I think the only way to change the perception is rebranding. Wii U name has more inherited problems than prior nintendo hanhelds and consoles, and because on the several important facts:
1) there were gazillion hardware extras fow Wii, starting with the board, Wiimote +, and so on. There is certainly no surprise that the Wii U name causes confusion. Anybody with a half brain would told them that prior to release.
2) the console looks like a mild Wii redesign - combined with 1), the customers have the idea that the only thing new is the controller. Nintendo used almost the same design language with Wii U.
3) nintendo certainly didn't help things by putting only the controller into focus in their advertising
So, I think there are 3 ways to get out of this mess:
1) spend gazillion of dollars for advetising and screaming "THIS IS A NEW CONSOLEEEEEEEE"
2) release absolute must have games, and let it spread by the word of mouth
3) do the first hardware redesign early, make the console look different and rebrand the name slightly (something like Wii U-turn :D :P)
My Idea is to ditch the entry level SKU alltogether and make the deluxe one white. Redesign the console to look different. Add another SKU with integrated HDD. Make it black. Keep the white SKU glossy (for soccer mums and families), and make the black SKU matte.
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