Hmmm. Let's look at Metacritc. Wow look at that Wii only has 5 exclusive games with a review of 90+. Yet the Wii still sells the best. Obviously reviews etc. have nothing to do with the success of Wii.

Read what you wrote. Think how many times I could have applied this to X360 or PS3 the past two years.

Wii titles aren't the only games being released for Wii, did you know?  The way you put things is like saying Wii music will make people suddenly lose interest on Wii.

The game has been out for two weeks(and not even released yet in others) and it's already a failure? Wow.

You said it's Nintendo's holiday title so let's see what the sales look like when the holidays are over, yeah?

Wii Music failed commercially... after two weeks on sale in Japan? Really?

This post is silly as everyone knows Wii Music will be a commercial success.

Agree in terms that's kinda not as accessible as it should be, as long as I'm reading user reviews - only musicians (either professional or amateur) enjoy this game in a full scale. I didn't, 'cos I'm not musician in any way. I hardly able to control what's going on - can't see (or actually hear) results of my actions during gameplay when trying to conduct anything. But sometimes I can... when moving chaotic I'm finally able to hear... a total cacophony instead of harmony. I think I should improve my skills of a musician to get this game, hope to give it one more try...

I like the idea of music game (NOT overused idea of rhythm games like GH or RB, which are pretty much the same, and I'm sick and tired of them), when you actually arrange a melody. But Wii Music is much of a hardcore expirence in music than Guitar Hero and Rock Band, which are purely casual games. No, Wii Music ain't fun for me.

//But still Wii Music is far from commercial failure.

Why call Rock Band "just" a rhythm game? You sing after all? (Same with the latest Guitar Hero). Not "music game" enough?

Finally some sound critism.   You make a good point, but consider the markets.  360/PS3 appeal to core gamers.  They are informed consumers.  They know what's coming out even years in advance and will consider that in making a purchase.  FFXIII is an excellent example of that.

Wii appeals mainly to more casual players who don't follow gaming news.  They follow what's making mainstream news and water cooler talk (so to speak).  Wii Sports made news and was highly talked about, same with Wii Fit.   Wii Music is getting next to no press and what it's getting isn't helping any.   So for those people, it's as if nothing has come out worth noting.  By now Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii  are becoming fading memories to those people.  Wii will still sell strongly, I said that, but on momentum of old titles, which wasn't what Nintendo wanted.   That's risky because it opens the door for the competition to grap peoples interest away and label you a fad.    GHWT will do more to help Wii's continued success than Wii Music.  But that too is getting long in the tooth. 

I think most of you are misreading the post...I do blame Gamerace for that, though. The way you phrase a lot of your statements (a commercial failure, for instance) misdirects the reader's attention.

Anyhow, I do have a few bones to pick with you too. For starters, the only other games I can think of that have even tried to do what Wii Music does aren't really considered "games" at all; the music synthesizer programs we all played on our PCs as kids, for instance, of that Korg DS-10 "game" that just came out. Wii Music isn't like Samba, Rock Band, etc. at all, and I'm not completely convinced that it's seen as such by the general public.

More importantly, you misjudge what Nintendo meant by making music "accessible." The game is meant to make it possible for anyone to emulate the necessary mechanics of playing up to 60 instruments. It is not meant to make sure that you, the player, have the necessary rhythm and taste to come up with the music. That's all on you, bro. If I may use an analogy, it's sort of like when automatic transmissions were created: you still need to learn how to drive your car, but you no longer have to figure out when and how to shift gears. (Note: analogy is not completely apt.)

As to your final conclusion, I REALLY don't think Microsoft or Sony are in a position to "pounce" on Nintendo, no matter how poorly Nintendo handles itself from now on. The former two companies have demonstrated time and again that they have NO idea what the mass public wants, and their efforts this generation to entice them have been leading nowhere. If, arguendo, Nintendo's momentum does ceasse, it will be because of something Nintendo did/didn't do, not because of something done by the other two.

There are a lot of problems with Wii Music. The first is that they ignored traditional gamers. They should have put more depth in the game so that traditional gamers would feel like 50$ is worth that game. Adding a Mario Paint like music creator would have been a great idea. Mario Paint songs are extremely popular on youtube and Wii Music could have used that. That would have brought a lot of free advertisement and replay value to the game. Nintendo doesn't realize it but traditional gamers are those giving positive word of mouth about the Wii. They are also those that make the expanded audience try the game. Most people have tried Wii Sports before buying a Wii.

The second big mistake they made goes with what the OP is saying. That game is more representative of playing music than GH and RB. Playing music in a band is hard and require a lot of practice. When you play RB, you don't really need practice because you either miss the note or play the note. That way, your timing is always perfect and even if you completely screw up, that won't affect the way the song sounds. In Wii music, you really need to be tight or it really sounds bad and that require practice. At E3, they should have practiced a lot more or called actual musicians on stage because the way they did it, it sounded like a really bad garage band.