Nintendo will have to make a bit of a move on market share at some point. If not, public perception of the console as a complete failure could kill any chance of the U living up to its, now limited, sales potential (20m). Microsoft may have even baited them into a price drop this year, had the projections for Smash and amiibo looked grim.
As it is, Ninty isn't going to pass up their best chance at bringing home some serious bacon in a long while. This winter should give them enough financial padding that they can justify a price drop to get more consoles into homes before Zelda hits the market next year. They've let Microsoft take the lead (for the long haul now, I would expect) in exchange for making money -- a novel idea in the console market these days, it seems.
As long as Nintendo finds a way to make money, they will still be making new games. As a fan, that's what really matters. With as high an attach rate as their first-party titles have, even as little as 12-14m consoles in homes by the time Zelda (and Star Fox) come to town could mean massive software sales. This is, of course, assuming that Splatoon, Mario Maker, Kirby, Yoshi, Devil's Third, and Xenoblade Chronicles X all fail to make an impact whatsoever.
Retro Tech Select - My Youtube channel. Covers throwback consumer electronics with a focus on "vid'ya games."
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