"Wii U" Remains the Name

Whether or not you personally agree with the decision, Nintendo's sticking with "Wii U" as the name of the company's next home console.

It's been a point of debate ever since last year's E3. Would the name – which simply tacks an extra letter onto the end of the current console's brand – allow the new system to stand out enough? Or would consumers be confused, unable to recognize it as an actual new machine?

Those reservations were reinforced for many immediately following E3 2011's Nintendo press conference, when it became clear that several attendees and viewers of online streams thought the company had simply announced another new peripheral for the original Wii. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted that they'd made a mistake in how they'd presented the new tablet-like controller, saying they should have revealed the base console unit itself first.

Other name-related consumer-confusion issues also plagued the company during last year's launch of the 3DS, which many potential purchasers ignored thinking it was just another revision of the base DS unit – like the DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL launched in previous years. Nintendo's executives have also publicly admitted that the 3DS launch could have been handled better, too.

All those issues taken together, it's not hard to understand how many Nintendo fans expected a name change for Wii U going into this year's expo. We've editorialized our agreement with that sentiment, too, and hoped Nintendo would take the opportunity to course-correct and adopt a different brand going forward.

But, as confirmed today, that's just not going to happen. An image of the revised Wii U controller was leaked to the Internet weeks ago, with the Wii U logo clearly displayed on its facing – Strike 1. Then the company updated its online press resource website with a final version of the Wii U logo a few days ago – Strike 2. And now, in the wake of the Nintendo Direct video presentation that has just kicked off E3 – and in which Nintendo didn't pull any last-second curveball with the name, but stuck to its guns – we know for sure it's Wii U for the long haul. Strike 3.

And so the debate will continue.

Does Nintendo's decision to stick with Wii U as the new console name affect how you view the machine? Do you still think the name should have been changed? Or were you never against the name to begin with, happy to play the next generation of Nintendo no matter what brand went on the box?

Let us know your thoughts through the comments box below, and stay tuned as E3 coverage is just getting started. And then, after that, stay tuned some more for the next several years – as we bring you on-going coverage of the next Nintendo, here at "IGN Wii U."

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/03/wii-u-remains-the-name