The Wii's designs, for BOTH hardware and software, aren't designed to attract to the "core" gamer exclusively, unlike the PS3 and 360. In fact, the "weaker Wii" gave way to several different advantages that the 360 and PS3 do not possess. I'll cover some pointers for ya. The small design not only makes it easy for transport and easy to place anywhere, but also is more appealing to those who are usually intimidated by traditional "bigger is better" technologies, which is extremely helpful towards non-gamers and casual gamers. The white Ipod design that accompanies the small size gives it a sleek, impressive look that people from all categories find stylish, not just the "hardcore". Hell, it's pretty much the only console of the 3 you can call "cute", and that counts to some people. :) The massively smaller electrical and heat footprints of the Wii also gives it something appealing to those who worry about such issues. Now overlap those points with the title name "Wii". The term "we" is used when explaining the intention of the console to those unaware, but at the same time the name itself creates interest just from the term, thus starting many people's impression of it. Then kicks in the size/style factor when they ask about it. The "playstation" is already self-explanatory term, and the "xbox 360" name is a hi-tech style by default, with no real attempts at a mass-market "comfortable" feel to it. With the Wii staying in the same family of processors and graphics chips, it allows the platform perfect backwards compatibility with the gamecube library. While not as significant as the PS2's library (or maybe even xbox's library, depending on your taste), the perfect out-of-the-box compatibility gives it an edge over the PS3 and 360 easily. Don't forget the Virtual console leverages a massive backlog of software titles that is very appealing to both long-time gamers whom either missed or desire to replace certain games, and those who have been "out" of gaming for 1 or more generations who desire those games they played long ago. And you can play all of those games on a single console smaller than all of it's "virtual" predecessors. My finger's hurt. :) Nintendo really hit the nail on the head by leveraging the console's uniqueness into a domino-effect that's catching people's attention like no other video game console before it.
Nobody is crazy enough to accuse me of being sane.
