I've only read the first 25 or so posts. I disagree with few things.
-I don't think the Wii U was a GameCube 2. The Gamecube was a "normal" console with powerful hardware and decent third party support. The Wii U was a bit of a mess. I just don't know any other way to say it.
-Some people say they should have just stuck to the Wii route. I also disagree. While awesome at the time and still improved upon to this day, the motion control trend was on the decline. Nintendo couldn't have known this while developing the Wii U. Hell, Microsoft banked everything on Kinect as well. People just preferred what already worked.
-As for re-purchasing VC games, you actually kinda did. You just got a super discount. I think games were like $1.50 if you already had them on the Wii. Wii Ware was free, though.
Hindsight is 20/20 they say but I just don't know what Nintendo could have done. I just know that (while I personally really enjoyed the Wii U) releasing a console that was less capable than 8 year old machines already on the market was a bad idea. Releasing at a higher price point was a bad idea. Naming it after a brand that was already fading or left a bad taste in people's mouths was a bad idea. Letting 3rd parties carry your launch lineup was a mistake.
