The main difference is that the gamecube started stronger but started tapering off on the year of year almost immedietely. Wheras the Wiiu had a softer launch but is actually gaining momentum year over year. I feel that the Wiiu will end up being the cube in ww lifetime sales by at least 6 million if not 10.

The gap between the GameCube and the Wii U is widening every month (in a bad way) ... it's not shrinking. Wii U really was not up YoY in any huge way, it's just that it was so low to begin with that some improvement with more games was practically inevitable. 

The thing about the GameCube price as well is yes, while it was cheaper ... so were the competing systems.

The GCN was $99.99 to PS2/XBox being $179.99.

Factor in that the GameCube didn't play DVDs and most people felt the value was a wash.

That's why most people still chose the PS2 or even XBox ... you couldn't play DVDs or Grand Theft Auto 3 (among many other exclusives) topped off with Mario Sunshine/Wind Waker not being seen as crowd pleasing sequels to Mario 64/OoT, no GoldenEye/loss of Rare ... most people were willing to pay the extra $80 to get a PS2 or XBox. 

If Nintendo could somehow have a $150 system today that was equivalent in horsepower (more or less) to a X1 ... they'd probably do quite well. 

But why group together Sony and MS?  

The Xbox beat the Gamecube by a couple million consoles, not really a big deal when it cost MS billions in losses to do so.  

Sony sold 100 million more consoles than the Xbox and Gamecube added together, if the Gamecube was a sales loser than so was the Xbox.

To be honest, all of it applies in some form (except for 8). I still think overall it will beat the Gamecube. When the price drops to $200, people are going to come out of the woodworks to get it due to all the amazing exclusives it has. That just won't be for another year or two.

OK, no DVD was mistake, purple lunch box design maybe, but you can't count not making sequels of games for console mistake because you can say that for every console. Thats only one real big mistake (DVD).

And evan with all that, I think Nintendo made bigger and more mistakes for Wii U then for GC.

In another year or two it will be old news and the XB1/PS4 will be $50-$100 cheaper than they are now as well with much better games finally coming out (Batman Arkham, Uncharted 4, Halo 4, etc. etc.). 

If it was going to close the gap with the GameCube it needed to start doing so last year starting with Mario Kart 8, but the GameCube is widening the gap every month that goes on. 

We can agree to disagree. All the systems will be cheaper, true. But there will be a TON of games that will only be on Wii U, while most of the games (aside from Uncharted and Halo) will be on both consoles. Wii U will still have the most experiences you cannot get anywhere else, and people will be looking to get another console. 

There will be 9-10 really great games on the Wii U -- Mario Kart 8, Zelda U, Mario 3D World, Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, Splatoon, and a few others that you really can't play elsewhere. Honestly in the large scheme of things this is not a lot, and not dissimilar to other Nintendo consoles plenty of people have passed over. Of course there will be other good games, but those are the ones that would really have influence to sway someone to purchase a platform. 

The vast majority chose a Playstation over a N64, even though it had Mario 64, Zelda: OoT, GoldenEye (virtually three straight GOTYs in a row), and most ignored the GameCube even though it had many great games too. I don't really see Wii U being much different. 

Nintendo isn't dropping the Wii U price because they know it's not going to be a successful product. Yes they will give it lip service in interviews and support it alright through 2016, but they have resigned themselves that only about 18-20 million people are interested in such a console and they're not going to take any more unccessary losses. Those people are going to buy at some point no matter what, no sense in taking a loss in the process. 

Bolded has little to do with whether the Wii U will beat the Gamecube. The N64 did beat the Gamecube... By a lot.