In retrospect, would it have been better off if Nintendo continued to support Wii?

[Aielyn]

It's not that they should have kept supporting the Wii. It's that they should have waited a bit longer before upgrading to the Wii U. They rushed it out.

If it had launched at the end of 2013, it would have had internals that were stronger (because prices drop with time), they could have had a lot more by way of content on it, given it another year of development, etc.

Meanwhile, some of the titles they released for Wii U, they probably could have released for Wii. New Super Mario Bros U could have been a Wii title, instead, as could Lego City Undercover, Sing Party, NES Remix, and Pokemon Rumble U.

Then, think about what their launch lineup would include. Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, The Wonderful 101, Game & Wario, and an expanded version of Nintendo Land (with another year, I'm sure there would have been more content in it). They could also have Wii Sports Club, Wii Fit U, and Wii Party U ready for the launch period. And they'd probably release a HD version of New Super Mario Bros U with New Super Luigi U.

Keep in mind, some of these would be 2014 releases, as you wouldn't dump 6 major releases all within that one sliver of time. Which also means that 2014 would be a bit different. DKC TF would no longer launch in early 2014, since NSMBU+NSLU and the newly-released Rayman Legends would be enough platforming for that period - it would probably be pushed out to release in Holiday 2014. Captain Toad would probably be shifted into 2015 properly, which would help to bulk up the 2015 release lineup.

Meanwhile, with Zelda, 3D Mario, Pikmin, and Wii Sports all present at launch, the system would probably have a better start to the generation. Without the whole kerfuffle over Rayman Legends, and other titles getting boosts from releasing simultaneously on Wii U and other systems (as they're delayed to release on XBO and PS4 anyway), Wii U would probably also see better third party support.

With another year, they probably would have gotten the controller costs down further, to allow a better battery. And Nintendo would have another year to build up their HD skills.

I struggle to think of any *real* downside to the idea of releasing the Wii U in Holiday 2013. At worst, Nintendo posts a loss in 2013 prior to its release... but then, that's what happened with the Wii U, anyway.

And this would also lead to NX being delayed another year, at least. Which would work well, since it would mean Zelda BotW would be a Wii U exclusive, and probably release a bit earlier. Plus, other titles that are known or suspected to have been shifted to NX would be on Wii U in 2016 or 2017.

Nintendo would also be further into development of Amiibo, and would have designed all of their games to use Amiibo well from the start.