Well, it can't get any worse, can it?
I think they will turn it around, yes. They have to!
The console wasn't one year old and even stores were dropping support for the HW and games. If i'm not mistaken, from my experience, it was even worse than GC, in that regard... and that's saying a lot!
They have to make something BIG not just to convence gamers, but retailers aswell.
They just can't risk going through another Wii U.
The gamepad won't go away.
If they want to make next gen console and handheld, like brother and sister, so that there is no more game drought, the next console will have a screen.
It might be more stylish, though.
3rd parties couldn't care less if the controller has a screen or not.
More important than coming up with a cheap console, 3rd party support, they need to show consumers that they can get a Nintendo console, not just for Mario and company + ports of games they can have on their consoles - along with a bunch of exclusives that they like; they need to show that the next console, along with the Nintendo classic games, ports, they will also have a really good number of exclusives that MS and Sony fans do care about.
Offering ports and improving it's release scheadule might improve sales but not in a relavant way.
Something BIG has to be offered right from the start to make people leave their accounts, all the exclusives they would like to play on XB or PS, leave the vast online community on those consoles, etc.
Otherwise what you'll get is that ports are announced for the console, people will cheer and when the games arrive, people will ignore them and buy that version on the other console, because there's more to be had there.
Build a market for your console and gamers, along with 3rd parties will come.
