It's funny if you hade asked me two years ago if Nintendo could have gone toe to toe with Sony and Microsoft with a more powerfull console i would have called you crazy. Looking back now at PS4 and XBone sales and the almost complete reliance on multi-platform i would say Nintendo should have done just that.
Nintendo has it's competition absolutely beat so far when it comes to exclusives. But for every exclusive it releases the Wii-U misses out on 2 or 3 big multi plats. Just take a look at PS4's best seller list: 9 multiplats and 1 remaster from last gen. How many of those multiplats did Wii-U get? Only one wich is Watch Dogs and it got it half a year later than the rest.
Not to mention all the other advantages Wii-U has: Free online, second screen for gaming, backwards compatibility.