Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)'s Xbox 360 has been somewhere between Sony (NYSE: SNE)'s Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii in terms of commercial success. The Wii has been a breakthrough smash hit, attracting a whole new audience to gaming, while the PS3 has been somewhat of a miserable failure.

In a somewhat obvious piece, The New York Times points out that the system has its diehard fans, especially Halo players. Microsoft can count on their loyalty in the face of numerous machine breakdowns (estimates show that one in three machines needs repair), but it obviously isn't enough: Microsoft's gaming division isn't close to being profitable.

So yeah, it's great the Mr. Softy can count on the acne-infested gaming fanatics. But as Wii has shown, there is a lot more money to be made targeting casual gamers, and Xbox doesn't appear to have any hope of doing that. The Times sums it up:

One question is whether it can help Microsoft sell more consoles to mainstream consumers, or to those who may be concerned about the reliability of the 360 systems.

But there is little doubt the faithful will be there in force, and thrilled about it, having forgiven Microsoft for the flaws in its console.

"I'm on my third 360," said Benjamin Lin, an 18-year-old Halo enthusiast from Seattle, "and it's working great for me."

But the kind of like declaring Donny Osmond's Love Songs of the 70's a hit because the people who've been following him for 30 years like it. In order for Xbox 360 to be a true success, it needs to find a new audience.