I don`t think Vita and Wii U are doing bad for the same reasons.
My brother has a Vita so i got to play with it for a while and despite the great graphics... i don`t see anything else there.
Visually, it seems pretty much a different PSP (3DS suffers from the same thing to me); the menu is not on a par with a nex-gen handheld and it lacks that game, that must-have game. I thought Uncharted could be that game but after playing some hours it doesn`t come near the PS3 games.
Price could really be the biggest thing holding it back. People might be willing to pay a lot for some devices, but handhelds doesn`t seem to be one of them. Even Xbox 360 and PS3 suffered from high prices.
3DS on the other hand did start with something new: 3D and streetpass. And while 3D might not be a big deal now, at least there`s an option there and streetpass is very attractive, too.
Not to mention that 3DS is getting must have titles.
Wii U has Miiverse and Nintendo TVii as something new and unique. Too bad Nintendo isn`t pushing it and only cares to show, so far, the gamepad.
Wii U is also lacking a line-up of unique titles besides Mario, Nintendo Land and Scribblenauts. Even Wii had more Wii only titles when it launched.
Of course, as people mentioned: the economy!
Things aren`t as good as they were. Especially in Europe.
If PS4 and Xbox 720 release at the same price or higher than Wii U they will face the same situation Wii U is facing.
