had it been released (to similar fan fare) during holiday 2014 or 2105?   Also assume there was no impedning NX announcement/release being openly discussed by Nintendo

I don t think it would have turned the Wii U s fortunes around completely but it would have sold another million or more lifetime (directly)  and def generated more attention/sales to the console and its other games indirectly-   Release this game in holiday 2104 then announce a big 3D Metroid coming for holiday 2015 and Nintendo could have created enough momentum to make the wi u respectable,  increased its market/mind share and def made current wii u owners alot happier and earned alot more trust in the market place going into the eventual release of its next console

Splatoon, Zelda BOW and Xenoblade are the only ambtious games Nintendo created during the wii u s lifetime IMO - not to discredit Smash as i kow alot went into it but it wasn t as ambitious as the titles i mentioned due to it being less risk in the marketplace -  There is still rsik on this Zelda game IMO as we have not seen how all of the new conventons will meld together and "play out" yet but so far it s looking pretty good

Not that many imo. I know there's at least a few people who don't buy a Nintendo console unless the new Zelda is out. Wii U's issue, as amazing as Breath of the Wild looks, would have taken much more to fix than one game.

would be a momentary boost but not enough, maybe 1 million. just on wii u people would be like, "man the game is a masterpiece but the wii u is dead so it's not worth it". NX version is smart cause now people will have a new console with an awesome launch title, and probably more titles too.

Zelda games do not traditionally push a lot of hardware

But it amplifies excitement to the point where people want the system and the other games. When the quality of Zelda is known, the quality and appeal of other Nintendo games goes up insanely. And Zelda,ore than anything, gets the media and hardcore excited and talking, which gives the console's insane consumer awareness.

traditionally, which games are the biggest hardware moves for Nintendo home consoles?  

Mario, Mario and Mario

cool, still doesnt make what i said wrong though

Mario platformer, Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Splatoon (since last year), and price cuts. As far as I know.

Wii U would have received a short term sales boost but that's it.

The other thing too is I bet that if Zelda U was released in 2014 or '15 that it would've been alot different from the version shown this past week, and would be more in line with TP / SS than the new massive open world style of game we are getting which a couple extra years of development and the full maximization of the hardware has allowed for (not to mention the impending upgraded NX version).