Three years ago today, the Nintendo Wii began its Ruthian dominance of the gaming market. I still remember the scoffs at the company's decision to not jump on the high-definition bandwagon, instead opting for a more interactive user experience. Strictly from a sales point of view, the only current competition for the Wii is Nintendo’s other console, the DS/DSi. It’s simply astounding just how many people turned to gaming when they found out the Nintendo Wii was more about how you play than what you’re playing, and even though it’s been tagged as the “casual console,” that wasn’t always the case. Today, we celebrate the Wii’s third birthday, and look back on how one of the most sought after consoles of all time changed the gaming landscape.

When the Wii launched, I was working at a GameStop. The anticipation for the system was mostly resigned to hardcore devotees of the Nintendo brand. There was nary a soccer mom or elderly person in sight on the day we opened pre-orders. I wasn’t even all that interested in getting a Wii on day one, but Sony priced me right out of their market, and I knew that getting my hands on the system during the holidays was going to be near impossible. That was before the first reports started making the six o’clock news about how family friendly it was, and how it could help you lose weight, and how cheap it was. Once the masses got word of just how “amazing” Nintendo’s video game console was, everyone had to have one, and suddenly the already insane holiday retail season became a nightmare.

At least Nintendo had the foresight to launch their console with games people would enjoy. Being bundled with Wii Sports certainly didn’t hurt, but neither did launching with a AAA title that was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, a solid racer in Excite Truck (which to this day is still strangely addicting), a bankable sports franchise in Madden NFL 07, and the much over-hyped Red Steel. Sure there were a few duds, but at least the building blocks for a solid entry-level library were there. While it was unnecessarily difficult to get your hands on any accessories unless you were at a store the moment they came in, most people didn’t have to worry about it because they couldn’t even get their hands on a console to start with.

The following months… scratch that… The following year was no different, as Nintendo just couldn’t produce enough consoles to keep up with the increased demand from people playing it at a friend’s or another family member’s house. Suddenly, what was once a niche hobby became a full-fledged phenomenon. Gaming was no longer that thing people’s kids did. It was something for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, I think at any point, gaming could be for everyone, but the Wii really transcended all boundaries, and opened the masses up to the idea that there was more to gaming than they thought. The release of Wii Fit, Super Mario Galaxy, and Wii Play in 2007, led to the Wii not only gaining even more buzz, but continuing to be the console of choice despite the competition releasing huge titles like Halo 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

2008 saw the release of Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, along with the introduction of WiiWare, which featured titles like Lost Winds and World of Goo. Most importantly, 2008 was the first time since the system’s launch that the Wii was in ready supply. Nintendo showed the competition that even in a year where they didn’t have a tremendous amount of titles that had mass appeal, they could remain the top dog based solely on the Wii’s “wow factor” still being experienced for the first time by more people each and every month. That’s not to say that there weren’t some great niche titles in 2008. No More Heroes, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and De Blob not only provided gamers with something to play while waiting for the next big game, but ended up being solid titles that only served to strengthen the Wii’s library. What’s more, the competition finally began to take the Wii’s adopted audience seriously, and implemented plans of their own to stay competitive.

At this year’s E3 conference, both Microsoft and Sony announced motion controllers to be released in 2010. It’s clear that the appeal of motion controls is more than a fad, and it appears that the competition finally respects the Wii enough to imitate its most important feature. While I’m still not a strong supporter of motion control, the Wii still gets a lot of play in my house. Nintendo’s still a ways behind the Xbox and PS3 in online support, but the console is built around the experience in the living room, and still brings my family together in ways they never were before. Honestly, I can’t tell you a single time prior to the Wii that my mom, dad, aunts, uncles, and cousins, sat around a video game fighting over whose turn was next. It gets a lot of grief for being the “casual” console, but there’s nothing casual about an elbow to the face during a heated Mario Kart race. I only hope the next three years prove to be as impressive and enjoyable as the first three.