Even if the Wii U can run some version of 720/PS4 ports ... are hardcore gamers really going to care?
Would you buy the XBox 360 version of a game if it had 1/2 the resolution and had many effects and general visual fidelity scaled back quite a bit over the PS3 version?
Of course most people are going to pass IMO. Hardcore players want a large jump from the 360/PS3, they've already had those systems for 5+ years in most cases.
IMO the best thing Nintendo can do is sell the console for cheap now but have a option to upgrade the machine in the future (Crossfire port on bottom of unit, no problem for AMD). By the time 2014 rolls around, a 2 TFLOP GPU + even a few more CPU cores will be dirt cheap and a very small 22nm size.
You could probably have something that plugs in nice and tidy to the bottom of the Wii U and sell it for a reasonable price (like say $99 throw in a game bundled, same price Wii Fit was, if soccer moms can afford that, then hardcore gamers on Wii should man up and pay it).
Otherwise Nintendo would have to pay $450/system to have hardware comparable to Sony/MS and launch this year ... that's just not gonna happen. I do genuinely think Nintendo would like hardcore gamers. But they can't very well bankrupt themselves in a hardware race vs. Microsoft/Sony.
Yes, 32X failed, but it had no great games and it was 1994 where most gamers had to ask their mommy to buy them every new piece of hardware. Times have changed, Nintendo shouldn't shy away from looking at other hardware options that make sense fiscally. The RAM Expansion Pak on the N64 was relatively popular too.
