Given that the PS4 has already outsold the Wii U by quite some margin(even whilst being available almost a whole 12 months less) and the Xbox One seems to be picking up some steam finally and might surpass the Wii U within 6 months, is the Wii U relegated now to third place in the 8th generation console race? Can a true 3D Mario/official Zelda(not Hyrule warriors) title give the Wii U massive exposure and have it make a huge comeback? Or is it as bleak as the Vita? Has there ever been a console that has made a huge comeback 2 years after its release? What do you guys think? Is the console ultimately doomed without the likes of Call of Duty, Battlefield, Uncharted, Gears of War, Destiny, Assassin's Creed etc? Are Nintendo's great first party offerings simply not enough to entice casual gamers over to the console anymore?

XB1 will surpass WiiU by the end of this year (Already done it in shipments after all).

And no, no known Nintendo IP will boost hardware and sustain it, why would it? You've had 2D and 3D Mario, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, Zelda remake (which would have got some Zelda fans on board at least), Wii Fit, Wii Music and it's about to get Smash, all that and it'll be around 10m after 2 years which included 3 holiday seasons.

Mainline Zelda and a Metroid along with a load of niche IP isn't going to change its fortunes.

Depends on what you mean with saved. It will be third in the console-race, nothing at this point can prevent this. It might become profitable though.

I want one but I am afraid that as soon as I buy it Nintendo will announce a new console. So I am not picking one up unless its dirt cheap

The only thing Nintendo can hope for now is for the Wii U to turn them a profit, but considering that they've lost quite a lot of money on it already they won't earn much from the console.

Nothing can truly save it now; it'll end up in 3rd place this gen and Nintendo should be grateful if it sells 20m units when all is said and done. What Nintendo needs to do know is to avoid droughts and pump out games for it, that way they'll t least make some money from this mess.

I worry for Nintendo actually... Don't see a Wii U comeback. Also don't see how they can improve their odds with their next generation console. I mean they tried last gen (motion controls), this gen (tablets), and next gen (another gimmick?) or do they go head to head with sony/ms in terms of hardware; but this is not Nintendo's style. It is not all doom, Nintendo definitely have a strong fanbase, hope they use it well.

In fact, I have been arguing for ages they should build a Nintendo theme park, much like Disney Land. They can make boatloads of money..... + promote Japan tourism.

Don't think they'll announce a new console just 2 years after launch, given the amount of time it takes to develop one.

At the moment it is looking very much like it will be trailing the X1.

As far as profitability is concerned, Nintendo announced last May that the Wii U was no longer selling at a loss.

I can definitely see Nintendo putting out their next-generation console in late 2017(in Japan, 2018 in the west). Nintendo have been quite quick to severe their current console when it hasn't been selling well in the past. The N64 was basically left to fend for itself by late 2000(released in 1996, just under a 5 year lifespan) and the Gamecube was announced in August 2000 where Nintendo then focused the majority of its attention and AAA games. The Gamecube was released in late 2001 and the Wii was released in 2006(5 year lifespan). Shame because both the N64 and Gamecube had alot of excellent and fun games. As much as I dislike Nintendo for their prehistoric mentality, I will always have a soft spot for them. Many fond memories of Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario, Mario Kart, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Diddy Kong Racing, Yoshi's story, F Zero, Ocarina of Time. Many many excellent franchises that had replayability and fun gameplay. Basically the polar opposite to games like Destiny...

nothing can save the wii u

they Need a new console
even a third Party console would do better

No, they said they wrote off the reaming stock so it wouldn't incur losses, they didn't say anything about WiiU manufacturing/hardware not making a loss.