CNN Tells The Tale of the Wii

CNN Money has a history piece of the Nintendo Wii, how it came to be and how it beat the competition. For most gamers following the console wars, this is likely not too much new, but it does have some interesting anecdotes and stories of how they marketed the machine.

He even put Wii ads into gray-haired publications like AARP and Reader's Digest. For Nintendo's core users, he took a novel, Web-based approach: "To reach the under-25 audience," he says, "we pushed our message through online and social-networking channels" including MySpace.

But Nintendo's most effective marketing trick was to give away its killer app, Wii Sports, with every $250 console. It was a calculated attempt to speed up the process that brought success to the DS. And because Nintendo makes about $50 in profit on every Wii sold, it can afford to give away a game.

Read more on CNN Money.