then they have to buy the system to get it anyway. The only way I can see branding confusion being an issue is with casuals and honestly I can't see casuals buying this in the first place. But to me if you play games as a hobby and frequent video game websites you'd have to be living under a rock to think wii u is a wii.

[coffeewithchess]

But to me if you play games as a hobby and frequent video game websites you'd have to be living under a rock to think wii u is a wii.

Apparently, there are many "journalist" that write about video games and tech, that live under rocks...or, at the very least, don't know how to read properly.

[ddddd]

An advertising where the phrase "NEXT GENERATION CONSOLE" is used once or twice would be a good starting point.

I also think some of the games chosen for the ads dont help either.

[coffeewithchess]

An advertising where the phrase "NEXT GENERATION CONSOLE" is used once or twice would be a good starting point.

I also think some of the games chosen for the ads dont help either.

They should have blitzed ads with Black Ops 2...a month before the game and the system released. Playing Black Ops 2 online multiplayer with just the GamePad, while my wife watches Netflix (another device is needed, sure...but same as "I want to watch TV"), is really awesome.

[Shuga]

in short, its the name WiiU thats why people are confused and sees it as an add on to the wii... If they could change the name it will be better but at this time i guess thats not possible...

[Frank]

Part of Nintendo's problem is lazy press outlets and lazy "journalist" in general, but they should have stopped feeding those cows long ago and set them to pasture.

Many journalists are inherently lazy, it's a sad fact of the industry that, whilst not their fault, it is Nintendo's job to work around. Saying Nintendo should stop working with certain outlets is absurd, Nintendo needs every last consumer who would potentially buy the system to go out and buy it, and cutting off certain outlets would be a sure fire way of cutting loose a good many sales.

That said, even as a member of this community expecting a new console, I was initially confused by Nintendo's E3 unveiling of the machine, more specifically by the sizzle reel. Up until the Zelda demo, there was nothing that looked like it couldn't have been done on the Wii, and it wouldn't be the first time a rumour turned out to be wrong. Even the console itself, looking like a more rounded Wii and barely visible in the video, could have been nothing more than a revision.



Whilst those whose job it was to specifically cover Nintendo's conference didn't have much of an excuse for getting it wrong, a lot of press outlets were covering the whole show, including Microsoft and Sony's offerings, so there will have been staff who only caught bits of Nintendo's presentation and just saw the Wii U GamePad being used with a drawing app, a board game, Wii Fit and other Mii games, and I can absolutely understand how they could think that the Wii U was nothing more than an add on.

At this point though, the damage is done, I don't think Nintendo would re-brand after launch, and if they did it would probably only be more confusing. Nintendo will just have to work extra hard and put out lots of adverts saying 'Brand new console!' to help correct consumers

They should have blitzed ads with Black Ops 2.

I think Microsoft have a special deal with Activision that says any CoD adverts have to show the game being played on a 360.

[applejack1085]

Big N should've gone for either "Wii 2", or a totally irrelevant name.

[coffeewithchess]

Part of Nintendo's problem is lazy press outlets and lazy "journalist" in general, but they should have stopped feeding those cows long ago and set them to pasture.

Many journalists are inherently lazy, it's a sad fact of the industry that, whilst not their fault, it is Nintendo's job to work around. Saying Nintendo should stop working with certain outlets is absurd, Nintendo needs every last consumer who would potentially buy the system to go out and buy it, and cutting off certain outlets would be a sure fire way of cutting loose a good many sales.

That said, even as a member of this community expecting a new console, I was initially confused by Nintendo's E3 unveiling of the machine, more specifically by the sizzle reel. Up until the Zelda demo, there was nothing that looked like it couldn't have been done on the Wii, and it wouldn't be the first time a rumour turned out to be wrong. Even the console itself, looking like a more rounded Wii and barely visible in the video, could have been nothing more than a revision.



Whilst those whose job it was to specifically cover Nintendo's conference didn't have much of an excuse for getting it wrong, a lot of press outlets were covering the whole show, including Microsoft and Sony's offerings, so there will have been staff who only caught bits of Nintendo's presentation and just saw the Wii U GamePad being used with a drawing app, a board game, Wii Fit and other Mii games, and I can absolutely understand how they could think that the Wii U was nothing more than an add on.

At this point though, the damage is done, I don't think Nintendo would re-brand after launch, and if they did it would probably only be more confusing. Nintendo will just have to work extra hard and put out lots of adverts saying 'Brand new console!' to help correct consumers

They should have blitzed ads with Black Ops 2.

I think Microsoft have a special deal with Activision that says any CoD adverts have to show the game being played on a 360.

You and I, are close to the same point, I think. I wrote about the entire thing with the video I posted above, over a month ago. That being said, I don't think giving sites multiple consoles that provided sheer lazy reviews of your consoles games (see: ZombiU), is a smart move. What did giving many of these sites Wii U consoles result in? "Wait" before buying articles...that's failure on all fronts from a marketing stand point.

What did Ubisoft gain from giving lazy sites like IGN with no review standards copies of their games for reviews? People canceling their ZombiU pre-orders, or not picking it up because of the initial low scores (I fortunately, ignored the early scores and bought the game day one...because I think most "reviewers" on the larger sites from what I can tell, are lazy).

I am no Nintendo defender. Not at all. It's why I put together the updated ad and wrote an article on the issue, because I really thought their initial Wii U ads are/were terrible here in the U.S., and I haven't exactly seen much to make me think of NoA as a well run organization that has been around since the 80s (when was NoA formed)?

[MoldyClay]

They have to stop focusing on the controller and flat out make it obvious it is a new, updated, HD console that is not a Wii.

It doesn't help that they show people using Wii controllers and playing games with Miis or NSMB. While they look amazing in real life, an ad is just portraying what looks like Wii games.

And the fact the console looks like a laying down Wii without getting close to it (it is longer, rounder and slightly different), and the name sounding like a peripheral name. These all add to it.

You can get away with using the same name if you just add a number, but when you have things like PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect or whatever, Wii U just falls in line with Wii Speak, Wii Remote, etc. Doesn't sound like a console.

Each of these things on their OWN are not a problem, but when you have all of it together, it is.

If it had a different name, but looked the same, it'd be fine. If it had the name, but looked radically different, it'd be more obvious.

But since it looks the same, has a samey name, and the focus is on the controller (double edge), that is where confusion arises.

@coffeewithchess

Except, pretty sure I haven't seen journalists saying this kind of stuff now. This was only an issue last year when Nintendo revealed it and everyone was like "I don't know what they just tried showing me", where everyone is in the same boat. We were told ahead of time that it was a new console, but it looked like they were just showing a new controller and that was what generated initial confusion. They only showed the controller and it was hard to even tell whether it was more than that.

[stoopeed]

They could have gone for a different design of the console itself, too. Wii and Wii U both look boring, and the same. Wii Mini is so much more what I want a Nintendo system to look like!

[_DiGiTaL_]

I know the controller is the big feature on WiiU but problem is even since E3 all the advertisement shows the Gamepad and rarely ever the console. I think if the console got shown more often this problem wouldn't be as big as it is now.

[midorigreen]

Wasn't this thing about the name the same issue that was going to DOOM the 3DS, because everyone though it was just an updated DS instead of a new handheld.

[LordRoto]

all valid points here. It's true they focus so much on the controller. I think when we get NintendoTVii thyat will be a huge highlight for many future commercials since streaming video is like the biggest thing to at least a lot of people I know. Some families have dropped their cable and use just netflix and hulu.

In the end it doesn't matter much. Once smash bros is revealed hype will snowball again for hardcore gamers, and all they need to do is find the right "new" thing to get all the blue ocean gamers panties in a bunch. So many people, no, too many people all have their heart set on a new phone. which is still crazy to me, I know phones can do so much now but, eh.

The main theme of this thread and topic is journalists and consumers are stupid

[coffeewithchess]

@coffeewithchess

Except, pretty sure I haven't seen journalists saying this kind of stuff now. This was only an issue last year when Nintendo revealed it and everyone was like "I don't know what they just tried showing me", where everyone is in the same boat. We were told ahead of time that it was a new console, but it looked like they were just showing a new controller and that was what generated initial confusion. They only showed the controller and it was hard to even tell whether it was more than that.

Except that one from ABC (?) yesterday that didn't specify if it was Wii consoles or Wii U consoles that were stolen from the warehouse? I'm not talking about now though (other than that one), as much as around E3 this year.

My article addressed what I think are their advertising problems, I even edited an image with the Wii console behind the Wii U GamePad, to show how similar it looks to the Wii U. What could have made people realize this was a NEW console? NSMBU online. In some fashion. One simple ad. Mario from the 80s, until now. But no, apparently Mario and online for 2D just can't happen at launch. Again, we're getting NSMBU, but I see it as laziness that they can't get some form of online multiplayer in the 2D Mario games now. Perhaps that will be later, but I would imagine having an online Mario game at launch, saying..."You played it in the 80s with your friends, now you can play it with those same friends." and show two kids from the "80s" fast forwarded to now grown up, possibly with their own children, but playing NSMBU online together in some fashion.

[Devil_Rising]

I really think that is selling the average shopper, whether they're a "gamer" or not, terribly short, to assume that people are so moronic as not to realize that Wii U is a completely new console from the Wii. The people who know better who are feigning ignorance are just trolling because "it's not hardcorz", and the casual consumer who doesn't know the difference, are ignoramouses who simply don't bother reading or paying attention to details.

I'm quite certain the same consumers that know what the newest model iPhone is, which covers a lot of people from all walks of life, would be smart enough to also know "what a Wii U is exactly". The commercial sucks, that's for sure (mainly because of that god awful "music"), but that has very little to do with, in the larger scheme of things, of those few who don't honestly know it's a new console. As the quote goes, "You can't fix stupid".

[quicklynow]

The hardware is crappy, but they can't fix that now. Neither can they fix the controller or the name. The only thing they can do is to make sure the lineup of exclusive titles is as good as possible. If enough WiiU exclusive titles that people actually want to play starts to show up there would be no more confusion.

[Devil_Rising]

The hardware is crappy, but they can't fix that now. Neither can they fix the controller or the name. The only thing they can do is to make sure the lineup of exclusive titles is as good as possible. If enough WiiU exclusive titles that people actually want to play starts to show up there would be no more confusion.

Speak for yourself. The name sounds retarded, just the same as the "Wii" name originally did. But so far, the hardware and controller are HARDLY "crappy". Personally, I think it's a rather fine system so far.

[Swedish_Otaku]

"Even members of the press were trying to figure out whether Wii U was a brand-new system or just a controller add-on for the Wii itself." - This is retardation.

[kevynwight]

I'll be in all day Saturday, Sunday morning, and all day Monday, with Tuesday off, though I'll be checking emails and responding via Blackberry throughout, and I have a conf call set for the afternoon on Tuesday that I have to at least listen in to. The "holidays" (where you're off for a few days or a week or - as a student - several weeks!) got abbreviated down to a portion of a single day years ago. There are these elements called 'year end' and 'global strategy' that see to that.

Anyway, I'm very critical of Nintendo's marketing and branding choices here, as well as the choice to make the Wii U small, apparently underpowered (in the name of low power consumption), and similar in shape to the Wii. I have no solutions. Even this past weekend, four weeks after launch, when the topic came up in a group, half of the people were completely unaware of the Wii U and the other half were variously confused about what it is. Consider this: in some ways there seems to be more brand awareness and consumer clarity around the freaking XBox 720 than around the Nintendo Wii U! The 720 doesn't even exist yet officially and probably won't even be called the 720.

I have no solutions, sorry. In a few years when Kotaku, Go Nintendo, 1Up, IGN, Destructoid, etc. are writing the obituary for the Wii U and lamenting that it only achieved about 12 million in global penetration, the frequently-cited issues will include its PS3/360-esque graphics prowess, the dearth of 3rd-party support, the still lacking media and online features, and the failure to differentiate it from the Wii.

[Deep4t]

well Nintendo deserve this for being stubborn and doing what the hell they like.
We all said this would happen, we all wanted a name change but nope...

it's took like 2 years for people to just start to realise the 3DS is a new system so, good luck with the wiiU.
especially when the adverts only show people dancing around the game pad with games which can be done on the wii.

all I can say is, told you so

[Freeload]

It's called Wii U.
The consoles basically looks like a Wii.
The controller looks like a peripheral for Wii and it still comes across as such in adverts to anyone who isn't already aware of the situation.
The Wii U's graphics look like current-gen consoles so it may be hard for some people to tell it's something brand new and "next-gen" just by looking at the games.
Nintendo has release another Wii console model in Canada that confuses people even further.

Nintendo has created all it's own problems and realistically I don't actually think it can fully address them at this point.

[XCWarrior]

Plenty of great comments above. They just need to flat out say in the commercial, "it's a new console. So, do you want to buy your children a 6 year old and busted console like the PS3 or Xbox 360, or get them the new hotness. You know your kids want the new hotness."

And saying the word HD graphics about a frillion times would help. People are shallow by nature, they only care about the looks of things, now how they play.