and how does everyone else (for the most part) just dream about it?

Wii Sports 60+ million

Wii Play 27+ million

Wii Fit 22+ million

Mario Kart Wii 21+ million

Wii Sports Resort 14+ million

New Super Mario Brothers Wii 13+ million

Wii Fit Plus 11+ million

Super Smash Bros. Brawl 9+ million

Super Mario Galaxy 8+ million

Nintendo Dogs 23+ million

New Super Mario Bros. 21+million

Brain Age 19+ million

Mario Kart DS 17+million

Pokemon Diamond/pearl 17+million

Brain Age 2 14+ million

Animal Crossing 11+ million

Super Mario 64 DS 8+million

This is in one gen and only 8million and up sellers. If you really think about it, it is just plain crazy and magical.

What Rol said.

Less focus on 'epic' and more focus on 'fun'.

Miyamoto san. That's how.

I disagree. While I agree the man is a great creator of video games. If not for all the hard workers and creative minds at Nintendo they would not turn out the same and perhaps as good.

marketing, brand loyalty, simplicity of design (artistic and game design), polish

an uncanny ability to guess what markets are ready for expansion?

They're in possession of a magic lamp and genie with an infinite amount of wishes or somethin'

Other companies are focused on specific markets or trying to latch onto making a game for established markets.

Nintendo takes the approach of looking at what would be fun first, then building that idea from the ground up to be both profitable and work best as a game. A simple concept that few companies actually do, as most companies are focused on the end product or the consumer and trying to make a game based on that target. In this way, few games like 'Nintendogs' or 'WiiFit' come from third parties as they are too risky and do not have a preset genre or fanbase before development. Whether its a Bounding Plumber and a Sword Swinging Elf or a handheld Pet Simulator and a Fitness Aid with an $80 attachment, Nintendo has been sticking its neck out and trying to look for new markets and genres to create ever since its entrance into the gaming market.

Plus there's the fact that Nintendo doesn't have as much direct competition as other companies, follows through with advertising, is one of the largest (if not the largest) gaming companies in the world, etc etc.

Beacuse on the 7th day God didn't rest, he created Nintendo