New console launches and celebrity name dropping
by Blake Snow 
{ Nov 6th 2006 at 10:25PM }
In addition to announcing retail availability of component cables for Wii, Nintendo VP of Marketing and Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan also did a little celebrity name dropping in a recent interview with CVG. When asked what the exec thought of Wii's launch prospects, Kaplan had this to say: "We have people calling here to make sure they can get it, you know, P. Diddy, Uma Thurman, people that just have got to get their hands on [Wii]..."While this isn't the first time celebrity pimping has been used to drum up publicity to pitch new consoles, it makes us wonder how effective the strategy actually is. Don't get us wrong, citing the famous that already garner "free" publicity is an excellent way to get the word out, but how many units does celebrity name dropping move in reality? I guess enough to have the trend continue.
Oh, and Perrin - not trying to hate - it's just Diddy now (as of August 2005). Jaboy!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nick @ Nov 6th 2006 10:44PM
BIGGER NEWS: Television and movie downloads on XBL
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/2006/20061106-moviestv.htm
Steve @ Nov 6th 2006 10:45PM
>> Kaplan had this to say: "We have people calling
>> here to make sure they can get it, you know, P.
>> Diddy, Uma Thurman, people that just have got to
>> get their hands on [Wii]..."
Oh yea, let's make sure celebrities get their hands on the new system. We certainly wouldn't want celebrities to have any trouble getting a system. Celebrities, after all, are above all of us peasants and deserve to get their hands on whatever they want whenever they want it. The can sing! They can play make-believe extremely well before a camera! Certainly that entitles them to all the perks of life. Why Nintendo better ship them units for free! And immediately too! Why should they have to wait? They're CELEBRITIES after all! They aren't very smart so the installation process might be too confusing for them so Nintendo better send a representative from the Geek Squad, for free, so that they can get up and running without any problems!
In fact I think Nintendo ought to keep all of their systems in a warehouse until every last celebrity is setup with their own system. It wouldn't be fair for *a celebrity* to wait for a system while some real person get to play Zelda. Poor widdle Puff Daddy might get so depressed over the thought of not being the center of the universe that he might change his name a few more times until his servant can acquire one for him.
If my contempt for celebrities isn't blatantly obvious (a celebrity may be reading this and therefore wouldn't have the intellectual capacity to detect the sarcasm) then let me spell it out for you: SARCASM!
Vlad @ Nov 6th 2006 10:51PM
wouldn't it be great to see Uma or Diddy in a line with a bunch of DS-wielding dorks waiting for a Wii? just thinking about it is priceless.
and have people seen those Diddy videos on Youtube? HILARIOUS. I can't go 30 seconds without dropping some sort of corporate sponser name or talking about his new album. I used to respect him, but...he just lost it with the youtube stuff. pretty shameless.
White Rose Duelist @ Nov 7th 2006 8:45AM
Kill Bill Wii!
penas @ Nov 6th 2006 11:16PM
niggas hating on me, coz i'm playing my wii.
smoking the indo playing the wii niintendo.
useing my ds, butches trying to beat us.
yep that would be cool.
Fandel @ Nov 6th 2006 11:17PM
Oh god. Celebrity name dropping? Look, with all due respect to Nintendo. Having Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan dropping celebrity names like Diddy; is like having your mother "drop it like its hot". What next? Having Mario and Luigi rap the theme to Super Mario Bros.?
Just make sure that there are enough systems and games available during the holiday season and you guys will be fine. Just cut the hip/cool/celebrity crap.
JRM @ Nov 6th 2006 11:52PM
ugh. I'm going to ignore that statement that Pee diddy is getting a wii.
then again, it would be awesome to beat him online.
zsavior @ Nov 7th 2006 12:20AM
P.Diddy and Uma thurman are making sure they get one? I am really hoping all this good press doesn't go to nintendo's head and they think the console war is won already. If gamers start seeing the Paris Hilton's and Diddy's of the world with WII's and yet they can't get their hand on one, there will be a backlash, at the whole idea of casual gaming audience. Nintendo should tread these waters lightly, cause as we speak Gears of War has jumped on to the scene.
Nintendo can't get caught up in their own good press, it is what made Playstation so valunerable, believing that the fanboys will always bring more no matter what you do because you are always being praised. Right now people are yelling the Emperor has no clothes at Sony, but nintendo could replace them over night. They need to calm down off of who and who is going to get one, compared to how many are going to be available. Nothing people hate more than hearing celebrities, get the little resources you want, even though you are the main consumer supporting the system. But that is my two cents, take it or leave it.
Epsiloin @ Nov 7th 2006 12:21AM
Who cares? They're people just like us, only more well known.
h2c @ Nov 7th 2006 12:43AM
Epsiloin (#8), you could not be further from the truth. P. Diddy is a god, a GOD, amongst men.
He is faster than a speeding bullet:
http://cache.jalopnik.com/cars/images/p_diddy_rims_full_1.jpg
He is more powerful than a locomotive (or maybe he's doing the locomotion, I don't know):
http://uploads.filecabin.com/pictures/p_diddy_loves_big_booty.jpg
He is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound:
http://www.rocketman.org/images/photogal/p-diddy.jpg
You say he's just like us? Hardly. When P. Diddy gets a Wii, I shall get three. He's just that good.
ManekiNeko @ Nov 7th 2006 3:52AM
And to top it all off, he ruins more good songs than Vanilla Ice!
JR
/Still bitter about Every Breath You Take
//and his asstastic cover of Kashmir! Shouting "Go With Me" over a Led Zepplin classic does not instantly create a new song
fraxyl @ Nov 7th 2006 6:28AM
Whilst the shallowest of the shallow will be swayed by celebrity name dropping, those of us with any sense will just go "meh" move on and wait for launch.
In the case of the Wii, I'm not all that worried about the launch, I'm pretty sure there will be enough for everyone.
That, and I have to wait until December 7th.
tracked @ Nov 7th 2006 6:27AM
Why are you people hatin? Celebs like Diddy and Uma are going to get CASUAL gamers into Wii. Remember PS2? All those rappers rapping about their PS2. Well this generation they could be rapping about the Wii.
The only thing we have to do is to stop emos playing the wii. They will probably try to cut themself while playing Red Steel.
PapaChabre @ Nov 7th 2006 6:44AM
Puff Diddy?!?!!11 ZOMG@! This is fantastic news!!!11one
Honestly I don't think he was trying to get more people to puchase a Wii by telling us that celebs are buying it. I think it was just an informative statement.
Mode7 @ Nov 7th 2006 10:06AM
i don't know quite what to think about this, Uma and Diddy kinda cancel each other out.
Noel @ Nov 7th 2006 10:59AM
The celebrity name dropping thing is less about getting you to want a product because the celebrity is using it, a more of a cheap ploy to get a little extra media attention. You know, like getting an extra post in gaming blogs mentioning the Wii yet again.
thunderleg @ Nov 7th 2006 3:33PM
This announcement soils the name and idea of Wii.
SOILS IT!
Really, I couldn't care less about some snob celebs. This filth should never leave the pages of the Weekly World News, never mind invade MY territory.
The really don't want to hear some knob saying something idiotic like "The Wii shizzle-ba-bizzle, yeah. Fo-dizzle."
Mr. Khan @ Nov 7th 2006 4:38PM
For those who think shameless celebrity shilling is bad i will agree with a big BUT
Think: If many people buy the Wii due to Celebrity endorsement; that means more consoles sold (duh) which inevitably means a larger installed base, which in turn means more developer support, which means more and better games
So just ignore the hype and enjoy the games that stem from it
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