Nintendo would fail as 3rd party, and here's why!

[cusman]

OP, you are a foolish thinker

If the only reason people buy a Nintendo console is to buy Nintendo games (generally ignoring the 3rd party games on that Nintendo platform), then surely they would buy those games on a non-Nintendo console.

I think the reason the Wii U is unsuccessful is because the gamer crowd that buy consoles would only by that Nintendo console as a 2nd or 3rd console as they think about migrating to 8th gen. The few gamers in the market that would get Wii U as the 1st/primary 8th gen console already bought the system and there are not that many of those types of gamers out there. The reason they consider the Nintendo console is relegated to 2nd or 3rd console choice, is simply due to confidence that gamer population has that the Nintendo console will be missing many of the best AAA 3rd party software offerings and the few stellar "Nintendo" titles are not enough to counter their system missing all those other great games.

The people that adopted the Wii in droves either migrated to X360 / PS3 after the novelty of "motion" controls on Wii wore off and they found better options available on X360 / PS3 with HD graphics and better online services, or they moved to iOS / Android tablets (and show no signs of returning to consoles).

Some of the highest selling games of last gen were Nintendo games on Wii like Mario Kart Wii, Smash Bros Brawl, and New Super Mario Bros Wii. I am talking 20+ million sold for each of those. Thats more than GTA V or Halo or really anything else on any of the other 7th gen consoles. This only occurred because the Wii hardware already had massive penetration into many gaming households on the strength of that initial offering of Wii Sports. This means even as people switched from Wii to PS3 / X360 as their primary, they kept the Wii as a second console and whenever these quality titles came out, they took notice and revisited the Wii even with the sub-standard SD graphics because these games were just that much worthwhile on other traits.

The Wii U unfortunately released a Year too late or a Year too early to have any kind of decent adoption in a limited market of potential gamers (mass of casuals having already largely migrated to tablets). With the PS4/XBO just a year away, majority of gamers knew they are better off waiting when Wii U released. With the PS4/XBO just released, majority of gamers don't have enough money/need to pick up more than 1 new 8th gen console and they are clearly deciding for PS4/XBO over Wii U.

People that fell for a "gimmick" attraction like motion controls after 15+ years of traditional controls will not be so easily fooled again with a "gimmick" offering in the controls. The 7th gen proved that most consistent gamers are looking for innovation/evolution in the actual games content and the experience and with improved social/online connected features within the game. They don't care as much for "gimmick" controls.

This doesn't mean that they have no desire to play excellent family friendly games like Mario 2D / 3D, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, or even Zelda / Metroid (much less demand). You will note all of these (best of Nintendo IP games) still control best with traditional controls. It just means they are not willing to give up on all the other games (AC, EA Sports, Battlefield, Dragon Age, Tomb Raider, Hitman, GTA, Dark Souls, MGS, Uncharted, Halo, The Crew, Division, Destiny, Final Fantasy, and countless others) just to prioritize access to the "Nintendo" games.

Give it another year or so, and the people that have newly adopted PS4 / XBO as their 8th gen console of choice will likely open up more to possibility of a 2nd console. At that time, the Nintendo exclusives library will be what competes against either the PS4 or XBO exclusives and based on the quality of the Wii U exclusives so far already, I think the Wii U will present a strong argument (especially with 2014 offering Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, Monolith X, Donkey Kong Country - Tropical Freeze, and more).