Gaming history is full of wondering tidbits of information that make you wonder what if things had gone just a little bit differently than they did. A great example of this was shown off yesterday on Twitter when the original name for the Nintendo Switch was brought back up due to a leak. More specifically, a leak of a debug version of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe went live, and people dove into it to see what they could learn from it. What some people found was a boot screen for the “NX.” That was the original name that Nintendo had for the Switch before its launch in 2017.
Gaming historians, like the one in the tweet below, will remind you that in 2015, Nintendo was not doing well. The Wii U was not succeeding outside of quality software, and the console had been deemed a massive failure. Both gamers and insiders wondered if The Big N would fold like many before them and stop making consoles, focusing solely on the software market. They got a “no” answer when Nintendo revealed their next system the “NX.”
At the time, no one knew what to expect from Nintendo given the misfire they had with the Wii U, but Nintendo had faith in what they were doing and used an NX logo for builds like the one that was leaked to show off progress during things like briefings with their investors. You can see the boot-up animation below:
Depending on how much you know about Nintendo’s history, you’ll know that their “prototype names” are rarely the ones they keep. A great example is not with the Switch or the Wii U but with the Wii. When Nintendo built up the hype for that system, they dubbed it the “Revolution.” That name got many people excited because they knew Nintendo had the potential to make a revolutionary system. Yet, they pulled a fast one by naming it the “Wii,” and most people laughed at them. They said it would fail because the Wii was a “silly name,” and they “should’ve stuck with Revolution.”
The Wii then went on to become one of the best-selling consoles of all time. Fast forward to now, and the Nintendo Switch has surpassed the Wii in hardware sales, and it’s still got a few years left to go.
What does this prove? It’s not always about the name. It’s about how you present it and make it desirable.
Source: Twitter