Indeed, the past two years were a whirlwind for the console, billed over and over again by its handlers in Kyoto as the everyman, woman and child's system, thanks to its low buy in cost, motion controls and easy accessibility.

Consumers have rewarded Nintendo in droves for this approach, even as the most passionate of gamers have cried foul over a perceived lack of serious titles and a smothering online presence whose Friend Codes are a nuisance, to say the least.

The complaints have fallen on deaf ears for the most part, however, as Nintendo to date has sold 15 million Wii consoles to a formerly hardcore-dominated U.S. audience. For you number crunchers, that's about 2 million more than second place Xbox 360, which had a full year head start.

With shortages predicted to --recession be damned--it's looking more and more like Nintendo could sell another 15 million by this time next year.

And, for once, on this milestone moment the success goes beyond hardware. Nintendo consoles, previously lambasted by critics and financial types because of a lack of software, now boast a wide range of titles. From mounds of shovelware to chart-topping first party IP, the Wii has surprised, for better or worse.