Okay, so basically your problem is, you seem to believe to become the "IT" thing, you need an amazing launch. That's easy to disprove.
See the DS. The console did not really take off until the killer apps (Nintendogs, Brain Age, NSMB, MK) came out for it, and more presentable hardware was released (DS lite). The PSP was matching it in hardware sales, but from that point on it was no contest. The DS' sales literally skyrocketed.
again you are doing the same thing.you just aren't looking at the situation.every situation requires a different view.Nintendo was already the leader in Handheld market and they had momentum.also DS sales were low as gameboy was selling very well.PSP had momentum but mainly its selling point was that it had the PLAYSTATION name and piracy affected it games so devs pulled out
Modern Warfare 2 was the "IT" thing because Modern Warfare 1 was so damn good. Everyone who played the first game convinced their friends to buy it, which is why the launch was so strong. Again, word of mouth. Just look at how strong Modern Warfare 1's legs were.
Modern Warfare games just wasn't the WORD OF MOUTH effect,it was so much more than that.it was cause of all the hype surrounding it and cause everybody was buying it.most people didn't even play the game much as they just bought to be the part of the HERD.
Take a game like Just Dance. Virtually nobody knew about it or how successful it might be when it launched, but once it got in the people's hands, the sales just took off. That is the power of word of mouth, something you are seriously underestimating. Yes, a big launch will amplify this power (due to it being in more hands), but it's not entirely necessary.
WORD of mouth has power but not that much,it is limited but if a majority people have it then other people buyi it as they think it has become a neccesity as everyone has it.
Speaking of Just Dance, the game also helps disprove your brand name theory. Ubisoft didn't need Nintendo's name on the box to achieve Nintendo-like sales, they only needed to follow the same strategy. Although it started slower than it would if Nintendo pushed it (because Nintendo deservedly has a huge following), it still ends up selling tons. If Nokia came out with the iPhone, complete with the advertisements, app store, fun interface and all, no doubt it'd have sold fantastically, even if the launch wasn't great. Word of mouth would have done its work.
JUST DANCE did get Nintendo like sales,no where near it but it had good sales for the title it was to be.
again you just aren't understanding that different situations and things work differently
you are just taking what i said and trying to prove it by different methods that actually don't prove anything
Wii Music is a great example of what happens when a hyped product that isn't desired is released. It's frontloaded due to hype from a top-notch brand (Nintendo), but once most people realize it isn't what they want, sales drop off. The so called "casuals" aren't mindless idiots, they know what they like and have fun with, and the sales will always reflect this.
cause everyone already had guitar hero and rock band.
casuals aren't mindless idiots but they don't follow like hardcores either,they get on the bandwagon and follow the "IT" things
Basically, even if PS3 ended up being popular, that wouldn't stop people from loving the Wii. Nintendo had a great advertising campaign right to the people that needed to see it. Besides, did you somehow forget how PSP launched right next to the DS? Both consoles did just fine. The "console wars" aren't a zero-sum game.
PS3 would have ended up being popular as PS2 name was popular and its momentum would have helped the PS3
that wouldn't have stopped people from loving the Wii but if Wii wouldn't have caught up then why would other people follow.
and don't forget PS3 ads would have made more people come if at that low price point
Nintendo had a great ad campaign but you require alot more than that to get you momentum.
Consoles and HANDHELDS are different markets
Lastly, for the Wii sellouts... don't even bother, this isn't arguable. The Wii was sold out pretty much everywhere during its first year.
November 06: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article643166.ece
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,230561,00.html
December 06: http://news.spong.com/article/11274/Biggest-Console-Launch-Ever-One-Million-Wiis-Sold
January 07: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/technology/31game.html
etc. etc.
Record breaking launch sales: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_launch#Sales
Wii sellouts did happen but they were restocked are a while and during the holiday.every launch gets sold out but they always restock.
PS2 sellouts happened and they just couldn't restock its launch holiday
also one of the more reasons Wii sold out was that Nintendo's expectation were low as they had not been good in the console market for a while.not saying they just understocked them but overall their expectations would have been lower.
for example if Gamecube was to be the number one console in the PS2 era
Nintendo would have stocked 2-3 times of Wii consoles at launch and still soldout.
