Yes, i think it's about "mission" for a console. Everyone would like to dominate the market, but not everyone plans to. For instance, i believe the original Xbox performed exactly like Microsoft wished it to, and thus was a success, despite losing Microsoft $5 billion and getting a measly 15% marketshare. Their goal for the Xbox was to gain a foothold in the market, gain name-brand recognition, which they succeeded. Indeed, beating the industry veteran Nintendo (albiet narrowly) might mean they surpassed expectations. They built, in the short-term, a brand that was stronger than Nintendo
Now, if Microsoft's mission for the 360 was industry dominance, then they have failed. If their mission was just to beat Sony, it has succeeded (although they may have tied beating Sony into industry dominance, counting out Nintendo as everyone else did). With the PS3, Sony set out to continue being the industry leader, which has failed. Nintendo set out to totally shake up the industry and put themselves back at the helm, and they have mostly succeeded (the stubborness of 3rd parties holds them out from total success in that regard, i think)
For the record: i would consider only the Master System and the Genesis to be the only other consoles that weren't the top-sellers in their generation, but were "successful." Possibly also the Neo Geo
Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.
