Nintendo also dominated the software side of things via titles like Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii. Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) did good business with Call of Duty: World At War, and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) scored with Left 4 Dead. Make no mistake, though, this was Nintendo's month (it seems like it's always Nintendo's month, doesn't it?). It continues to amaze me how casual gaming refuses to yield its powerful hold over the populace. Aren't there enough hardcore gamers out there willing to challenge the status quo and send one of the more powerful systems (and games) to the top? Of course, there's an argument to be made that something like Mario Kart, while seemingly casual in nature, is a title that appeals to hardcore players, too. It must, I guess, since no one can seem to do without owning that game. Besides, one has to assume that all the hardcore players have already made their selections.

About the only thing Microsoft and Sony can do now is try to convince Wii owners that they need a second system in the house to balance out all that innovative casual stuff. Granted, the younger kids who own the Wii won't necessarily be paying attention to the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360, but there are plenty of older gamers who have purchased the Wii, and for many of them, this probably was the first gaming system that they ever owned.

Perhaps Nintendo's competition can create a desire in people to go beyond causal gaming and try their hand at something like Resident Evil 5 (which I absolutely cannot wait to play). Of course, it's understandable that casual gamers would want to avoid something more difficult, and longer to play to completion. That's why I've argued in the past that there should be a change in the way long storyline games are designed. For instance, in every game, you should have the ability to save your progress at any point, not just at special locations or at the end of a level. Maybe there should be two versions of every game on a disc: one that is easy and streamlined and can be played through relatively quickly, and one that is a challenge for hardcore users who don't want anything handed to them (and let me tell you, even if there is an "easy" mode on a game, it isn't always easy).

Really doesn't matter, though. We can go through all the thought experiments we want, the truth is that the Wii continues to outsell its competition; its software continues to sell like crazy; and Microsoft and Sony, while they did move a lot of units, would like to move even more.

We'll have to wait and see if those two have what it takes to up the ante in a meaningful way. As for the companies mentioned here, I think Nintendo is kind of interesting and worth some research time, as is Activision Blizzard. I don't like either Sony or Electronic Arts, and I own Microsoft for reasons other than its Xbox business.

Disclosure: I own Activision Blizzard, Microsoft; positions can change without notice.