To appreciate Nintendo's sudden dominance of the U.S. video-game market, consider: The company sold 2 million Wii players in November -- more than twice the number of Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s combined, according to the NPD Group. And that's not counting the 700,000-plus Wii Fit exercise boards it sold in the same month.
- Zappos [3]
- See full list [4]
- Disney [5]
But Nintendo's success isn't limited to the Wii. Its portable DS system is the top seller in its category too -- and the No. 2 device overall (second only to the Wii). As for software, four of 2008's 10 top-selling games were made by Nintendo. In December, the company announced a deal with HarperCollins to make 100 literary classics available on the DS, challenging Amazon's Kindle and widening its own device's appeal. This spring, the next-gen DSi will hit our shores, along with a raft of new games heavier on puzzles and dancing than on dragon slaying. Hard-core gamers have long complained that Nintendo abandoned them in favor of the masses, but Nintendo is unapologetic. And why shouldn't it be?
