The console gaming industry has proven this before — just because you have the fanciest gaming system for sale does not mean it will win. In the late 70s and early 80s, the Atari 2600 beat the graphically superior Mattel IntelliVision and Coleco’s ColecoVision because it had games based on familiar, popular arcade games (even if they looked blocky). Nintendo’s GameBoy completely dominated the portable gaming market in the early 90s, despite far superior units like the NEC TurboGrafx-16, the Atari Lynx, and the Sega GameGear.

In the latest round of console wars, the Nintendo Wii was up against some technological powerhouses, the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3. Yet, the Wii has outsold them. Why? In part because of its price, but the primary reason the Wii has garnered such love is its unique baton-like controller, the Wiimote. With it, gamers can interact in a physical way. Sword-fighting. Bowling. Drawing. Tennis. Nintendo tapped into demographics not typical of other gaming systems: the elderly, female, and other adult non-gamers.

Meanwhile, the Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 have struggled to keep up despite impressive graphics. The PS3 in particular has had the disadvantage of being the most expensive and being the most difficult to develop games for, leading to fewer games and fans for the system.

Still, the question remains — will the Wii maintain its top status? Will physical games continue to appeal or is this a passing fad?