I am on the verge of buying a Wii U but...

[Soundwave]

Nem said:

JWeinCom said:

Like the DS was a third pillar?  The Wii U was a flop and they are replacing it.  The NX will be replace the Wii U(http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-17-next-proper-metroid-prime-would-likely-now-be-on-nx) and it will be out in 2016.

As for the OP, I don't think the NX will be backwards compatible.  But, we'll probably have more news by march of next year, so depending on how tight your budget is, it may be worth waiting to be sure.

All speculation. It's not what they said.

It can have shifted towards it, but we don't know. For me it doesnt make sense for them to make a new home console.

Actually this is technically untrue. They have never called the NX a "third pillar". They used that term for the Nintendo DS. 

"As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename 'NX,'" he said. "It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year."

It's a dedicated game platform that will be part of their "game system business".