How the low-tech Wii won this year's console war

news via technology.guardian

As one of the most fascinating years in videogame history draws to a close, there is one story that stands out: the return of Nintendo. It's almost impossible to believe that earlier this year journalists were unsure how the public would react to the Wii, with its motion-sensing gimmick and dated technology (it's little more than a customised GameCube).

In the space of a week, the map of the industry has changed. In North America, 600,000 Wiis were sold in the eight days following its release, 400,000 in a single day in Japan and 325,000 after two days in Europe. Crucially, the Wii won the PR war months before release, and did so through a single concept, rather than a list of impressive specifications. A controller that you waft around is something mainstream journalists could spin a story around. What they spectacularly couldn't do was communicate the attributes of the PS3 or Xbox 360. Hardly anyone outside the industry cares about the finer points of multiple-core processing or pixel-shader operations.

The past couple of months have seen a flood of adoring coverage. Breakfast TV presenters have thrown themselves into live Wii Sports sessions, while highbrow pundits on the Late Review shamefacedly admitted the genius of the machine. As a console manufacturer, you know you're on unstoppable form when a man can accidentally punch his wife while playing with your console and the tabloids treat the story as a comic tribute to the product rather than conclusive proof that games are bringing about the collapse of civilisation.

You can't buy goodwill like that - and God knows, Sony has tried. The company has been guilty of several viral marketing mishaps this year. Somebody somewhere should watch Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris' Nathan Barley series (trashbat.co.ck) then weep with recognition and shame.

Elsewhere, the biggest disappointment of the year has been Microsoft's failure to capitalise on its monopoly. The Xbox 360 has had the next-gen market to itself and the Christmas shelves should be bulging with goodies from in-house developers. Instead, the company is relying heavily on one title, Gears of War, with Viva Piñata its only grudging acknowledgement of the fact that not all gamers are American teenage boys obsessed with sci-fi, sport and fantasy violence.

Sony will recover from its annus horribilis because it has an amazing machine and unparalleled brand recognition. But I'm not sure Microsoft has the breadth of vision to flourish away from home. I expect 2007 will be a two-horse race, and I doubt we'll see Bill Gates in either saddle.