Reggie explains why the WiiU underperformed.

[Goodnightmoon]

Jumpin said:

It's all about software droughts and catalogue,

NES, DS, GBA, and Wii, had very solid releases through their lifespans and did very well.
SNES had minimal software droughts and weirdness with not releasing games in certain markets.
3DS had more droughts, but overall not very bad.
N64, GameCube, and Wii U all had massive software droughts and sold terribly. GameCube and Wii U also didn't have any standout signature games.

 

So overall it is easy to see why Wii and NES excelled, where SNES and 3DS underachieved, and N64, GameCube, and Wii U fell. N64 probably would have done worst if it weren't for big impressive releases like Mario, GE007, and Ocarina of Time. The GameCube and Wii U have nothing on the scale of those games in terms of their own releases.

Dude, Metroid Prime 1 & 2, Wind Waker, Smash Bros Melee, Twilight Princess, Mario Sunshine, what are you talking about?