No, I think that a PS3-level HD console was a necessary step for Nintendo to play catch up with the rest of the industry. Remember Miyamoto's comments back in 2013 about how hard Nintendo was finding it to develop games in 720p? Just imagine how bad it would be if he was instead making those same comments in 2017 when Sony and MS were already moving into 4k. Nintendo doesn't need to be at the front end of technology, but it's really not a good idea for them to fall more than 1 generation behind. Nobody wants to be buying a new console from a store, bringing it home and playing with fuzzy 480i on their nice 50" flat screen. The Wii had to go and it was even really showing its age way back in 2010 once people were starting to buy HD TV's on mass.
That said, looking back, I think a Wii HD might have been a much better idea than the Wii U. The gamepad was a total loss and I agree that Nintendo would have been better off if the gamepad never saw the light of day.
