I think that Nintendo copied the pages right out of Apple's playbook.

Instead of trying to get into an arms race over which product had the most impressive features, they instead focused on usability and user experience. The first iPod was never the most sophisticated mp3 player nor did it ever have the most features. But they added a unique clickwheel and made the user experience part of the product itself.

Ever since it's launch, technogeeks have been crying that the iPod sucks and there are more technically capable competitors. They called the clickwheel a gimmick. But they completely missed the point. Apple designed it's product for the average person, not the technogeek.

Apple was very smart with their pricing. They determined the price at which consumers would be willing to pay. In addition, the price was at a point where they could make a good profit on every unit sold.

I believe that Nintendo studied closely what Apple did and copied it. Their products are designed around the user experience. They added features that at first glance might be considered gimmicky, but in reality adds to the user experience. Their pricing was at a point which was attractive to consumer and makes a healthy profit.

You would think that after getting it's ass kicked by Apple in the portable music player market, Sony would have learned some lessons. I just don't think they get it. 

And don't forget the colour white. White is the new black. THAT's where Sony really dropped the ball.

 I think white is a nice Aryan colour.

It would be interesting if someone wrote a detailed history of Sony, Apple, Nintendo, and Microsoft, specifically dealing with the interplay between the companies over the last 15-25 years. How they've collaborated, learned from each other, imitated each other, fought each other tooth-and-nail, and produced practically all of the most successful consumer electronics and software of the last quarter century.

The iPOD is so amazing, not becuase of the size, name, or usablity. It was the storage. TEH STORAGE!!!

(why does a 89$ iPOD have as much storage as a Wii?) 

I think it was the storage aaaaand the coolness.

The one biggest thing apple did was make their earbuds white. That way everyone knew they had ipods and it made it "cool." The ipod didn't just become an MP3 player, it became the "cool" MP3 player. Apple is good at creating a "coolness" culture around its products. 

 Yeah, the ipod was cool and all.

And there were other mp3 players with more storage at the time and to this day. They didn't compete in an arms race. They competed on usuability and user experience along with superior marketing.

aaand then apple is then able to charge a premium for "coolness." There are a bunch of other mp3 players with the same or more capacity, that are cheaper, and that have more features, but aren't as "cool" so thus aren't as popular

 Well 3 months ago, ipod was the best price for gig. (the bigass ipod video for like 300$)

I was looking at USB mass storage, trying to find something with that kinda storage, that size... Nothing cept the ipod.