This thread is NOT ABOUT:
-Which console you like
-What the relative sales SHOULD be
-What you want or predict the future will bring

The Thread is about things as they actually are and why. Whether you like the current standings or not, why do you think things have turned out the way they have. WTF happened?

First off, this is not the way most experts expected things to go. Here are some typical "expert" prognostications before launch.

"Nintendo's Revolution will be its last console, it's a two-horse race right now."
-Red Herring

"If the researchers at Strategy Analytics are correct, the Nintendo Revolution will sell just under 18 million units worldwide through 2012, a mere fraction of the global sales of the PS3 during the same period. "
-Strategy Analytics Professional Forecast for 7th Generation

Even the name change from Revolution to Wii was controversial some believing that the name change alone doomed the console. Petitions were started to force Nintendo to change it back with petitioners expressing opinions like "This is rubbish. Revolution means something. Wii, i mean HONESTLY, Wii, sounds like some kind of indian drink, and, pee/wee."

Now in fact the Wii holds a dominating, some believe insurmountable, lead. The question I'm asking is why? What do you think Nintendo did right? What did Sony and Microsoft do wrong? I especially want to look at Sony's strategy because the race was theirs to lose.

My Personal Take

What Nintendo did right:
Since we know
-it’s not high resolution graphics or raw processing power
-it’s not the Mario and first person games, they didn’t save the GC
-it can’t be 3^rd party support since there hasn’t been any
-I don’t believe it’s primarily price because price cuts have had relatively little impact and even though the X360 is now very little more, it continues to lose ground.

I believe that there are two main factors:

1. The motion controller and packaging a game with the system that shows it off so well. The simpler control made games more accessible to a larger group of non-hardcore gamers including new gamers, ex- gamers, more females, and many people that had not been attracted to video games before including in some cases the, elderly. It also appeals to a segment of the serious gamer population who happen to prefer the control system. It’s accesability allowed families to play together.

2. Putting a friendly non-threatening face on the system, including the name; this greatly improved its reception by parents. Parents also tended to perceive the Wii as more likely to bring families back together, rather than isolating the parents from their children’s recreation. This also to a great extent applies to the game line up which parents perceive as being overall less violent.

What Sony did wrong:

There is no argument that the PS3 is an impressive technologically advanced system. It had a head start because of the name association with the immensely popular PS2. WTF went wrong? The knee jerk answer is price and I think that played a role but people tend to get what they want even if they have to sacrifice elsewhere. I think the greater problem was created by price indirectly, not price per se.

Marketing:
I think that Sony is guilty of completely and totally mishandling their marketing in such a way as to backfire completely. In my opinion that didn’t think enough about who they were marketing to. First they create a big jet black intimidating console that had the announced intention of taking over a large portion of the home entertainment turf (Blu Ray and gaming). They also featured dark more edgy  advertising, some of which was so questionable it had to be withdrawn. BIG MISTAKES!  They obviously designed the console and the ad campaign to appeal to the mostly male, mostly young, hardcore gamers. This was essentially preaching to the choir. These people, if they hadn’t already opted for a 360, would have most likely bought the PS3 if they hadn’t advertised at all.

When you produce a game machine costing between $500 - $700 you have made it a decision that in many cases will involve parents, because relatively few children and even young adults have that kind of disposable income. Parents already mistrusted and were intimidated by video games which they perceived as too violent and too addicting. Bringing out a big black machine that was going to take over the family room and was promoted with dark, edgy ads and which cost a lot of money was not a great sales strategy to parents. Especially when the competition cost a lot less and was an innocuous little non-intimidating white box which didn’t threaten to take over their house or their children because it was advertised with “Wii want to play” ads generally showing whole families playing non-violent games together. For the parents, it was a no brainer and still is. So I think Sony’s big mistake was a horribly designed and mis-targeted promotional campaign.