Well if it isn't then the PS3 and 360 are really failing in comparison to the number sold by PS2, GC, and Xbox on a timeframe.

Of course its competing. If it wasn't MS and Sony wouldn't even recognize it. Anyone saying it isn't competing is copping out for its success. It is competing with them just as much as they are competing with it.

It is obviously competing, because it is taking market share away from both the PS3 and 360. Look at it this way, if you take the wii numbers out of total consoles sold this gen, than this gen looks pathetic. This far into the generation and just over 30 million consoles sold total? That would be a huge step backwards in sales. But add the wii's numbers to this gen and suddenly the market is flourishing. The reason? People are buying wii's instead of (not only in addition too) PS3s and 360s. So yeah, they are directly competing.

My point isn't that they aren't "Competing" please read the OP prorpley, my point is that they aren't [direct] competitors.

It makes sense seeing as 3 consoles that are supposedly directly competing in the same market are all performing well .

Cmon , even the Nintendo DS and the 360 are "competing" to an extent , I'm sure people have had to choose between the two in the past , that's the exact definition of competion.

I would say that the Wii is targeting a broader audience. The PS3 and 360 go after the "hardcore" crowd, while the Wii has lots of casual games while not leaving the hardcore gamers out in the cold.

Basically, I'd say that it is not directly competing because it is not an HD console and many people seem to go PSWii or Wii60 while less seem to go with PS360, but is directly competing because it goes for the same crowd as the HD consoles in addition to casual gamers.

I think Microsoft see themselves as competing against Sony and vice versa only.
You know, it's always Sony vs Microsoft.

Nintendo Wii is a phenomenon and both companies realize that.

The wii is taking away from sales of the ps3 and the 360. the people who had ps2 and are upgrading to the 7th gen, and they are going to the wii 45% of the time. They are competing.

It is directly competing if you look at it in a business sense.First if wasn't competing with 360 or Ps3 why press release from both companies stating negative or PR spins on how the wii is doing compare thier consoles. I put like this there are three circles each representing each game company. Microsoft and Sony circle almost overlap each in terms of target market. The wii on the other hand overlaps with them but is bigger because it hitting wider area compare the other consoles.What I mean while the wii is directly competing with the competition it's target market is not dependent on just traditional gamers and therefor skews the traditonal game business model. 

 Because the Wii is 45% of the current gen hardware sold that' supposed to equate to 45% of PS2/XBOX/GC owners buying Wii's ? , forgive me for calling your post unfounded but it is.

i agree with what everyone is saying...

they are all video game consoles, whos main focus is to play video games.

All three companies hope to get people to buy their systems to play video games, and then spend more money on video games...

If a person buys a Wii, it is to play video games and they are choosing to do it with nintendo instead of microsoft/sony. The only way the Wii could be considered "not competition" is if its sole target is different from that of MS/Sony. And the fact is they have the same goals! Sell consoles and games to people who want to play video games. The truth of the matter is nintendo has done something that the competition(yes, they are competition) would love to and thats capture the attention of the public. I find it quite silly the argument that MS/Sony are going after a different market... the only market all three companies want is the video game consumer market... they dont care who it is as long as their money goes into the register.

I think that's where you're completely wrong. If for whatever reason, Nintendo ceased to exist tomorrow, Sony would greatly benefit from it. There are a LOT of people that would love to have a PS3 but don't think it's worth it right now when you can get a Wii and a lot of cool games. If the Wii was gone, those people would still want to play video games and would grab a PS3 or a 360. Do you honestly think all 25 millions Wii owners are new to the market? I think a LOT of these people actually owned a PS2.

Wii IS in direct competition with the others for a all the market, except the 15-30 male non-Nintedo fans which we sometimes call hardcore gamers.