Nintendo is thirsty to have a sub brand...that's why they went with Wii U, so they can ride the Wii NAME, not what original Wii stood for or the old motion experience. The BC of OG Wii is what throws some ppl off about Wii U's message, but Nintendo's main objective is to have a "playstation" or "Xbox" of their own. Like Wii 1 was motion gaming, Wii U is faux tablet/asymmetric dual screen experience, then Wii 3 could have been totally different. Wii!!! Yay! Literally sounds like fun! That's what Nintendo aimed for, a mainstream, sub brand of family fun, with a different experience introduced each gen.
But to think Wii U failed b/c it didn't follow what Wii 1 did, or somehow fooled the audience with the name, is a flawed outlook. Wii U failed b/c nobody wanted the thing, no one asked Nintendo to chop off the specs for a gimmick, but if you have the gimmick, you better make sure it hits. The faux tab failed b/c Nintendo didn't set the proper example so other devs can follow suit. That's what happens when you try to be different for the sake of being different, and have no real plans behind an idea. Nintendo could have called Wii U anything else and still would have failed, if not harder.
As for the future of Nintendo & sub branding, the "NX" in its final form will do that, for at least the next decade.
