Wait for the nx
It should be backwards compatible

I have bought four Wii Us (for family and friends) all in the second quarter, each below (the equivalent of) $200 (some even $160).  

You do not have to go for the premium model. If you need to download games you have to buy USB-memory of some kind anyway. The one thing that is neat with the premium, that you do not get with the basic, is the gamepad loading cradle.

Excellent choice: Coming Black Friday: Smash Splat Special Edition Deluxe Set. Starting at $249.99.  http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu/buynow

Its going to be cheaper when NX comes out. I'm gonna wait.

I bought one so me and my girls can play games together. Not gonna lie, it's alot of fun. I still haven't cracked the cellophane on Pikmin 3 yet, since it seems it was a limited run game.

Wrong. Rayman Legends, Bayonetta 2, and Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition are all third party titles with ratings over 90 on metacritic. By various definitions of "first party", you can add titles like Hyrule Warriors, The Wonderful 101, Shovel Knight, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Skylanders Swap Force, Need for Speed Most Wanted U, ZombiU, LEGO City Undercover, and quite a few others beside those - all great games (I say this either from personal experience, such as with Hyrule Warriors, or from word of mouth).

STAGE - buy one. Even if NX ends up fully backwards-compatible, it's not coming for at least a year, and in the meantime, you can play a heap of great games. I'd recommend starting with Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, Hyrule Warriors, and Splatoon. Add Pikmin 3 and Xenoblade Chronicles X when you're finished with those, and then anything else you're interested in prior to release of Star Fox Zero. You won't regret it.

I hope it isn't.  I hope it is cart based x86 system.  Screw backwards compatibility if it is holding them back.

As for the op...  You shouldn't have to make a thread for people to convince you to buy a system.  Do some research and if the games don't compel you to buy the system then don't. Perhaps you just wanted to see the 20+ great games on the system listed out for you.

I understand the caution.

Maybe just wait until the reveal of the system before you make your decision. But at the end of the day, if you really want it, there's no reason to not get it (unless funds are an issue, of course). The system's library will keep you busy for a while, and it's possible that if the NX does turn out to be backwards compatible and you waited, that you wouldn't be able to experience all the Wii U has to offer anyways since the NX is going to have a library of its own.

The $250 Smash+Splatoon deal is pretty great.

You should buy a WiiU! We don't know for sure if the NX is going to be BC and it's going to take a while for the NX to have a decent enough library of games anyway.

I don't think that you'll get a better deal than the $ 250 Smash + Splatoon bundle, so if you're interested now is the perfect time to buy one. This holidays lineup is terrible, but that will give you the chance to buy a couple of the already released gems (Mario Kart 8, The Wonderful 101, Pikmin 3, etc.) that will keep you entertained until Star Fox Zero arrives.

Buy one mate, it really is a great console with great exclusives. Also if you fancy revisiting some of Nintendo's classics you can take advantage od the backward compatabilty and Virtual console. My Wii U looks stunning next to my wonderful PS4.....gaming heaven :)