It's like they knew the Wii U won't do well in the long run so they gave it a head start to make it more relevant before the the PS4 and One launches.

Or they knew they will never match the specs the others will have and decided to release it earlier to get the benefit of doubt that their machine is weaker because it came out first.

Or they just wanted a head-start because they thought having that would be good enough and nothing bad will happen out of it >_

Sadly not much, Nintendo's biggest mistake was thinking that they had the casual makert on lock and simply adding "U" to the the "Wii" name would ensure the casual maket while appealing to those outside the "casual market" realm

While the Wii U might be "simpler" to use it's not "easier" to use; let me explain- with the wii-mote all you basically had to do was wave your wii-mote and nunchuck with the ocassional pressing of A, now with the tablet/buttons it does come off as a sophisticated device which both a positive and negative; I like the Idea of playing my games while watching tv or interactive touchscreen, but to the casual of the casual it might seem like an unwanted hassle to play games compared to what thw nintendo wii was.

They have a 3.5million lead with a less powerful console and no third party support

The casual gamers just don't want it, the casual non gamers don't want it after being burned with the Wii, and the gamers don't want it right now because there's nothing they're interested in you can't already get on another console.

Nintendo needs Super Smash Bros Q1 2014 and X sometime later in 2014. I'm sure people will buy a Wii U just for those games. Whichever one comes out first I'm buying a Wii U for. I'll pick the next one up later..

I am yet to see a Wii U or even a Wii U box with my own eyes and I go to game stores quite often. That's just how bad Nintendo is doing.

The Wii U launch was solid. However, I will always believe that their strategy should have been to pile on software early in order to build a significant installed base. Instead, it was almost like they had abandoned the Wii for nothing. Now they have to face the PS4 and XO without even a trace of momentum.

casuals burned how ? they knew what they are buying and enjoyed wii sports(resort),wii fit, mario etc...at a super price point. and most people(casuals) buy it for someone as a gift.

Nothing beats the RROD, not even the lack of games.

It couldnt have gone much worse.

Well, they still got a 4-5 million lead on the competition. At christmas, with mario/sonic/donkey kong and possible price cut, they can mantain that lead for a while.