According to the survey of over 2,500 callers to The Gadget Helpline, a phone service that consumers having problems with broken electrical equipment can call for help, the results underline the increasing popularity of games consoles, once considered a hobby for young men.

The Wii, made by Japanese giant Nintendo, topped the poll, with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 coming in fourth place and the handheld DS console coming in eighth place, reports The Telegraph.

The ‘crowned’ gadget allows players to use a hand-held controller to simulate a sport, such as golf or bowls, pretend to ski jump or even play the ukulele — activities far removed from the fast cars and shooting games favoured by software manufacturers in the past.

A spokesman said, “With the world now quite literally at our fingertips, we’re fast being robbed of the need to socialise with other humans, but the success of games consoles shows that there remains huge appeal in the concept of sharing time and space with friends and loved ones.”

The top 10 gadgets that make people happy are:

1. Nintendo Wii

2. iPod

3. iPhone 3G

4. Xbox 360

5. Blackberry

6. Sky+

7. Mac Book

8. Nintendo DS

9. Tom Tom 930 Satellite Navigation System

10. Sony PRS-505 Reader.

Toyota Motor declined comment on the report.

The automaker has yet to give a vehicle sales or production goal for this year, citing the unprecedented drop in global auto demand that has followed the US financial crisis.

Toyota is slipping into its first net loss since 1950 for the fiscal year through March as sales plunge not only in the crucial US market but also Europe, Japan and emerging economies.

The Nikkei said Toyota will be releasing the production plan to parts suppliers soon.

The last time Toyota produced fewer than 6.5 million vehicles annually was in 2003, when it produced 6.1 million vehicles, according to Toyota.

Toyota has been working hard to reduce excess inventory by stopping assembly lines on some days, and is expected to achieve normal inventory levels by May, according to the Nikkei.

Toyota’s production will again pick up in May compared to previous months, but such levels will still be far below the previous year’s, it said.

For five years through 2007, Toyota had been expanding aggressively, riding on its reputation for mileage and quality. Initially, the manufacturer of the Prius hybrid and Camry sedan had said it expected to sell more than 10 million vehicles worldwide on a consolidated basis in 2009.

Joining a string of Japanese companies sliding into the red, Toyota said this month that it expects a net loss of 350 billion yen ($3.74 billion) for the fiscal year through March, compared with a 1.72 trillion yen profit for the previous year.

Ito, 55, senior managing director overseeing auto operations, replaces Takeo Fukui, who is stepping down as president, Japan’s No. 2 automaker said in a statement.

The move follows a similar change at the top at bigger Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp., who recently named Akio Toyoda, a member of the founding family, replacing Katsuaki Watanabe.

The change at Honda, part of a minor reshuffling of its board, still needs shareholders’ approval at a meeting in June.

Fukui and Ito were scheduled to give a news conference later in the day at Honda’s Tokyo headquarters, Honda said.

There had been some speculation that Fukui, 64, who has already served six years as president, may step down. But the timing was uncertain as Honda, like other automakers, are battling a serious downturn in global demand.

Through Ito’s appointment, Honda appears to be sending a message of its determination to turn a new leaf and press ahead with technological innovations — its longtime strength — in battling the global slump and aim for a turnaround.

Ito had already been scheduled to head the research and development unit of Honda in April. With the latest decision, if approved, he will also head overall Honda. Fukui will become an adviser and remain on the board.

Honda, which makes the Insight hybrid and Accord sedan, has fared relatively better than Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, in riding out the downturn, partly because Honda doesn’t make large trucks and tends to be more nimble.

But even Honda is also hurting and has been curbing production and reducing workers at its plants.

Honda, which saw its October-December profit plunge 90 per cent, is expecting 80 billion yen ($856 million) in profit for the fiscal year ending March 31. Earlier, it had projected a 185 billion yen profit.

The strong yen, which erodes the earnings of exporters, has also cutting profits at Japanese automakers, including Honda.

During his tenure, Fukui, who built his earlier career developing motorcycles, led Honda’s global expansion, including in the critical US market. He also led Honda’s foray into the small jet business and recently bought the hit Insight hybrid to market.

The two companies plan to offer programmes created for the service, a Dentsu spokesman said, in contrast to most online channels, which tend to carry existing TV shows and movies.

Viewers will need to pay to see some of the new programmes, while others will be offered free of charge and accompanied by advertisements, the spokesman said.

Nintendo has sold 34.6 million Wii consoles, which feature a motion-sensing controller that looks like a TV remote control, as of the end of September, far outselling Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp’s PlayStation 3.

Dentsu and Nintendo will start offering the new service in Japan next year, while the timing for overseas sales has yet to be set, the Dentsu spokesman said.

He said the two firms have not decided what type of programmes they will offer, but the Nikkei business daily said cartoons and other entertainment content will be distributed.