The lack of these big-name 3rd party titles is what killed the Wii.(Of course Nintendo had some part in this as well)
Even though Wii U is getting some big games such as AC and Watch Dogs, its still missing some major franchises. The ones it did get didn't sell very well at launch so I think the future of 3rd party support for Wii U won't be much different than that of the Wii.