The problem is that Nintendo doesn't seem to have a hard time creating handheld games in a timely manner. But they already struggled to create enough software for the Wii, and the Wii U being HD only complicates matters.

So the Wii U is unlikely to stage a 3DS style comeback, especially with the PS4 and some other console lurking right around the corner.

That's an interesting point. Indeed it could be that Nintendo's studios can't cope with the ever increasing workload that occurs when games become more and more complex. The absence of both a true new 3D mario game and any sign of the next Zelda only add fuel to this suggestion.

EVERY console this generation has had an initial sales surge before it's predecessor once again overtakes and eclipses it. With that in mind, we have no reason to conclude the PS4/ XB1 will fare that much better than the Wii U. Indications thusfar suggest the market just isn't ready for new hardware.

Has nothing to do with first or third party developers at all and everything to do with gamers not having enough disposable income.

I'm concerned about WiiU actually, it has some awesome games incoming this holiday but should be shadowed by PS4 and X1 launch. 3rd Party doesn't intend to even bother developing on it..

Simply put, it's the usual hater behavior. he says there are no games, then you show the games and he comes with the excuse: gamecube had those games and it didn't matter. he forgets that wii, ds and 3ds had those games and they sold 100/150/30 million respectively and tries to prove that those games won't help Wii U because they didn't help a previous console 12 years ago in a completely different world and market context.

And you can't compare Wii U and a console from 12 years ago. By your logic, just because gamecube sold poorly, all nintendo consoles are bound to have the same fate. Also, ps3 received the same franchises as the ps2 and haven't even sold half the ps2 numbers.

Nintendo doesn't compete with the PS and XB on traditional terms, never have and never will. Nintendo have a market that is all to them, which they rarely ever share with the other two. The most they've shared is during the PSX and PS2 years when the mainstream went Sony due to Nintendo's own fuckups, and then this gen with Kinect and the Move showing true competition to Nintendo, but even then. Nintendo knows how to make games for their market and that will never change.

There is nothing in the U that makes it a me-too console. It looks to be a Wii+ experience, from Nintendo's point of view they are going after the Wii market and the 3DS market, from the perspective of 3rd parties it's a whole mixed bag.

If the 3DS is an indicator of anything, it's that the new direction (breadth and depth) is a winning formula. So sorry for the haters. The software that Nintendo is pumping for the U is very similar to that of the 3DS: games that are reasonable in dev time, put enjoyment first and don't take themselves too seriously. This is also the 3DS' advantage. 3rd party exclusives for the 3DS also are part of the sharpness of its sword. Once Nintendo proves the U it will see the same favor from the likes of Atlus and Capcom.

So it bodes well for the U. The only way this wouldn't work is if 3rd party devs treat the U as something it is not: e.g. a hardcore console. The U is there for Nintendo exclusives which put enjoyment first. 3rd parties had best follow suit.

3DS had a price cut along with release of MK7 and SM3DL to fuel its resurgence. Wii U will probably get a $50 price drop along with SM3DW, MK8, Smash, and a few other of their IPs (Pikmin, Wii Fit, etc) soon. Only time will tell. Also, your PS4 right around corner reminds me of the PSV around the corner when 3DS was struggling. Home and hand helds can't be directly compared but there is some correlation.

except for mario 3d world and the zelda title that almost got announced at E3 2013, right?

It shouldn't. The PS4 will have games.