It seems that company executives aren’t done with ripping competitor’s machines. Dave Karraker of SCEA, always good for a sound bite, said to the New York Times that the Wii did not belong in the same category as the more powerful PlayStation 3. Of course, given their price points and target markets, I’d be inclined to agree.

What is sure to be fodder for the fanboys, however, is Karraker’s next declaration: “Wii could be considered an impulse buy more than anything else,” he said.

Before throwing him to the Nintendogs, could there be any truth to Dave’s statement? After all, buying a $250 games machine on ‘impulse’ is a lot different from grabbing a candy bar or tabloid magazine about K-Fed at the checkout lane in a grocery store. Given the difficulty of acquiring a Wii, even a full 2.5 months after launch, to buy a Wii like buying a pack of gum seems rather unlikely. No, buying a Wii requires some pretty heavy premeditated thought.

I’m not going to be so quick to say that Karraker’s out to lunch on this one. But the entire civilized world, including non-gamers, is still completely caught up in Wii’s appeal. It’s become a cultural phenomenon, with some people even going as far as organizing parties where Wii playing is the central theme. In fact, a site dedicated to party organization has launched at WiiParty.net, allow people to get social with their Wiis.

The only way that Karraker’s going to be proven correct on his statement is if, in the long-term, casual gamers will eventually get bored of the Wii and return to playing solitaire on their PCs at work. If that is the case, then the installed user base of Wiis will consist of a considerable portion of people who do not buy and play games on a regular basis. The main reason for Wii’s success right now is Wii Sports, not Zelda. It’s the simplicity and draw of Wii Tennis or Wii Bowling that is getting everyone’s mother to play Nintendo. But what if games with the widespread appeal become far and few between for the Wii? Then I’d imagine that the casual gamers would eventually stop playing. As cool as it may be to be the Godfather and smack people around with your Black Hand, it’s not going to win over people the same way that Wii Boxing does.

If Wii’s library goes more the way towards Zelda and Metroid, which would still keep me perfectly happy, then video gaming will go back to being an activity solely for those labeled as gamers. And if that becomes the case, Dave Karraker’s statement about Wii being an impulse buy will be true.