Think with me. Both released earlier than competition, both had a good hardware for their year but was crushed by competition very soon (spec wise), both have somehow unique games that are not the top AAA games but make them look appealing in their own way, both have a strong cult status and both are commercial disasters. I would say Wii u in some years, if the nx doesn't have backwards compatibility, will be a collectors item .

You must be the first ever who came up with this thought.

"both had a good hardware for their year but was crushed by competition very soon"

No. The Dreamcast might have been a little weaker than the PS2, but was in contrast to the Wii U state of the art when it was released.

I agree that both systems are parallel, though the mistakes made this gen by Nintendo won't destroy their status as console manufacturer, only heighten and lower expectations for the next system.

I would say the WiiU looks more like the Saturn. After the breakout success of their predecessor (Genesis/Wii), their inner problems, odd design choices and the rise of their competition makes the system less appealing by comparaison. And with thay, only the first party stays in enough numbers to support the console. Also, both systems are more relevant in Japan than in the West.

Kinda, sorta I guess. Dreamcast was a terrific system though and I enjoy the Wii U so whatever. Debating market share is fun but it doesn't really affect my actual enjoyment of the hardware/software. 

I thought the dreamcast was too ahead of it's time, online gaming wasn't exactly ready. Come on, i'll was still on dial up internet, broadband was way off.

Wii U didn't have good hardware for its year. Most third party games were equal or slightly worse compared to the PS3/360 counterparts because the Wii U's CPU. The tech inside is obviously better overall then  last gen systems but not by a lot. Dreamcast wasn't just the most powerful amongst systems released 4 years prior, it was actually cutting edge for its a time and a clear  generational leap over N64 and PS1.

Time will have to tell if Wii U attains cult status, I think it will but I doubt it will be remembered as fondly as the dreamcast because the Wii U's strength is mainly in the same titles we see every generation on Nintendo platforms. Above all though the Dreamcast never had a sequel.

The Wii U wont be remembered 5 years from now, let alone the 16 years that the Dreamcast has since it launched.

I LOVED the Dreamcast, one of the best catalogs of games ever.

Splatoon alone ensures Wii U will be remembered. 

Dreamcast had the better variety and depth to its library, but I think Wii U has the better top tier games. 

No the Dreamcast was ahead of its time what the Wii u isnt