actually, a fad is something that last a short time, but fades a way as quickly. When a fad lasts multiple years and proves its staying power, it becomes a trend.

I think nintendogs is a fad. Sure it is still selling 70000 units a week after being on the market for 3 years but I know plenty of children who have grown up and don't even play it anymore. It just collects dust in the bottom of their closets.

Well considering that when it launched it continually outsold the PS3 and the 360.....with the only good game being Twilight Princess (a GC port)......that kind of established that it was selling on it's novelty, and not it's quality (oooh look at Red Steel! I actually get to SWING the sword). And if you're telling me that SMG and Metroid are the reasons it's selling over 4-500k every week, then you ought to slap yourself. That being said......it's not technically a "fad" but it's not selling based on "it has the best games" either

And you think every single copy of GTA IV, Halo 3, MGS 4 et al will still be played regularly years after their releases?  People get bored of, and move on from games eventually, no matter how good they are.  You can't single out Nintendogs for that.

@ kenny

I was being sarcastic to demonstrate the flawed logic of some of the other people in this thread.

I don't really think that the best selling game of this generation that is still selling 70000 units a week after 3 years on the market is a fad.

Ah, this thread is fun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
fad /fæd/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[fad] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
a TEMPORARY fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., esp. one followed enthusiastically by a group.

The Wii's constant success proves it's not a fad. Its' increased sales year-over-year prove it's not a fad. The outcry for better games on it, going against the idea that people only buy it for Wii Sports, proves it's not a fad.

It's not a fad.

I guess Diomedes broke my sarcasm detector back there :P  Just treat my response as the logical conclusion to your line of thinking, then.

How many developers (besides Nintendo) have been wildly successful at producing games that appeal to "Casual" gamers enough to get them to buy a peice of hardware?

Beyond that, the main reasons I am doubtful Apple can (successfully) enter into the market as a console manufacturer:

1. They are not known for being able to produce high quality hardware at affordable prices; many Apple products get by being so expensive for the features they contain because they're (essentially) fashion accessories.
2. They have no game developers and have no experience with game development; not only would they have to create/buy several high quality development studios, they would have to learn to market to third party publishers and consumers in a way that they never have before.

wow I'm very surprised, but this time I have to agree with you.

Some people have very limited views of what a fad is.

Disco was a fad, and that was incredibly popular for 7 years.