I don't think this is it at all ...

I started gaming with the Collecovision and have owned most consoles that have been released (although, like the Dreamcast many were bought after people considered them a "Dead" console) and I have been a PC gamer since my father bought my families first PC which was a 286.

In the previous generation of consoles graphics had advanced to a point that everything that was presented in the game was recognizable, and most of the techniques needed to get people involved in your story/game (like full facial animation, skeletal animation, etc.) were possible on the system. To a certain extent you could say that realtime computer graphics had reached a point that was similar to cartoons in that it wasn't the most realistic presentation but most people did not see the graphics as (particularly) bad.

Now, most of the gamers over the age of 25 that I know own a Wii (most of them also own another console or a gaming PC though) ... One of the reasons for this is they want to play games with their wives/girlfriends and/or children but that is not the only reason. Many gamers have gotten to the age where they want to socialize with their friends but getting drunk at the bar no longer seems like a fun thing to do so they end up having more house/dinner parties which often involve other activities like card games or the Wii. Finally, there are tons of people who have gotten to a point in their life where they're so busy with other things that they have very limited time for gaming ... There are many games on the Wii that someone can sit down to play for 5 to 15 minutes and feel like they completed something, while most games designed for the other consoles only work well in longer timeframes.

Guess it was hard for you to enjoy games on every console you've ever owned then, because we all know it's the graphics that make games enjoyable.   What is wrong with you?  Who knows.

In a word - Fun.

Wii isn't about epic gaming or complicated storys (but it can be) Wii is about simple accessible fun for every member of the family. It's a system what women, kids, retired people and lapsed gamers enjoy.

No one has to learn to play with 2 analog sticks and a dozen buttons. It eases new players in with very simple, intuitive controls and quick, fun.

Wii is all about playing together. SSB Brawl, Mario Kart, Wii Sports, and the ton of 'party' & family games, in fact even shooters like QoS 007 and CoD5 on Wii offer ways to play with others in your house. That's why it appeals so much - PS3/360 is all about playing alone (yes online is still alone) but the Wii is about playing together (but there's still lots of solo play to if you want.

Motion controls - Tiger Woods sells best on Wii for a reason. It feels like your playing. I expect Shawn White Snowboarding will do similar. Now Wii has actually fallen a little short of it's promise here but with WiiMotion Plus coming to give true 1:1 we can all start playing those games we've really envisioned.

Mass appeal. Face it, as a life long gamer, you've always been that - a 'gamer' a branded subset of society. Wii isn't aiming at 'gamers'. Wii is a system for everyone. Many people who own a Wii don't consider themselves 'gamers' at all. And by standard diffenition they are not. They don't play everyday like you, they play maybe a couple times a week or couple times a month and or the play for short intervals not long sessions. Wii is easy to fit into a busy like. Wii has games that appeal to every member of the family.

Designed for women. Women decide most of the purchases in a home and everything about the Wii is designed with women in mind; colour, size, sound, energy efficiency, games, kid appeal, Wii Fit, etc. It's no unmanly but unlike the PS3/360 it was female appeal.

I could go on but you should have the idea by now.

I know a lot of kids aged 12 and under who would murder you for that statement.

No, the Wii sells this well because it appeals to non-gamers, and there are far more non-gamers than there are gamers in this world. In fact, adults seem to be the Wii's biggest market, adults who were never into gaming as kids. Which is a lot of people.

THAT, my friend, is why the Wii is selling so well. Nintendo realised that their 'core audience' had hated them since the Playstation was released, so they abandoned the core audience and went into an untapped market.

Maybe next gen Sony will make a console that animals enjoy, because apparently, Sony's core audience generally don't like the PS3. If Sony ever had a core audience, rather than a group of people who realised that the PS2 had better games than its competitors and was cheaper to boot.

If you ask me, none of the companies deserve success this gen. Nintendo abandoned their fans (you should be GRATEFUL we give you three first party games in one year, one of which is a virtual gym and one of which is... Wi Music), Sony made several wrong decisions and Microsoft bought game publications (not just fanboy ranting, go look at Variety. Microsoft has a deal with them)

I guess only Sony did it unintentionally...

^^Haha, a console for animals. Let's have someone's dog crawl into the shop with £300's worth of banknotes, and the vendor says, "Hi doggie, do you want a PS4?"

I've got to ask what you consider that third game to be

Is it warioland, animal crossing wii, mario kart wii or smash bros brawl?

Man, I love when people sign up just to rag on a console. Especially when they can't tell the difference between a boy and a girl.

It's almost for free
Oprah plays it
Every senior has one
Every kid under 12 has at least 2
Women (you know Wiimote+rumble)!!!!

There are virtually no hardcore gamers like you that own a Wii. Zero. Real hardcore gamers like you play 360 or PS3, preferably both at the same time. Sure Wii sells well, but more like a fad for non gamers, like the HoolahHoop in the 20's. Hardcore gaming still has only one option: HD.

Real hardcore gamers like you also can't stand to play the good old games from the past anymore. Those are not HD. Damn, some of them even have sprites. That's not hardcore at all. Mega Man 9, don't make me laugh. I mean Chrono Trigger: that's sooo 1990's.

No the Wii has nothing to offer but ports like RE4 and Okami. And we all know those are shitty games. I mean they were nice a couple of years ago, but now stories have become so much better and gameplay so much more immersive. They try to hide their age by being widescreen and progressive scan, but we all know the truth...

@Wetcoaster
Thats the token female relative who enjoys the Wii, mandatory for any Wii bashing thread.

almost deserves a thread of its own