There seems to be lots of rumors swirling out there about the Nintendo Wii U name. Let’s set the record straight: Nintendo will not change the Wii U name. There are many reasons for this, chief among is that Nintendo themselves have said the name is final, and they have registered a ton of Wii U trademarks around the world. The Wii U name is here to stay, and here are the definitive reasons why:
Nintendo says the Wii U name is final
When the Wii U was unveiled at E3 2011, Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aime gave a lengthy interview to VentureBeat. In it, he compared the Wii U with the unveiling of “Nintendo Revolution”, which a year later became the “Wii”. Fils-Aime said that this time, they’re sharing a lot more with the press and developers. He said:
“We are sharing the final name, we are sharing the remote, we are talking about how the controller will interface with the TV and with the console itself.”
There you have it, from the horses mouth: the Wii U is the final name. But there is even more evidence:
Nintendo has registered dozens of Wii U trademarks and domains
Nintendo has registered about two dozen Wii U trademarks with the USPTO and just as many with the Japanese trademark office. Some of the marks include “Wii U” (doh!), Wii U Play, Wii U Fit, Wii U Sports, Wii U Speak, and many more. Nintendo has also registered the domain names those trademarks.
Third party developers like Ubisoft are all using the Wii U name and referring to the console as “Wii U” when announcing new games. Nintendo would never give third parties a codename or a non-final name, since this would result in wasted marketing dollars. There’s one last reason why the Wii U name is final:
The Wii brand
Nintendo has spent millions upon millions of dollars establishing the “Wii” brand in the marketplace. It’s unique, it’s catchy, and it has a broad appeal to gamers everywhere. The Wii U will essentially build on top of the Wii, and all Wii controllers and attachments are compatible with the Wii U. In fact, they will be required in multiplayer games and the console will most likely ship with a Wiimote as well.
It’s not uncommon for people to cause a fuss when a new console name is revealed — when the original “Wii” name was announced, Nintendo was the butt of the joke for many months about the name and what it sounded like (wee, weener, etc.). This is all common in the gaming industry.
But the Wii U name is here to stay.
