Were they innovating?
Doesn't look like it to me. They definitly made the choice to bet on gimmicks, but i wouldn't call them innovations.
Motion controls died. The wii u gamepad never had its potencial tapped (perfect for mmo's). The gamecube had a handle? The N64 controller was a misfire. The only thing that stuck around was rumble.
So yeah, they should have gone for a powerful console.