Wii

Why is the Wii crushing the competition? Why are shortages expected to last through 2008, more than a year after the release of the console, and through two holiday shopping periods?

The naive answer is that the Wii is a simple machine with fun games and an nice innovative controller. The naive answer isn't wrong.

If we dig a little deeper, however, we realize that back when it was still called the Revolution, we kept hearing little tidbits here and there of how the game machine would be awesome. At E3 we discovered that there was motion-sensitive control and that the controller was wireless. Then we found out that the controller would have built-in rumble. And finally a speaker. These are impressive features, and the reason the Wii sells so well is that not only does it have these features, but they are done well and correctly.

Comparing with another "revolutionary" product, Windows Longhorn ("Vista") which was supposed to revolutionize storage with WinFS, UI with Avalon, and countless other features. It sounded great, but as time dragged on and on, these features turned out to be poorly implemented, and soon removed from the final release. When a company does amazing things well, the result is good. When a company promises amazing things, doesn't do them well, and ultimately doesn't deliver on its promises, the result is not good.