Remember when Nintendo was calling their next games console the ‘Revolution’? Back then, before it was called the Wii, it was hard to see how a mere ‘toy’ could upstage the on-sale Xbox 360 and the PS3 to come – but so far, upstage them it has, most handsomely indeed!

But back when it was codenamed the ‘Revolution’, with but a few details spilling out on how the Wii’s remote control, or the ‘Wii-mote’, would actually work, the gaming and real world at large having no real idea how revolutionary the Wii was set to be.

After all, the GameCube had been a relatively distant third in the console gaming race between the PS2 which led by miles, and the original Xbox, which was a firm second. By the time we started hearing about the ‘Revolution’, the Xbox 360 had been on sale for months and had done quite well despite still overwhelming sales of the PS2, and the PS3 was nowhere to be seen, but had specs that had launched an inevitable ‘fanboi’ war between Sony and Microsoft ‘fans’ over which console was going to be better.

Nintendo’s ‘Revolution’ was looking like anything but, featuring the ‘weakest’ lineup of graphics capabilities, and even lacking the HD capabilities of it’s more expensive games console next-gen brethren. How could it possibly compete?

When much firmer details of the Wii-mote became available, and indeed the Revolution was dubbed the Wii, to much global mirth, interested really started to grow, and anticipation was building on exactly how Nintendo’s new games console and unique controller would truly change the way games were played, and if it would appeal to both the existing gamer audience, and to an audience that had never really taken to games consoles before. It was a big ask, but the answer was set to stun us all upon the Wii’s actual release.

For release it did with a massive bang, screaming up the sales charts and selling out instantly, enticing entire families to play together, with some of those family members properly playing a games console for the first time and truly loving it.

Then we got the sales figures, and they told an incredible story: Nintendo was selling every console they could get into the marketplace, a phenomenon that has continued to this day. While the PS2 continues to sell in enormous numbers, even today, in terms of next-gen console sales in November, the Wii came second, according to NPD, selling 476,000 units compared to Xbox 360’s 511,000 units and only 197,000 for the PS3, although it was hampered by a much lower availability than the Wii.

When January’s figures rolled around, the Wii was firmly on top – in a month that traditionally sees sales figures go down as consumers digested their Christmas and holiday season purchases and accompanying credit card bills. But February proved that the Wii was no one hit wonder with 335,000 units sold, outselling the Xbox 360 and PS3 yet again.

Please read onto page 2 for the conclusion...