Will Nintendo's success translate into another popular system? It did in the late 80's when the Super Famicom debuted. The NES had a popular successor, the SNES, too bad the N64 didn't keep the trend alive. What this tells me is that Wii's successor will be popular, will it be more or less popular? I think less personally, due to Microsoft and Sony dumping tons of money into their R&D to copy Nintendo. With all the competetion, Nintendo will have a tough time staying on top- when you're on top, EVERYONE is gunning for you, and trying to knock you off!

They will stay popular if they keep their focus on Casuals and younder kids. MS and Sony are spending (and losing) alot of money on the 12 yr. and older "hardcore" gamers.

I know some might take offense to that, but they shouldnt, thats why Nintendo is dominating.

If you upgrade the controls, slap 'succesor of Wii' on the back and give a free game away (a la Wii Sports) then Nintendo is sold!

If Nintendo continues the philosophies that made the Wii a success, then they will probably produce another popular console. The N64 wasn't just Nintendo abandoning its previous successful philosophy, but chickening out halfway and ending up with a strange hybrid that didn't work out so well for anybody.

You forgot that Nintendo is also focusing on the core gamer. Sony and M$ are obviously showing it more because it's the only thing they're good at, but that doesn't mean Nintendo isn't also catering to the core gamer.

lol SWii

Super Wii is more likely than Wii 2... remember how do you say "two" in Japanese? :P

Though often praised, the SNES was one of Nintendo's biggest mess-ups. From the user end, it seemed like a great idea: a much-needed upgrade to the capabilities of the NES in a new system to compete with the Genesis and TG-16. Who would complain about that? Besides the ones who didn't want to buy yet another console, of course.

But from a business perspective, the "Super NES" was probably the worst thing they could do. It meant acknowledging their competition's claim to the market was worth addressing directly, instead of doing what they'd done with the Famicom/NES: remaking the market in their image. And worst of all, they opened the door to big competition by not remolding the market again, meaning Sony and MS came in and almost undid them. Let's not mince words, Nintendo's portable near-monopoly was what kept them afloat above all else during the years of Sony domination. Their home consoles couldn't compete, and though they didn't generate a loss, they didn't generate a significant profit, either.

I think things would have been very different indeed had Nintendo decided to change the market around back when the Genesis was invading the market, instead of playing the competition game like they did. We may well have seen the Wii's equivalent controls emerge as mainstream long before they did...

They will stay popular if they continue to focus on sophisiticated and mature gamers. If they try to move in the market of insecure, immature male gamers, they will fail.

Yes, succesfull consoles tend to have succesfull successors. The NES and Snes. Also the PS1 and PS2, so I think the the Wii2 will ride the Wii's succes and come out in first although it  probally may be by a smaller margin.