Nintendo Wii is celebrating today its first year since the official launch in US and the little console that lured gamers away from Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is still hard to find.

Unlike its main competitors, Microsoft and Sony, who preferred to pack a lot of processing power and the most advanced technologies in their gaming platforms, Nintendo took a whole new approach.

Thanks to its Wiimote, which resembles to a TV remote, Nintendo has practically reinvented the gaming. Motion sensors let the Wiimotem act according to requirements - anything from a steering wheel to a sword or a tennis racket. Players do not have to master a dozen buttons to play a game. Instead, they just take the device and swing it like a golf club.

At a low price, with a wide selection of games and, above all, new technology, Nintendo gained a healthy share of the gaming market as so far the Wii is leading the consoles sales with 13,7 million units sold, according to the latest data released by VGChartz.com.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which is available on the market since 2005, has managed to sell only 13,2 million units, according to same source.

Sony’s PlayStation 3, the most powerful console, is lagging far behind, with only 5,6 million units sold.

In fact, it’s no wonder Wii is hard to find as Nintendo’s little console was a sold out from the very beginning and don’t expect things to get any better, even if Nintendo has increased its production.

“We’re at a rate now worldwide of about 1.8 million Wiis produced every month, and that’s going to sustain itself until we get on top of this. We’re trying to make decisions on almost a weekly basis about which market to ship the product to, because in Japan it’s a big success, and same in Europe”, said Nintendo marketing chief George Harrison in an interview with Next-Gen.

Anyway, with production shortages or not, let’s wish Nintendo Wii Happy Birthday! And for all of you out there who are thriving to buy a Wii for Christmas, let’s hope you’ll find one.