AHUM, AHUM... the C64 not only was the best available, it still is! >:(
Except for the Amstrad CPC. His point is that success doesn't lie in creating the best technology or similar strategy and sticking to that same principle but instead by adapting quickly to changes.
You should read up on agile organization models and software development processes if that kind of thing interests you. Kent Becks "Extreme Programing Explained" or Craig Larmans "Agile & Itterative Development" are both good books on the subject, where Kent Becks is geared more towards his process and Larmans is more in a general sense.However being reactive (reacting to change) is only half of the equation. The other part is being proactive (a much harder discipline) which seems exactly what Nintendo have done with their magic wand thingy.
I think PS3 and XBox360 are geared towards older generation of players (80s and 90s teenagers) and therefore properly assume that they have jobs to buy the systems.
And no time to actually use them? Look at the XBoxes only really must-have title, Oblivion. Has like 70 hours worth of gameplay. It requires commitment to play. When you come home from a long days work, you don't want to pick up a game like that, you want a game where you can actually acomplish something in the hour or so, between doing the dishes, and going off to bed. The PS3 and XBox 360 mostly appeal to people who job is playing games. Web cartoonists, reporters, people in the industry. Few normal people are going to have the time to dedicate to actually play, never mind complete many of these games. Now, as average joe, I will see $199, $399, $599 staring at me... $199 sounds really good.
You're going to get a) the most expensive one, or b) whatever the Joneses have, just with more games.