A look at the No. 1 and No. 2 names in the tech world's major categories

In the six years since the last major video game system launched, Apple released the iPhone and the iPad, "Angry Birds" invaded smartphones and Facebook reached a billion users. As a result, video game consoles were left to languish in living rooms alongside dusty VCRs and CD players.

Now with the launch of Nintendo's Wii U, the so-called “console wars” are heating up again. This time around, Nintendo is competing against both online apps and tablet games as well as console rivals PlayStation and Xbox. As of spring, 2012, the Xbox 360 is able to claim the crown. Despite having been released a year earlier, the Xbox 360 had sold 67.2 million units worldwide as of Mar. 31, 2012, compared to the PS3’s 63.9 million units moved at that same time. The now is whether Nintendo's new Wii U system can gain market share on the competition.

Nintendo craning its neck toward Xbox's gaming dominance is actually a common occurrence in the tech sector, where brands and services can carve out sizeable market shares but still bow to the giants in respective categories. From BlackBerry to Firefox and on down the line, here are a few examples of how consumers have said, “We like you, but …” and gone with the bigger, more popular guy.

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