CNET still not over it

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jul 11th 2006 at 9:07PM }

And by "it", we of course refer to the cataclysmic tugging of the carpet that Nintendo so infamously performed when they quelled the Revolution (the what now?) and released the Wii. After Nintendo's powerful showing at E3, most people seem to have gotten used to saying the new name without breaking a sweat or breaking into laughter, content in knowing that the name means little in the face of a game like Super Mario Galaxy. The folks at CNET must not have played it, then.

In their "Worst Tech of Q2 2006" article, CNET reserves the ninth spot for the Wii, awarding it with "Worst name change." Their justification is short, noting that "'Nintendo Revolution' sounds cool. 'Nintendo Wii' sounds dumb. That's about all there is to say." Well, fair enough ... coming from a website that sounds like something you catch fish with! ZING!

On a more serious note, we also preferred the Revolution, but to put the name mame on the same list as Segway Polo and iPod imitations is just mean.

[Via VGGEN, thanks AssemblyLineHuman!]

Tags: CNET, Name change, NameChange, Nintendo Revolution, Nintendo Wii, NintendoRevolution, NintendoWii, Revolution, Wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Nimoshi @ Jul 11th 2006 10:39PM

I am sure they will praise the Wii in the future and completely forget about ever putting it in this article.

http://www.purevideogames.net/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=8;t=52

Jedediah Johnson @ Jul 11th 2006 11:24PM

Though I'm use to reading the name in my head, saying it out loud sure is as dumb as ever. I agree with it being a bad pick for a verbal identity and even if you are use to it, thats something you can surely agree with. (It be like having a product called "TechArms Processing" and changing the name to "Pii Chips".) Its probably something the console will struggle with forever as any new gamer has to figure out if the name is serious or a joke, or possibly a bad console that has a bad marketing direction to boot. Good luck to them, I'm not even sure yet but I can imagine it now.."Mommy, may I have a Wee for christmas?"

Dan @ Jul 12th 2006 12:46AM

Hmm, let's think about this.

CNET says "Nintendo Revolution sounds cool. Nintendo Wii sounds dumb. That's about all there is to say". Yeah, that sounds like a good, intelligent arguement. *End Sarcasm*

Of course, most people had negative reactions to the name change. While the name "Wii" may have some negative connotations, it has enough advantages over "Revolution" to be worth it.

First of all, revolution is way too many syllables. That's why Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 have to be shortened to PS3 and 360 respectively. Second, it's not "Nintendo Wii" but just "Wii". Wii can be understood in all languages, easy to say. For extra credit, Nintendo says the two i's in Wii resemble people, to show community, or, err, whatever.

I never really liked CNET for some reason.

Kat @ Jul 12th 2006 3:31AM

They did buy off several good sites and near ruin most of them..Oh, TvTome. :(

nintendoidloyd @ Jul 12th 2006 3:59AM

dan agreed.
i dont think nintendo meant for it to written as " the wii"
which is what i keep seeing written lots
just " wii " k
bless

Jedediah Johnson @ Jul 12th 2006 5:39AM

You always say "the" in front of a name like this a so your sentence will be proper english. Even with the nick names of newer console. I always say "Say PS3, the 360, the Cube, ect ect" If Nintendo intends for us to just say "Wii" then their marketing team must be really on their own island. Not to mention the whole name "Revolution" was going by a nick name version for a long time. Being addressed as just "Rev" which many people liked. If that word is to hard for people in other countries to pronounce then they simply could have changed it's name in that region like they did in the Famicom generations. There is just so many good solutions to keeping a better name all Nintendo has as a excuse for Wii is that if you think about it in the right way, its like a bad english use for community, and that to two little "i"s look like people. Look, little people. See them? Weeeee! :P

R0DJOh @ Jul 12th 2006 7:46AM

So they call the name dumb with a dumb comment, on a totally innapropiate list for the Wii.

Cnet YOU FAIL

Bryan @ Jul 12th 2006 9:36AM

Cnet is right. The name is stupid. I hope Nintendo wins some more "Worst of", "What where they thinking" awards from reputable publications. Then they may realize that the name "Wii" will not work in English speaking countries. It reads fine, but it sounds like a pee pee reference when said out loud, and adults are laughing too. Keep up the good work Cnet.

nintendoidloyd @ Jul 12th 2006 12:35PM

their marketing team must have been on their own island wether they wanted us to say " the wii " or just " wii "
bless

Flak @ Jul 12th 2006 2:13PM

"It reads fine, but it sounds like a pee pee reference when said out loud, and adults are laughing too."

No. No one's laughing, except at you and your immaturity.

I'm sure Nintendo will be hurt that 13 year olds are joking about the name of their console on Gamefaqs. Nice burn, CNET! Wii sounds sooooooooooooooooooooo ghey!

Loban @ Jul 12th 2006 2:13PM

CNET is a sorry excuse for a tech site. They cater to the masses who don't know a computer from a toaster and have no business covering anything in the gaming industry. They should stick to what they do best, broad generalizations on mass market consumer tech like Blackberrys and Dell PCs.

I've actually grown to like the name Wii, but to those people who would read a site like CNET it's just not as "cool" as Revolution. Maybe they should have named it "Ultimate Wii 2000: Extreme Edition"

vidGuy @ Jul 12th 2006 2:22PM

"They cater to the masses who don't know a computer from a toaster"

You mean hobbits and that guy that was stuck on a mountain for twenty years??? :)

I agree with you whole-heartedly, Loban.

Loban @ Jul 12th 2006 3:48PM

"You mean hobbits and that guy that was stuck on a mountain for twenty years??? :)"

Obviously I was exaggerating a bit. :) Let me rephrase:

"They cater to the masses who don't know how a computer works any more than a nuclear reactor"

Bryan @ Jul 12th 2006 4:47PM

Hey Flak, do me a favor. Walk up to a group of adult co workers and tell them you are exited about playing a Wii. I know this is assuming a lot. Let me know how that goes. I work in a government office, and there are no immature teenagers. I got nothing by laughs, spent the next few minutes trying to explain the stupid name. It has less to do with maturity, and more to do with a really bad product name.

Say what you want about Cnet..we all still read it.

Jedediah Johnson @ Jul 12th 2006 5:39PM

Bryan is dead right. The name is just bad and laughing at it has nothing to do with maturity but the crude humor saying "wee" out loud as a serious name. Maturity is just a safety net excuse by gamers. Just because you don't laugh at it, that doesn't accurately represent everyone. (Saying "No on is laughing" reminds me of when Nintendo said "gamers don't want online." I don't quit understand where a single opinion represents everyone else's.) I could serious stand in front of adult and kids alike and get laughs or odd facial expressions when trying to say the name carelessly like Nintendo wants us to. Heck, I couldn't help but snicker during E3 when I was hearing the name out loud on stage. It just sounds out of place and Nintendo needs to take a hint. Just look at M$ for example. They're trying their hardest to make a iPod rival and they are going to do it with a name that sounds appropriate for a tech product, "Argo." Thats a decent/good product name for it. Wouldn't you make fun of it's name if it was something like "Wii" instead? I would.

Hunt5000 @ Jul 13th 2006 2:09AM

Here's the thing: you can debate the name of the system, which I agree sounds weird, but I'm kind of used to it by now...but implying that the major factor regarding purchasing the system is its name is a bit of a stretch. I've poked fun at the name "Wii" (which kind of sounds like a Monty Python joke..."We are the gamers who say...'Wii'!"), but I'm still going to buy the system. I look at what it can do and the games coming out for it, and I'm buying the thing. I actually think that the name will grab people's attention, they'll ask what it is, and once they find out what it can do, THAT'S what will draw them in. You can call the system whatever you want...call it the Revolution still if you want to. I just seriously doubt it's going to lose sales due to the name (this was not implied in the story, but in some of the subsequent posts).

Flak @ Jul 13th 2006 5:10AM

Typical American culture. Guess it can't be helped.

Even if you do judge a video game console solely on it's name, "Wii" sounds no more stupid than Gamecube (GAYCUBE! LOL), Playstation, or Xbox.

'Say what you want about Cnet..we all still read it.'

Who's we?

Bryan @ Jul 13th 2006 8:00AM

So I over generalized by saying "we all". There have to be people who do not read Cnet out there, but if you�re into technology, it�s hard to miss. Cnet is also Gamespot, Ziff Davis, tv(.com), news(.com) and Download(.com). They may be catering for the mass market, but they review a ton of products. I balance it out with avs forums, extreamtech, anandtech, tomshardware, amazon (user reviews), and probably half a dozen other sites depending on the product.

The reason I think Nintendo should take notice, is that their new target audience is reading Cnet. There are a lot of non-gamers and former gamers that read Cnet (even more who read CNN, which also hates the name). A non gamer who is reading into technology is more likely to pick up a Wii, than a non gamer who isn�t. Mass market tech sites can help shape public opinion of a product. Nintendo can sell a product with a ridiculous name if the product is good, and I doubt there is anyone who reads this blog that will second guess the purchase based on a name, but the truth is, it will affect sales in the mass market. This is an uphill battle Nintendo does not need to fight.

American Culture can�t be helped, because Americans are always right. (Sarcasm)

davis @ Jul 13th 2006 9:07AM

do people really care what cnet thinks? i didn't even know it existed until now. people are still getting used to the name. i doubt 'american culture' will dismiss it come november.

Psycho300x @ Jul 13th 2006 11:21AM

Psycho300x @ Jul 13th 2006 11:23AM

Yeah im not over the name yet, and I dont think I ever will be, call me immature or w/e you want but I personally think that Revolution sounds A LOT better then...that. But not only does it sound better; it is more accurate, I mean it is a (gameing "revolution" and it should bear the name that discribes it.
Not to mention by going to www.revolutionfanboy.com it brings me here so I dont even need to use the crappy name, plus its less tying then nintendo****fanboy.com

Tathar @ Jul 15th 2006 6:35PM

They should've reserved a spot for the PS3. I know some Sony fanboys that won't even buy one. At least Sony got a mention with the format war (or didn't because the name wasn't used) or else I'd be looking for the comments section.