electro^plankton

« gaming: March 2006 | Main | gaming: May 2006 »

April 28, 2006

Just A Wii Identity Crisis

UPDATE:
There's a REMOTE Wii-MOTE possibility that the name is just an elaborate viral campaign by Nintendo. There are NO trademarks registered in Japan, Europe or America. On top of that, the domain name does not belong to Nintendo and the official link to the Wii is still revolution.nintendo.com. Makes you go humm.

Okay, so with all the hoopla on the net over the official name of Nintendo's next generation game console, I think it's the perfect time for me to put in my 2 cents.

So let me start with Nintendo marketing; they were successful. The whole internet, everyone from CNN to bloggers like me are talking about it. Until now, Nintendo often had to compete with Sony and Microsoft for media attention. Even within its own industry, it's an afterthought.

Here's where Nintendo triumphed. With E3 coming up in just a few weeks, you have to fight for press and at this point it fulfills one of my rules for branding; identity should be reactionary, be it positive or negative. Humans have a tendency to only remember the best and the worst of things and ironically, it's the worst of things we remember most. This rule of thumb is true across all mediums. Why are some of the most successful songs sad? Why are some of the most violent imagery the most embedded ones? The negative connotation is just stronger in humans. Call it some weird function of brain science. I don't know why, I just know it does.

Nintendo's paragraph long explanation and animatics is another issue. Okay, we get it, wii means we. It's about community, it's about the masses. Unfortunately, one of the other rules of branding is never needing to offer an in-depth explanation. It either should come intuitively or with time. That paragraph long explanation is better suited for media as a press release. For the general public, a simple short tagline would have been much better. To this day, I still love Motorola's old branding tagline, "Motorola, The Heart of Smart." Nintendo PR says they just want people to know where they're coming from. I get it, I think most people get it. It's just most people don't see the connection yet. Hopefully, after E3 we will all get it and say Wiiiiiiiii!

I really don't think the name is all that bad. Oh sure, the word itself has an association with pee in the English speaking world but news flash people, English isn't the only language out there. So why not keep the code name? Well, because did you know the letter "r" in Revolution is EXTREMELY difficult for most non English speaking Asians to pronounce? Hell, I've heard the letter "r" in many European languages and it doesn't sound like how it is in English. Wii is much easier to pronounce universally across all languages. So I think we can all be a little more open minded and objective here. Give the name some time.

Now, what I do have a PROBLEM with is the design of the logo. Everything from the font to the kerning to the color scheme screams APPLE APPLE APPLE! It's nothing new to latch on to the market segment leader and milk them for their mojo, but if Nintendo came up with what I thought was the best logo between the Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox, I expected more creativity here. Place any parent company logo next to the Nintendo one and it doesn't make sense. Place the Apple logo there and all of sudden, it looks like some future Apple product to grace the covers of www.apple.com

Here's where Nintendo does something I call leeching. When you leech off another brand, you're trying to ride it's wave. Sure, you achieve the same cool, sexy, and sleek that Apple has but now you're subject to copycat criticisms and for a console destined to be revolutionary, the logo design doesn't quite live up to it. It's a mistake, a HUGE one. There are TONS of other sans-serif fonts out there. Why choose one so similar (if not the same) as Apple? I understand current Nintendo press media are in favor of the white and grey monochromatic color scheme and that they want everything to be cohesive, but does the logo have to be the same EXACT shades Apple uses?

So to conclude, the name itself is fine. It's dumb now, but it will be good later. The name is there to get attention (and it does that), the console needs to sell and if it does, the name will become the lexicon Nintendo so wants it to be. The logo design is in need of a creativity injection. This is video gaming, not hardware appliance. That delicate balance between the two is very important for consoles to be accepted in home entertainment centers so I understand why Nintendo did it. I just don't think they were successful. The meaning of a word can change over time, but the actual icon of one rarely can. Once it sucks, it sucks forever.

This won't stop me from buying a Revolution Wii. I'm there for the games and the opportunity to play something new, in new ways. Hell, my real name is "Long". Do you know HOW MUCH I HATED my name when I was a kid???

"long duck dong"
"long ding-a-ling"
"long john silver"
"is your last name short?"

I love my name now and appreciate its beauty. In English it means length but in my native language, it means DRAGON. I hate to think of all the people that missed out on the chance to play with get to know me based solely on my name. Don't do that to Nintendo. Give it a chance mmkay?

Posted by tranism at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0) | | |

April 27, 2006

Welcome Nintendo Wii

Nintendo's next generation game console codename Revolution finally has an official name. Posted on Nintendo's official site is a video along with some interesting text explaining the concept behind the name.

(from the site)
Introducing ... Wii.
As in "we."
While the code-name "Revolution" express our direction, Wii represents the answer.
Wii will break down the wall that separates video game players from everybody else.
Wii will put people more in touch with their games ... and each other. But you're
probably asking: What does the name mean?
Wii sounds like "we," which emphasizes this console is for everyone.
Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they
speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.
Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the
image of people gathering to play.
And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video
games that sets it apart from the crowd.
So that's Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.
Because, it's really not about you or me.
It's about Wii.
And together, Wii will change everything.

I know, all the bad jokes are about to fly,

I can't wait to get a Revolution.
You mean Wii.
Yes, fine, WE can't wait to get a Revolution.
No, get a Wii.
What?
The name of the console.
You mean the Revolution?
Wii.
You're speaking French now?
No, you can't wait to get a Wii.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
You don't have a Wii.
No need to be a jerk. I just want a Revolution.
You mean a Wii.
I'll kill you!

But remember people, when the Gamecube came out, people thought it was dumb and stupid sounding as well. Just as when the Revolution Wii controller was revealed, most people dismissed it. Fast forward now and almost every developer and news publication has nothing but singing praises for it. In time, we will like Wii.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Posted by tranism at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | | |

April 2, 2006

The Joy of Painting

I love me some Bob Ross. I was sooo sad when news of his passing got to me. My childhood memories are filled with things like "happy little trees" and "persian blue". His voice had some weird mid-west/canadian twist to it but somehow it was very soothing. He inspired me so, i used to squeeze toothpaste onto a piece of paper and re-inact his show.

HE'S COMING TO THE NINTENDO DS! Yes Nintendo showed off a strange demo called Mario Paint years ago for the Nintendo 64. Then the whole project disappeared. I guess it took a cool device with a touchscreen to really bring it back to life, and if it lets you paint like Bob Ross, I'm all for it! Imagine learning how to paint, sharing it with friends thru Nintendo's WiFi service and uploading it to your computer to print.

This is another one of those Nintendo video games that isn't really a video game. If anything, it's another hit for Nintendo. I can't wait!

Posted by tranism at 4:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | | |