Ok, the PSX had the PS2,PS3,and Soon PS4, the Xbox, the Xbox 360, then Xbox 720.
Why does the Nintendo system get controversy from not using a number? Maybe they have Wii-V,W,X,Y,Z planned down the road instead of using numbers, also I don't see why people think it looks the same,other than the color.

They also need to change the packaging of the discs, the white plastic box will be overlooked in a sea of wii titles.

If they want to addict women again - put farmville and Yoville on it.

The confusion comes from the fact that there's a U-Draw for the Wii already on the market and all of the promo material for the Wii U is, for good reason, on the tablet. Ontop of that Nintendo has made a habit of selling new gadgets for the Wii and so some people at first glance will think this is the same. Another Wii Fit, Motion Plus or Classic Controller Pro or something.

Blame Jimmy Fallon

The problem is that letters are not considered to be sequential. Numbers (1, 2, 3) are.

Wii-U, therefore, has the semantic appearance of an add-on, not the next "edition" in a sequence.

So, if you want a more detailed analysis of why this was a very bad idea for a name, do a bit of reading on semantic theory.

Xbox 360... that was an odd one.
Edit: Is that why the PS Vita isn't selling? PSP2... PS: The Next Generation... P.S. I am a new handheld system.

And there will never be a Wii V. Never.

I don't get the confusion either, it's called wii U do U see the U, if not U must not B looking hard enough

@Radixxs
I want A Weevee... then I'll evolve it into a Waporeon

I'll admit, I had to be told that that was a new one, actually. Of course, it was more obvious once I saw it. I think once people get to see the main hardware, they'll realize it's a new console.

I think even 360 implies that it's a new version more than the U does and it doesn't really have to be a number to be obvious that it's a revision. They were marketing to the "in the know" crowd for a start and they made it clear that "360" was a "revolution" or whatever. It made sense. Same with the GameBoy Advance which I remember knowing instantly when I heard the name as being an "Advanced" Gameboy.

That said I don't think it's so much the name I think it's more because the main point of difference between the Wii U and Wii is the controller. Its name doesn't help for sure but it wouldn't have mattered as much if the first thing you see when you google the Wii U wasn't this.

........ but I don't think the confusion hurts that much. If people get excited about the Wii U even if they think it's just a controller they'll still get the whole thing if they ask for a Wii U.

That sounds like about as much fun as playing a Sony game.

You sir, have won 599 US dollars worth of internet.

Yeah, it's not cool to understand how stuff works. It's much more fun to make incorrect guesses on Internet forums.

For real. He didn't help at all.

"So this is for the Wii." ._. WHY DIDNT REGGIE CORRECT THAT MUTHA

After re-watching this, I can now see it is a mistake to show the wii-motes and numchuk being used on new games, also the wii fit pad as well, it does make it look like a 32-x kind of upgrade.

Because mere humans are stupid, and gamers will always be superior.

Playstation 2: All's people had to ask for was "the one with the DVD player." Kids could sell their parents on getting "another playstation" because it was something they could use too.

Playstation 3: A huge mistake. The "Playstation" branding did nothing for the console, the price really hurt and blu-ray players weren't as big of an upgrade to the average person as DVDs were. ("What's the difference between Blu-ray and DVD?" "Blu-ray holds more than DVDs, you get a much better quality picture." "Can it use my DVDs?")

Xbox 360: 20-ish million XBoxes, barely any of the mainstream knew what an Xbox was. The 360 might as well have been the first Xbox. XBox Live and Call of Duty had a viral quality to it as well, Xbox is the go-to for online gaming with friends in the West.
Alternatively, "the one with Kinect."

3DS: "It's just a DS with 3D." Imagine the confusion when to a non-gamer (many who don't really know why you can't use a Playstation 3 game with an XBox) what the real difference between 3DS and DS games, especially when they both look exactly the same.

Wii U: Looks like it's just a new tablet controller for the Wii, not an entirely new console.

Alternatively, I've heard that they were deliberately using the huge, successful brands they developed with DS and Wii to trick casual gamers into buying the 3DS and Wii U and get them into hardcore style games (the games that Nintendo really wants to make, over the Mii games and simplistic games, yes I read Malstrom, and do subscribe to a number of his beliefs).

There's a reason the Vita is not "PSP2." PSP flopped with western casuals, and the PSP brand is known as the "piracy" handheld to western gamers

You are 100% correct. It is also irrelevant. There is no real confusion and it is inconsequential since the tablet will not be sold seperately for a while at least. People can come to buy a tablet it will come with everything.