Impossible to say for sure until we see the first 6 months of PS4 sales.
My best analysis is that under the circumstances, it was the best option available to Sony, but that allowing Nintendo to have a head start of TWO uncontested Holiday seasons was a dangerous move. At the moment, due to the Wii U's disastrous first 12 months on sale, it looks to me like this second uncontested Holiday for it has only evened the odds, allowing the console enough breathing room to recover. Whether or not it can become strong enough by February to hold its own against the PS4 in the long run remains to be seen.
I think that if the PS4 had launched last month in Japan with FFXIV and a couple of other regionally popular games, it could have made December a steeply uphill battle for the Wii U, not unlike what we're seeing now in America. But Sony couldn't do that, and I think they made the right call for themselves. It just happens that Sony's best option was also to the benefit of Nintendo.
