In hindsight, naming our company after a stupid wordplay in a foreign language in turn inspired by an uninspired logo maybe wasn't extremely clever :)

The poll serves two purposes - about our own name, and in general. Your logo and company name are really important?

I'd also welcome comments on our own name. Is it as awful as I think? What do you think when you read "Mr.io Software"?

I remember thinking, "what the hell does 'Mr. io' mean?" the first time I saw it, but I guess I've gotten used to it now. :) I always thought the name was some sort of computer pun--Mr. Input/Output--though it didn't keep me up nights wondering. Of course, there aren't many people who know what a whirling chair is/was, either.

When you have achieved the level of branding like Valve or ID Software, I don't think the name matters.

FWIW, I personally think it is useful when developers have site names at least that somehow communicate what they produce, especially if you tend to make niche type games. I think this is especially important with internet users that browse so many sites, you want to really capture their attention and needs.

For example (and example only), dexterity software is a good, simple name with a great domain name but it kinda implies action, shooter type games to me. Something like Mental Dexterity Games or Cerebral Dexterity may communicate the game types better but I do understand that over time, focus changes and a level of branding has already been established so changing wouldn't be such a good idea.

I think Mr.io is simple and quite easy to remember... It makes me think of "input/output" of course... Also about the Greek god (?)... and that's it :). I don't care.

(I've spent a huge time thinking about the name to use for my "studio" too...).

... I always thought it represented your secret love for a comic book villain.

I'm sure *someone* must have had a villain named Mysterio.... was he the Spiderman one with a glowing ball for a head?

But it always looks odd that the i isn't capitalised.

But it always looks odd that the i isn't capitalised. Yes, I agree. And it's also strange to have a letter directly after a period without a space first.

I think the logo looks nice. I agree that the lowercase i looks odd. At first, I thought Io referred to the moon of Jupiter, but then when I learned you were Italian I suspected you were saying "Mr. Me" since Io means I or Me in Italian. But if that's your pun, wouldn't it be Sr. Io? At this point smoke comes from my ears, so I'll just go back to thinking it's a cosmology reference... :)

I never thought it referred to input/output. But if it was spelled i/o, I would have.

I've seen much worse that ended up doing good. When first saw gamesloth.com thought what a sad joke but the joke was on me. He's a buddy and doing pretty decent. Guess what's important is something that sticks in somebody's head. "mrio" might not be bad for that purpose but bet can do a little better. Maybe just mriogames.com or even bettysgames.com, just my quick worthless ideas. I relaunched from freewebgames.com to arcadetown.com in 2000 because after a year realized needed a better name.

So when are we going to see Betty's Strip Bar? Ok, sorry bad joke Gabriel, you rock :)

I think a good name is important, but like some of the others said, good products can usually overcome a sub-standard name. But then again, you don't want to fight with your business name; you want it to work with you. I also thought Input/Output when I saw your company name. :) Made me think of peripheral or audio software.

As for my company (Outside the Box Software), I like it. But if I could find a fault with it, it's that it's too long winded. When spoken verbally, it's fine since it's only 4-6 syllables. 4 syllables if you just say "Outside the Box". (The same as Dexterity)

The problem comes when it's written down. It amounts to over 20 letters. The domain http://outsidetheboxsoftware.com is kind of long winded. I could use a domain with shorter acronyms, but I actually think that would make the domain name harder to remember.

Also I think the advantage of the name is that it comes from a fairly common phrase (at least in America) "Think Outside the Box." Almost everyone who I tell the company name is able to easily remember it. I feel that is important. Even though it's a somewhat long phrase, it's easy to spell too. So that's why I'm sticking to the full name as the domain.

Hopefully things will go well with it...

Originally posted by elund
[...]then when I learned you were Italian I suspected you were saying "Mr. Me" since Io means I or Me in Italian. But if that's your pun, wouldn't it be Sr. Io?
Oh, no, it's much worse than that :)

I'm not italian. I live in Uruguay, South America, where we speak spanish.

We first drew the logo. We were thinking of the name. The logo shows a misterious man. "Mistery" is "misterio" in spanish - which is pronounced more or less the same way as "Mister Io". Hence the stupid, bilingual pun :)

Hi Gabriel,

Advising companies on questions like yours is what I do for a living. Although it is true that any name can work, it is also true that your chances of success are better if you choose a name that has no marketing barriers. Starting with negatives means you will be spending energy overcoming those negatives, and you have to decide if any positives of the name outweigh the negatives. They almost never do.

"Mr.io" may cause problems because it is difficult to read, spell, and pronounce. These are very bad negatives for marketing and should be avoided. I think you already perceive this. These negatives can be overcome, but it is better to have a name that doesn't have negatives in the first place. A good product does not always overcome a bad name and those that do would probably have done better with a good name to begin with.

If you decide to look at other names, try to think about how it will be written and read. There is nothing wrong with being clever as long as the cleverness does not interfere with readability or pronunciation. For example, "Misterio" would be better for marketing than "Mr.io". You should also consider the spoken syllables, as Chris Evans pointed out. Fewer syllables is better. For names longer than one syllable, a syllable series that rolls well off the tongue is best.

All that being said, I also have been thinking the name was "Mister I/O". :)

-Tom

I recently found the following article about finding names that might be interesting: http://www.yudkin.com/generate.htm

Tom : Thanks a lot. We are actually considering becoming Mistery Games.

StAn : Interesting article!

I too, thought Input/Output :) I love the logo, but I agree that the name is a bit awkward.

One of the things I've always loved about id is how so many people pronounce it 'I-D' rather than 'id'. I think Mr. io would have been a great play on mysterio if we really did pronounce it that way, but because most people would pronounce it Mr. 'I-O' the effect is lost. Perhaps if you changed it to Mr. eo? Still not quite the same because of the stress placed on the first syllable in Mister, but closer.