The Nintendo Revolution, and Why Wii Were Wrong

"I don't give a fuck what they call it, I'm calling it the revolution."

The real uprising started the day the Revolution died.

It was April 27, 2006, and gamers were primed for Nintendo's next-gen box, codenamed Revolution. In the all-important console war, the company had ended the previous generation in last place with its GameCube. Thoroughly beaten by Sony's juggernaut PlayStation 2, and even edged out by newcomer Microsoft with its Xbox, Nintendo was sucking wind--or just plain sucking, depending on who you asked.

Despite a healthy business, both publishers and consumers were losing interest in Nintendo's approach. Though the Revolution and its motion controller seemed a radical move, it was also seen as a possible gimmick, a last-ditch effort that wouldn't play with real gamers. One got the sense that the company's next big play in the home console game might be its last.

And then, like an oblivious plumber bending over in a bow, Nintendo let loose a gaseous mushroom cloud of megaton proportions.

"Introducing the Wii," they said.

"The what?"

A collective state of denial quickly washed over the internet. Disapproval of the name was almost universal. Noses turned, some fans vowed to simply ignore the name in favor of the old inspirational codeword.

"I can almost hear the sound of Xbox 360 and PS3 sales rising," said one initial internet commenter, echoing many similar estimations.

Others were just confused. What the hell is a Wii? Don't they realize it sounds like pee? How could Nintendo make such a terrible mistake before they even showed up to E3? Don't they realize it sounds like pee?

But as it happens, one man's mistake is another man's billion dollar idea.

Everybody Votes (with their Wallet)

"Wii will change everything," said Nintendo, only a short two years ago. And everything has changed--just not in the way most gamers expected, or necessarily wanted.

While it was less obvious at the time, Nintendo was not trying to compete for the typical gamer dollar with the Wii. Instead, it was broadening its target to the point that it didn't have to. In that way, the name change--and the stern reaction to it from traditional gamers--reflected Nintendo's abrupt tack in strategy.

Outside of juvenile connotations, the word "Wii" is short and sweet, totally set apart from its competitors. Easy to pronounce and distinctive in type, the Wii is literally an exclamation of fun, and perfectly embodies the trendy vibe Nintendo was looking to capture with its version of iMarketing.

On the other hand, the word "revolution" conjures images of berets, politics, and firing squads.

In hindsight, it is not difficult to see where Nintendo was coming from.

"They should have stuck with 'Revolution' - that is a much more marketable and appealing name than 'Wii'," read one initial internet comment, largely representative of the overall response. "How can anyone or third-party publisher consider it a serious gaming machine with that name?"

The answer, of course, is that Nintendo didn't want the words "serious gaming machine" anywhere near the Wii.

With the Wii, the company was now selling "fun"--complete with commercials featuring enough shots of mannequin-like models that the gamer-actors threatened to overwhelm the game footage.

Wearing frozen, plastic smiles as they waggled their Wiimotes, these paid, pretend gamers defied all traditional sensibilities. They didn't seem to care whether they were winning or losing--only that they were having fun.

Obviously these people had never played Counter-Strike.

The revolutionary aspect of the hardware was almost overshadowed by Nintendo's relentlessly clever marketing. The ads presented the Wii as a console for the everyman; for people who wouldn't even know, or care, about the groundbreaking context of the console. And it worked.

Stalwart defenders of the "Revolution" moniker mostly gave up their fight after the Wii captivated crowds at E3. The puerile jokes died down a few months later. By November, as frantic shoppers were speed-dialing Wal-Mart from their cars at 4am, few likely gave the name a second thought.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bank

Last week, Nintendo recorded profits of nearly a billion dollars--in a single quarter. Almost 30 million Wiis have been purchased worldwide since the November 2006 launch.

To say that the Wii is a stunning success is putting it lightly. To say that the console is popular despite its branding ignores all logic.

After all, when is the last time you even thought about the "Wii" brand one way or the other? It is nearly ubiquitous now, a part of pop culture, showing up at the Oscars and still selling out of stores.

Regardless of whether the Wii is what we wanted it to be, there is no denying that Nintendo knew exactly what it was doing from a business perspective.

In the end, it's not that we--and Sony and Microsoft--were beaten by Nintendo, or proven wrong. The company was simply playing an entirely different game.