@the Wii comments:
Last time around, the Gamecube had lower sales figures than both its competitors, but still was considered successful by Nintendo, and turned a solid profit. Now, the Wii that's in first place is nothing more than a re-worked Gamecube with superior controller tech.
The lesson learned, is that 3rd place in the console wars, doesn't mean failure. It just means the company is getting a slightly smaller piece of the huge multi-billion dollar pie. I wouldn't call the 360 or even the PS3 a failure... especially since the PS3 helped Blu-ray win the format war.