I've been Pondering this since this gen started and the wii's  been having its success i just can't come to a real conclusion maybe your pondering can help me 

What i've come up with so far

1 The GC and N64 had almost the same SW as the wii with it's family oriented and E rated games like Mario Parties,  Pokemon things, SSB, Mario Kart, Zeldas, Pikmins, Super Monkey Bals, Metriods, Donkey Kongs, Kirbys, Animal Crossings, and Hey you Pikachu why weren't they so popular to sell GC's and N64's like the Wii

2 Both GC and N64 didn't have dvd playback and now the Wii doesn't either did this bother people then does it bother people now i guess not the Wii is outselling the HD consoles 

3 Both GC and N64 were also priced at 250$ why didn't they sell as good as the Wii is

4 Wen GC and N64 were out there were consoles that had hardcore SW like Xbox and ps1,2 why was everybody buying more ps1,2 and Xbox's rather than GC and N64 and now there buying more Wii's rather than the HD consoles

5 Is it b/c the Wii has B/C with older games from the snes and nes days aren't the people who grew up with the snes and nes old like me now and they are not interested in those games any more, or does the new crop of gamers enjoying  these old school games as much as the older gamers were

6 Is it b/c the Wii is a 1 syllable word so people think it should be in first or has an advantage b/c Xbox 360 has 5 syllables and PlayStation 3 has 4 syllables (that's why ps3 will end up in 2nd it has 1 less syllable than the 360) so they don't deserve to be in 1st 

I've pondered long enough and can't understand why the Wii is so popular almost like the Terminator can't understand human emotion and feelings

I've also had hands on time with the Wii and i couldn't accept it maybe i didn't have enough time with it or my hand eye coordination is bad

I would like to hear some non bias posts from people who own a Wii post wat you think it is that makes the Wii pop and sell well compared to the HD's, and more importantly people who own a Wii and a HD console to tell me wat so different about the wii from the HD consoles and vis versa. Wat do you get from the Wii that you don't get from the HD consoles

Don't have time for something detailed but simply put:

Accessibility. They made a system and controller simple enough that anyone regardless of age or lack of gaming experience could feel confident they would enjoy it. Look at how many buttons and sticks are on HD controllers. If you didn't grow up with that you'd never want to touch it. Nintendo games are fun for everyone regardless of sex or age. HD games are fun for young males 15-35.

Wiimote and WiiSports.

Give an average person an tennis/golf/bowling game and a controller for one one the HD systems.  They would have no clue what to do and would not have fun.  Do the same with the Wii and WiiSports, and they immediately know what to do and have lots of fun.  There is your difference.

Simple:  in a price taht people are intimidated.

and Tell me someone who saw the Wii playing Wiisports or any other great motion game and them not thinking,  "ooh that looks interesting I want to try that"  

And as all haters would say "they enjoyed it for short time and before the novelty wore off they already bought it"

And that is when they started buying the Nintendo games, hence the top 25 games of 2008 list

Because of the Wii-mote, obviously.

I just posted this in another thread.

That is why the Wii is selling so well.

As I have said before, the majority of all gamers are casual (otherwise why is the attach ratio for all systems between 5 and 10 games) Even I as a more avid gamer couldn't find 10 games I am willing to pay for on the X360, I think I would for the PS3, but not many more... and it costs more to start up so the extra games are not fully worth the extra price.

On the Wii I could probably name 40 games I would buy at a push, and certainly at least 30.... I likely won't buy that many in the long run unless I come into some cash.

On the GameCube, over it's lifespan I could probably only name 40 games worthy of purchase, so despite me liking the games I have it's a good enough reason for the majority not to buy it.

Because THIS time they are a good alternative for alot of non 'hardcore' gamers / fanboys.

Well, I'd say they've sold well for a number of reasons:

-They came in at an initial price point way below their competitors which attacted a lot of people
-The majority of people still don't own an HDTV, Nintendo figured that as a result, HD graphics would not be necessary to suceed this gen
-The promise of motion control and generally a different approach to gaming attracted a lot of people to the system
-In addition to being b/c with all gc titles, Nintendo has been offering classic titles via the VC to attract old school fans
-Nintendo still has great brand loyalty, their first party titles are basically guaranteed $
-They managed to tap into an extremely large, generally untapped market(the non/casual gamer)

Anyway, just a few reasons imo why the Wii has sold so well thus far.

I forgot:
MASSIVE TV advertising compared to N64 / GameCube in Germany.
At leasts 20 times more (no exaggeration!!!) than that of the two other consoles combined.

This in a nutshell explains the entire philosophy behind Nintendo's madness now. The Wii is an easier entry into gaming than either of the two HD consoles could ever hope to be. Baseball on Wii Sports is one of the most unique and simple premises to come along in a long time. Now try to get someone to figure out how to play MLB 08 The Show if they've never played a videogame. Shit! I can't even figure out that game because it's too damn complicated and I've been gaming since the forever.