Well the simple answer is this, the Wii U like the Wii has a ton of games that apeal to the female gamer. The Wii had 80% of the female market share last gen if I remember correctly. My wife and daughter love the Wii/Wii U even more than tablets and PC games they already have. There is a lot to like for male gamers as well, Ubisoft titles, Monster Hunter, and so on. It is cheap and keeps your significant other very happy and interested in gaming, plus it is a nice respectable system (with most of the bugs ironed out now). I tend to be the only one playing the mature/hardcore Steam Machine we have, but still enjoy the Wii U. Graphically it is no PS4 or PC... but then agian it is no slouch either, games like Splinter Cell Blacklist look and play great on it. And it is cheap, mighty cheap compared to the alternatives, I hooked up a USB HDD for peanuts and download all titles from the eshop, no fuss, no hard drive upgrades, just plug one in.
I don't use the gamepad for all games, but it is a very decent controller and the touch screen for maps, inventory switching, taking the game to the bathroom and so on are just great features.
