Anybody noticed Nintendo's basic hardware strategy is to stay one generation behind?

[Pillow]

Yes it's true, and there's a good reason ($ reasons) that they decided to do so.

First off, since the Wii/DS, they have been trying to distinguish themselves from their competitors, because they want to tap that blue ocean (aka markets with no/low competition). In that sense, it doesn't matter if the hardware is a gen behind since it doesn't compete directly with the competition offerings (MS/Sony), this way they can make a bigger profit margin on the hardware while also reducing the development costs of games (KZSF devs said that development costs for PS4 is 4x the cost for developing on PS3). Nintendo would be losing WAY more money right now if they went with X1/PS4 specs, and they weren't ready to make pc graphic quality games, Wii U is looking more like a testing ground for the HD development, experimenting with the costs and new art direction of games.

Nintendo is solely a gaming company, that's why they have to make more profit on the software AND the hardware, That is the reason they go with new control schemes/gimmicks whatever you call them: to give you a reason to buy the console/handheld. But at the end of the day, the quality and quantity of games remain the main selling point in this industry, whether you have good or sub-par specs.

Also, on a side note, the loses encountered by Nintendo was mostly because of the big increase in R&D than Wii U sold at a loss (it is most likely breaking even with software), as seen in their last report.