I know that one of my friends' father is going to get a wii for the mother for their anniversary because she thinks it looks cool. Another friends' family is often competing with him to play Wii Sports and Wii Play among other games, and yet another one's sisters and parents made avatars of themselves on his console.
Funny, I was always skeptical when Nintendo and other people said that people aged 35+ could get into this stuff, until I saw the families of my friends getting into it & playing together. It's kind of a weird sight for me.
At least around here, it looks like Nintendo's approach has been more successful than other consoles when it comes to attracting a broader audience. I can see why it works though, they like the simplicity to it compared to the(to them) fast gameplay of other consoles.