Nintendo’s Wii U has been a fledgling platform, with some even saying that its biggest competitor is the 3DS. Whatever the reason, a now former Nintendo boss has spoken out against what he thinks is one of the Wii U’s biggest disadvantages – its name.

Dan Adelman, a Nintendo veteran and leader of indie development within the company for nine years, recently parted ways with the company and as such has returned to the social spheres. It didn’t take long before a fan asked him something that answering truthfully could get him into trouble. When asked if Nintendo deserves the “mess” of the Wii U, and if he thinks they “are” in a mess, he replied:

“Wii U is not selling as well as it deserves to. It has a lot to offer with great games you can’t get anywhere else. The value of the GamePad hasn’t been justified. But the name Wii U is abysmal. I think that cut sales in half right there.”

Ouch. You can’t really dance around that or sugar coat it, he flatly said the name is just ……. bad. Adelman was known for being very direct and vocal in his responses to fans on Twitter and other networks, leading to his forceful silencing by the Nintendo PR ninjas. His last outburst, comments against the 3DS’s region locking, was the final straw that broke the camel’s back, and had him essentially silenced permanently at the company.

Thankfully now, you can shoot a question his way and he just might answer – he seems to sincerely care about the state of gaming and more specifically indie developers. His newfound freedom was from the new development between him and Nintendo, “Arrangement includes my not working there anymore,” in his own words.