If you say that Nintendo could not keep up with supply. That alone says that Nintendo's production plant and management planning to provide supply over year 1, 2, and 3 just wasn't up to the task. That's their fault. That's the limit of Nintendo's business plan.

Selling more than you can produce should never be an excuse for not selling enough compared to another  company that sells around the  same and keeps up with production.

That just means that one company has the flexiblity to ramp up production during rising demand,  and the other company does not. If the PS4 became a fad today, then they'd start selling way more to the non-gamer market, and suply will dindel. But it's up to Sony to react and increase supply. If that happened over the next year, you'd be damn skippy that they'd sell even more than the Wii did. Even current PS4 numbers are close minus a "fad" occurance. 

Oh, and when selling a fad product, it's best to keep supply limited. Especially since the Wii was marketed with the "family" and "Wii Parties" in mind. Why would Nintendo management want one in every home if the goal was to get a lot of people to go over to someone else house to play as a group?

The Wii is not as special if everyone has one.

See you in a few years and I'll be right 

Any good news is good news.

It's all depends on exclusive and 3rd party games. Expect the bump again with The Order 1886 and  Bloodborne. That January drought. Yeah 4 years from now look ideal. 

PS4 still has the record of "fastest selling console for no reason where even the company that made it has no idea why thats the case"


edit:

“It’s just beyond our imagination. We are so happy. But I for one am a bit nervous because we do not completely understand what’s happening,” said Yoshida in an interview with Eurogamer.

PS4 had the fastest selling launch ever in the industry... that accounts for the first 3 months or so.

You can divide the timeframe in two parts:

Before first year: PS4 fastest selling
After first year: Wii fastest selling

This is funny to read. Really. "When selling a fad product" :D I almost fell off my chair. Read "Clayton Christensen: The Innovator's Dilemma", educate yourself about disruptive products and come back. Seriously, I'm not being a dick here. After reading this book you'll know why the Wii sold like crazy and why Apple is so successful. It's all based on hard analytical data and one of the most influential business books of the late 20th century. It will also teach you why the most powerful console doesn't automatically win the console war, why the NES was such a huge hit and why Nintendo put 3D into the 3DS. Steve Jobs called this book "the most influential read in my life" and Christensen is a good friend of Mitt Romney - just in case you think I'm pointing at something useless here.

You could also read "Blue Ocean Strategy" by Chan Kim which will teach you why the Nintendo DS was successful (it's the stratgey behind it) and why Samsung makes hit phones (most of their products are based on the strategies in this book). 

Or, well, you could also not read these books and use nonsense-phrases like "fad product". It's your choice. (Again: No hard feelings. Just think these books might interest you.)

Do you think the PS4 in 2015 is going to top the Wii's 2008? I don't think it will (the market was still pre-recession back then) but I can see it selling 20m units this year. Sony products tend to sell well over a longer period of time while Nintendo usually decides to "kill off" their consoles after 4-5 years when they move on to their next console or handheld. And I don't see the Xbox One standing a chance to be honest. The PS4 didn't even have a price cut yet and some games look better on the PS4 (even if most people won't be able to see the difference). Plus, Sony's first party studios have a bigger output. The real question is: Will we get to the point were a notable number of 3rd party releases will be PS4 exclusive? I don't think we will but I wouldn't completely rule it out. What do you think?

That thread is too much. Just too much.