The Wii is like a Camry, and the PS3/360 is like a Maserati. Assuming everyone has to drive (play video games), the Camry/Wii is an everyday car for casual driving, but it's still pretty nice, and even someone who has a Maserati will probably have a Camry to drive in crappy weather. The Maserati is really only for people who are REALLY into driving (hardcore gamers), or with more money than they know what to do with. So, yeah, they're all cars, but not really in the same market. The Camry of course sells a lot more units than the Maserati, but people who are going to buy the Maserati don't see the Camry at the dealer and then change their mind, and Maserati owners aren't jealous of the Camry owners (i have to assume) just because more people have Camrys.

How about this analogy. It doesn't have cars, but I hope it's still helpful:

The Wii is like a cheaper console which sells a lot of software of all kinds with better profit margins (both on hardware and software). The PS3 and the 360 are like more expensive consoles, which sell much less hardware, and less software at smaller profit margins.

Wow, I totally understand it now! Thanks NJ5!

I'll answer you both at the same time than. When you say? Well, when the PS3 lowers it's price somewhere 250-300 (Including BC and DualShock3). 360 when the Premium and Elite are cheaper or equal to the price the Wii has. It's the whole price issue again. And no, I'm not taking any bets. :D

*sigh* This forum is still going, for 3 pages in fact, even if the OP was not a fanboy flaming Wii and trying to say it's in a different market to make his favorite console look better, the logic is still flawed. This is business, you go for the majority crowd which has been and always will be the casuals, the casuals knew what the NES was they knew what the SNES was, they knew the SONY name and PS1 grabbed that image of gaming they went to it, PS2 was the biggest casual console until now the Wii wants to get the casual mainstream and the casual non gamer. Some proof that PS2 was casual is how many hardcore games only sold a few million when there are 115 million units out there, if all of those were hardcore we would see software sales AT LEAST 30 million plus but we did not.

To understand what the casual mainstream is:
Kids (yes this does mean the PS1 and PS2 were the real kiddy consoles though fanboys will never believe that), adults who don't have time to game, adults who are not very technical or care about games past the few they play.

Non gamer casual are:
Old folks who never picked up a controller, women who never understood the reason why men play games, and the up tight people who are so focused on other things like careers and such. I'm a music major while most other music majors are gamers like me, I come across the few that are so into music they knew nothing about video games until they saw Wii with Wii Music and thats the game they want to play.

So really Nintendo isn't expanding the market to casuals, they're just expanding the already existing casual market, plus targeting the hardcore and existing casual market at the same time and that all equals greater sales.

So in Europe, the 360 Premium is only 30 € away from being adopted by a mass of Wii owners?

I never thought a thread could be so much fun.

I'll tell you why this is unlikely ...

With how the Wii is selling, by the end of 2008 most publishers will be devoting at least equal ammounts of resources for Wii development as for PS3/XBox 360 development; being that Wii development is cheaper and takes less time these equal resources will translate into many more games being created. Even if a massive turn around happened in the sales of the PS3/XBox 360 early in 2009 it will take years to catch up to the Wii (in sales) so these resources are not going to switch hands and the PS3/XBox 360 will always have fewer games; it is (and always has been) difficult for a company to sell as well as another console when it has fewer games.

there is so much wrong here that i'm not even gonna bother replying cause it would take a few pages of posts to do so

op fanboy = fail. hard.

I'm actualy crying because you feel that way .

 Your so uber intelligent with you spot on predictions , 100 Million Wii's sold between now and 2011 ...Amazing.

Wow, it was entertaining to read this thread :)

As for the neverending car analogies, they miss quite a sizable chunk of business understanding. First off, the PS3 is not, and I repeat NOT equivalent to a Ferrari or Maserati. In fact, there isn't an equivalent to Ferrari or Maserati in the VG market. An average Ferrari starts at around 200 000$, while your average Ford retails for less than ONE TENTH of that price. That's an order of magnitude difference in price, and that really does separate the markets. Wii vs. PS3, then? The PS3 is less than twice the price of the Wii, putting it more in line with, say, Mercedes-Benz. And this comes only from perceiving the prices, I haven't taken into account any other mistakes in the original analogy. If anybody wishes to argue this point further, I'll be happy to follow-up with more facts as to why the analogy fails.

Anyhow, I can't see how one can rationalize that the Wii would be competing in a different market as PS3 or X360, that just borderlines conscious self deceit. The fact is simple: every single video game console is competing in the same market. What is different is the positioning and strategy used to compete in that market.