The only way to tell if Nintendo or if anyone has learned anything for that matter is the release of their next platforms ...

Droughts will still be a thing on Nintendo platforms because they still have no desire to massively increase their workforce and their line up for the WII U is considerably meager, not to mention the software releases for the 3DS this year is pitiable for the most part ...

I say Nintendo still hasn't learned a thing yet this gen ...

The ps3 was a financial disaster. No one can argue that, but the reason I brought up the ps3's situation was to show how sony was looking forward. They were not only trying to salvage the ps3, but the playstation brand itself. They wanted to keep people thinking that playstation was the system to go to for games. For their acclaimed first/ second party titles as well as a vast and diverse library of third party games. And that's just something Nintendo doesn't do. It's at the point now that when people think Nintendo, they only think mario, zelda, mario kart, and smash bros. If those games don't appeal to them, they think of Nintendo as this sort of useless gaming company.

What they've learned is different from what they should learn.

From what we've heard from them, the only thing we know they've taken away from this gen is that their handheld and home console need to be in an integrated architectural environment.

For one, they learned that it takes considerably longer to create a game in HD (which is why there where so many delays in the first year)

They implemented Nintendo Direct and Digital Events as a viable source of Nintendo News.

They probably also learned that you need a bit more power to compete these days as everyone is looking at the console stats first and games next nowadays. I expect the next Nintendo console to consume far more power than the Wii U (which is at about 50W, in contrast to the 100W of an XBO and the 150W of a PS4)

Also, they surely learned that long game droughts are really bad and will try to fill them up in the future in any way they can.

Dunno what else they've learned, especially not when it comes to third parties.

Don't trust your core gamers, causals is the way to go, next gen should be even more casual than last gen, games should be very easy and simple

I don't know what they have learned, but I know what I hope they have learned:

1-Name and Marketing. They need to get a good name that doesn't confuse potential buyers and get a proper marketing campaign.

2-Launch games are important and should show something that couldn't be done on their old console. New Super Mario Bros U was not a good choice for a launch tittle.

3-Do not rely exclusively on "gimmicks" to sell your machine. If they work, it will help push more consoles but if they fail you'll be in a very difficult position.

4-Price matters. And they should have learned that with the 3DS. But with that said,

5-Sell your consoles for a profit or a very, very small loss. Sony and Microsoft have other divisions that can offset the losses of the hardware but Nintendo doesn't, so they should try to avoid this strategy.

6-It is imperative to avoid software droughts. I do really think that they have learned this lesson but I also fear that their answer to that problem won't work. Having a unified architecture and OS will allow their 1st and 2nd party teams to develop their games faster but if they don't expand their current teams and fund new ones they will still face droughts.

6-It is important to have a third party friendly console and try to get them onboard, but it would be stupid to rely on them. It's your job to sell the console, and only if you do that and if you do it well that they may come back and launch games on your console.

how to still make a boat load of money,without the backing of the gaming media.

I don't think they've learned much. Nintendo is fairly stubborn with how they view the industry and with a predominantly 60-70 year old Japanese board of directors they will continue to do things from their POV. So they won't do a lot of the things people are asking for in this thread.

The main take away I think they've learned this gen is they can't support a modern handheld and modern console any more, next-gen they will integrate the two like the iPhone/iPad are basically the same hardware capable of sharing many/all of the same software titles.

Also I think the "Wii" and "DS" brands are both going to be junked by Nintendo after this gen and one new, more unified brand (for their portable and home variants) will be created.

I can say for myself that if they do the support for the achievements, I would buy the console easily. Just can't understand Nintendo's achievements phobia.

Oh yeah, another thing they hopefully learned is that you can't make your next gen system look almost identical to your last gen system. That, combined with a similar name, just makes people think that it's not a new system at all.