PS3 honestly really only had one huge problem -- the price.
And the price coming down was really just a matter of time.
The other fundamentals of the console such as developer support (which leads to a large, robust library of games in every genre) and relatively well future proofed hardware were both there.
Sony's marketing wasn't as good as Microsoft's but it was never as poor as Nintendo's either. It was generally decent most of the time. So there wasn't a huge flaw there either.
Wii U has far more issues like the tablet/smartphone business taking away casual shoppers, the Wii U tablet not being a successful audience hook like the Wiimote was, bad third party support, bad marketing, unappealling hardware to hardcore players (too much like PS3/360 they already own), casuals becoming less interested in old Wii ____ franchises, etc. etc. etc.
