Devs: Wii don’t like the name
Published by dasme 2 years, 5 months ago in News.
Industry site Gamasutra recently asked some game developers what they thought of Nintendo’s new name for the Revolution, and much to my surprise the comments are mostly very negative. For example Alex Seropian, co-creator of Halo and developer of Stubbs the Zombie had this to say:
Honestly, my first reaction to “Wii†was, “huh?†- but seeing as Nintendo is the only console maker to consistently make money every cycle I think I’ll hedge my bets and declare it “genius!â€. I don’t think the name matters so much, but if they want to set themselves apart from Sony and Microsoft with their name – they just did.
Not too bad I guess.. but this comment from Ernest Adams is scathing:
Yes, it definitely matters what a console is called. Nintendo has just named its console in a way that sounds like a slang word for urine. Or the Scottish word for “small,” and by implication, insignificant.
(Of course, it also sounds like the French word for “yes,” “oui” — but how big is the French Nintendo market?)
I guess I was wrong to expect devs to take the high road when it came to the new name for the Revolution. While we can all agree that the name is bizarre, maybe to the point of alienating some potential customers, I think we have to accept the that that names mean nothing. Lets wait to see the games before we make our minds up.
[via Gamasutra]
Too think that the devs would think any different then its client base! This isn’t surprising. But I think once they see all the moolah flowing into other devs pockets they will get over it.
I would of hoped that the devs would think beyond the name and focus on the technology. But like you said, when teh console sells millions.. even stubborn devs will get over the name
Game Developers are the absolute worst people to ask an opinion of actually. Common on, focus on GAMEPLAY? Who ever heard of that. Media has been shoving “better graphics” down developers throats for so long now that majority of developers I know basically cringe when they get asked how they’ll take advantage of something like the DS’s dual screens and touch pad, or how to use the Wiimote in anything but the obvious sword swinging or aiming deal.
We’re not just told to think inside the box, we’ve been locked inside of it too. Alot of developers I dont think will ever get passed the name or the wiimote. They’ll make games sure, but they wont be into it. So the games will suffer
Word, all of U! Wii’s fine, and I tell everyone it’s about gameplay every day! Since when did graphix matter - look at Pong and Asteroids and even Pac Man! Wii pwns PS3 and 360.