This post is part of our Hottest Products of 2007 feature. Also check out our other Hottest Products of 2007 posts and let us know which product you think is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY)'s Wii gaming console was a non-contender -- an underdog -- this time last year. The gaming console with the funny name was set to launch with little fanfare compared to the Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 or Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)'s Xbox 360, launched a year earlier, but the Wii caught eyes because it was priced at only $250, compared to $600 for the PlayStation 3 and $400 for the Xbox 360. But then again, it had inferior graphics and other downgrades. My, my -- how customers didn't care about its competitors' touted features and other fluff.

Why not, you ask? The Nintendo Wii featured the most innovative and immersive gameplay, regardless of the hi-def video or audio output and inferior graphics. Nintendo figured out that consumers wanted a newer kind of gameplay -- not photo-realistic blood and guts. As an aside, they designed the initial games and many others to get game players off those duffs and onto their feet, wildly slinging those Wii-motes through the air -- swatting tennis balls, slaying dragons and driving cars. The mass, mainstream consumer loved it, and so the age of Wii was born.

The latest rumor churning throughout the web is that Apple's iTV, yes iTV, will now incorporate some sort of gaming experience. It seems as if Greg Canessa, the Vice President of video game platforms at PopCap games, had a slip up in a recent interview with Wired where he indicated that his role at PopCap will be to help "customiz(e) the user interface and display for Zune, iPod, Apple TV, Nintendo DS, PSP."

Recently, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stated that games specifically designed for the iPod will not play on the iTV. However, this faux pas, among others, could indicate that Apple is creating a game interface to compete with Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo in the family living room. (Then again, the Internet is rife with Apple rumors.)

If true, the question becomes: is Apple spreading itself too thin? Desktops, laptops, a music store, multiple music players, the iPhone, and now a gaming console? We'll see how far Apple's iconic brand (and the esteem it generates) can carry them.