Nintendo's success in consoles is actually eclipsed in devices that consumers carry with them in cars, buses, planes or anywhere else. Its "Nintendo DS" has sold a staggering 87 million units while the PlayStation Portable (PSP) is the only competitor and has sold "only" 40 million units. A check of any week's list of released games demonstrates that there are plenty of options, many of which aren't games at all. For example, DS releases recently included, "My SAT Coach with Princeton Review," language-learning programs and interactive cooking indexes made not for games but for dinner time while "Brain Age," is one of the most popular titles ever. Games are being developed around baby-sitting, social interaction and anything else game producers (or you) can develop, market and imagine.

Third-party developers

Where the Wii still lags behind is failing to generate hot sales for third-party game developers. The biggest selling software titles for the Wii are almost all made my Nintendo. Mario Kart, Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Fit, Mario Party 8 and games like it dominate sales. There are fewer software developers looking to innovate or create for the platform than for its competition. This creates a possibility for stagnation and there may be a limit to how many Mario games Wii owners can consume. Still, the console and concept once predicted to finish last among this generation's big three is an unmitigated success.

It is about the games

Ultimately, games dictate console sales and so Microsoft and Sony attempt to line up games that will not only sell but entice you to buy the console they play on. The 360 launched with the much anticipated Halo 3 and Gears of War, while the PS3 has Metal Gear Solid 4, and a lot of midlevel success without having a breakaway hit, which may explain its third-place finish so far.

In fact, at its giant briefing this summer for international press (called E3 and attended by the Deseret News) Sony dedicated equal time to its PS2, touting that it is still a viable console (and a bargain at around $100) while claiming its PS3 is easily the best machine on the market.

The future

Microsoft: Thriving in the U.S. with a solid performance against the PS3, Microsoft is absolutely dead in Japan. It features a robust and highly profitable game download system and is still a clear winner in the online market where it thinks the future lies. The company didn't plan and didn't make a profit on the original Xbox but seems on firm ground now. It plans to also have the first console to market in the next generation.