'slightly more powerful Wii U'. more like wayyyy more powerful than the Wii U AND a portable, which makes it vastly the most powerful dedicated handheld video game device in gaming history.
It has literally nothing in common with the Wii U really. The Wii was a stationary home console device that had a large strange tablet that did not really serve any purpose.
if the Wii U's tablet had itself been a portable gaming device with 5 hours of battery life then the system would have faired pretty damn well most likely in comparison to how it did do.
the Switch is extremely attractive to economical gamers who enjoy both gaming on the TV AND gaming on the go. If the system is of high build quality and functions as it should I see practically zero reasons it wouldn't be a success, considering at minimum its a new handheld for Nintendo (which we well know gurantees a pretty big install base) and at maximum is an entirely new territory since it potentially combines two markets (handhelds and home consoles).
the Wii U had pretty mediocre hype going into it too. obviously on a site like this it was talked about a lot, but outside of dedicated gaming sites a lot of consumers were confused or unaware of it. just the fact it had the name 'Wii' in the title and didn't involve much of any motion sensor gaming was bizarre
The Switch from a reception standpoint, a marketing standpoint, and a clear cut functionality standpoint all in all is far ahead of where the Wii U stood at the same point.
I'm one of those people who's been a pretty big Nintendo gamer for a decade or two but who last generation stuck with the 3DS but SKIPPED out on the Wii U, however I'm interested again with the Switch because it has great functionality (at least in design so far).
simply stating "omg it'll be a Wii U like disaster because it doesn't have the best specs" is absurd, all signs point to Nintendo bringing in back some of the alienated fans from last generation who were confused by the giant tablet and lack of value in the Wii U as well as bringing back the casuals who want something intuitive, new, and economical
I've said this a few times already on this site but just the reality that BOTH something like Pokemon AND mainline Mario will be on the same system is an automatic killer success. anyone thinking otherwise is delusional, a combined handheld+home library will make the Switch a juggernaut (naturally so since it will be Nintendo's combined efforts that had been previously divided)
