That's not really true. The gimmick helped, but the Wii's success wasn't based solely or even mostly on that. Instead, it succeeded largely due to price and appeal to more casual gamers. It's the "family console," and had a lot of games designed to be played by up to four people. Sony and Microsoft had the hardcore market locked up between them, so Nintendo wisely went after an entirely different demographic. It paid off big time for them.
They don't seem to be modifying that strategy substantially this generation, either, they've just added some more social features, new peripherals, and somewhat better graphics hardware. They're still going after the cost-conscious casual market.
The cost concious casual gamers are content to game on their smartphones and tablets. This is why Nintendo's strategy is flawed. A lot of the core gamers feel alienated by Nintendo and I honestly don't know what they can do to get that trust back.
Iwata just announced earnings after the first quarter of WiiU sales. He had to lower sales estimates going forward due to disappointing WiiU sales.
I'm rooting for Nintendo, I really am, but whether I buy a WiiU or not depends on what Sony and Microsoft do over the next year. I'll know more after the Playstation 2013 event.
