WiiU hardware sales seem to have gotten a pretty good boost with the price cut + WW HD bundle.

[Stefan.De.Machtige]

Soundwave said:

Miiverse doodles are fun, but it's not worth risking your console business over such a feature. People who want to play Wii Sports want to play the game, not to make doodles in between games. It's not like you can't communicate or send a "I'd like to play!" message without needing a touch screen.

If sales are not up to expectations through this holiday it's fair to say Nintendo gave the tablet idea a fair shot -- it's just not a feature people are willing to buy a console for.

There are ways to update Miiverse so people with Wiimote's can interface with it easier as well via a firmware update.

Like the 2DS it would be time to change gears. You can still have an SKU with the tablet, nothing wrong with that.

Wii U (32GB + Wii Sports Club + Wiimote) - $199.99
Wii U (32GB + NSMBU/NSMLU + tablet) - $279.99
Nintendo Land Plus (add a few new minigames) + Wii U tablet - $99.99 (standalone)

Alongside Mario Kart 8 next April would be smart IMO. Some people just want Mario Kart, they don't care about Miiverse, at $199.99 they might bite on impulse.

Miiverse isn't just a feature, like 3D is. It's their entire new online structure for console and handhelds.

Typing or sending message without a touch keyboard is just to clumbersome for the mainstream. These are people who have been using touch controls for a couple years now. If the gamepad becomes optional, they are basicly dropping their new online structure and interface. And that's one of the biggest potentials the Wii U has. It could really set it apart from the other consoles.

It's not impossible that Nintendo brings out a WiiU without a gamepad - low weekly sales of 30k next year might actually push this :(.

That's certainly not a bad idea in itself. It is however a very divergent idea which would greatly affect their online plans and WiiU vision.