I don't understand why anyone thinks this is a good idea. I know Wii U is failing miserably and the 3DS has already peaked, but in 29 years, they only have 2 yearly losses. Plus, It's very hard to make a casual title a huge hit. They've proved they could do it with the "Wii" series, but the hugest hits on smartphones, like the Angry Birds games, Flappy Bird, Temple Run, etc., all appeal to casual audiences. It's easier to create hits on consoles because they can do almost any genre they want. You have Shooters, Fighters, Platformers, Action games, Adventure games, Racing games, Casual games, Open-World games, etc. being 10 million+ sellers. 

Shorter Version

It makes no sense.

I'll answer your question with another question... what's the difference between games like Nintendo Land or NSMB U and your average smartphone game?

The smartphone games cost $59 less.

The huge gap in quality?

I haven't played any mobile game that's like Nintendo Land or NSMBU.

OT: Many people don't see the value in console games (even more so of Handheld games), especially that of Nintendo. Even if they do produce large games (like Zelda or 3D Marios and yes, 2D Platformers.) This mainly applies to Nintendo only. There will come a time when mobile games do start to really rival console games, but that time is not now.

To put it simply... People are stupid.

People think they know best.

I will answer you question with another question. What's the difference between games like Zelda, Metroid, Pikmin, Smash Bros., and Donkey Kong Country and your average smartphone game?

If as talented as a development studio Nintendo has and as much of a console gaming pedigree they have also, if they can't think of anything else to develop the WiiU for except for more Koopa Troopas or more Adventures in Hyrule, then...as ridiculous as it sounds...go mobile.

It PAINS you THAT MUCH to just...*gasps!*...branch out away from Kirby and Pokemon and put just a LITTLE bit of effort on other genres? In your soul Nintendo, for the sake of your console survival, you're not willing? You'd rather entertain mobile gaming before that? Well, have at it, then. It's a shame, really...

Its cause people want to play Nintendo games without buying a Nintendo platform so they would rather see their games on phones than on Nintendo only platform

Really?  I've played both... you could take all of the minigames found in Nintendo Land and put them on smartphones or tablets, and they'd work just as well if not better.

You don't need a $300 console to play an on-rails, tilt-controlled version of F-Zero or touch-heavy games like Yoshi's Fruit Cart and Ninja Castle.   And you won't need 4 extra controllers and  have to fight your friends over who gets to use the gamepad when playing the multiplayer games.

Nintendo could sell all those mini games separately for a couple bucks apiece and they'd literally rake in billions from all the mobile /tablet users out there.

And if you think a game like NSMB can't be done on mobile or tablet devices... they already put the greatest Sonic game ever on these devices.