| Insidb said: I agree, but the WiiU lifecycle was the shortest I can ever recall. |
Sales didn't picked up. The gamepad is apparently too expensive, so they couldn't cut the price to be competitive with PS4 and X1. It's similar to Sega Saturn. Sega opted to use 2 CPUs and several dedicated processors. The console was expensive. When Nintendo launched the N64 and started a price war with Sony, Sega couldn't keep up. They even packed 3 games with the European Saturn simply because they couldn't cut the price because the unit cost wouldn't drop. Both were cases of consoles that weren't competitive and couldn't get a price cut. So, no point in trying anything else.
Of course, you risk pissing off consumers (like when Sega dropped the Sega CD and 32X to launch Saturn). But Wii U sold pretty low numbers, it's safe to say that most consumers are Nintento hardcore fans. They will buy the new console because they want to play Nintendo games. It's necessary to do way more than that to piss off loyal buyers. Casuals and gamers that aren't that big enthuasiasts can leave, but they were a clear minority on the Wii U.
You now, Wii U offered two screen gameplay. Very few games used it for anything useful. It offered the possibility to free up the TV so other people can play and also allow you to play on different rooms. The first case is pretty rare, most people outside Japan have a dedicated TV to play. The second case is, well, pretty niche. Why would you play on a tiny screen in a different room? Better to just walk to yout TV room and enjoy a 50' TV. The only real use I would see is playing in the bathroom, but that's pretty much not usual.
I have a Vita and used remote play only a few times. Mostly to see how it worked and such. I used it out of my house too and it was more useful, but the Wii U didn't had this functionality. The Switch has, with the bonus of not needing Internet since the console is with you. Vita is the same case as Wii U, but Sony didn't launched a successor because they will most likely (and I mean 98% of chance) quit handhelds. They will just keeep manufacturing Vitas while it's possible to get a small profit, since it's sold at profit an still sells 10-20K weekly.
