Well, Wii-U will get its own Mario Kart within the first 18 months if that's any consolation.
I wouldn't expect a Smash Bros. til 2015.

Part of it comes down to lack of capacity. We note that not only did Nintendo stop making the "right" kind of games, but that their output decreased on the whole. Some of it had to do with strategy, but much with capacity

Basically the Wii is suffering from the same game drought issue as the GameCube had, except the problem is greatly exacerbated by very poor third-party support in 2011 and 2012. 2010 was pretty great though across the board, discounting a certain awful game in my favorite franchise (which may or may not be Metroid).

Xenoblade Chronicles is mostly gameplay once you get out of the opening area.

The wonders of 3D can blind anyone, it can even make you turn your back on your golden son.

That's where I stopped reading. Nintendo is on the side as seen in this image.

1) Also greatly exacerbated by the fact there are roughly 5 households with nothing to play on their console to every 1 lone Nintendo fan back in 2005-6.

2) Enough with the Yarn jokes already! 

@OP

This has got to be the closest thing I've seen to an anti-Troll thread. I came in desparately wanting to believe the statement in the title, and after reading all the arguments and seeing the data came away less convinced than I was before!

How dare you reduce my contempt for Nintendo?!

(just to be clear so Rol doesn't butcher me, I'm not saying Nintendo had good lineups in 2009-2011, but that their lineups weren't that spectacular in 2006-2008 either. Also the logo thing was obvious from the start...)

It's quite simple really.  Except for the Wii (and I mean ONLY the Wii) no system has ever had the mass market consumer dive in en masse right off the bat.  Not the NES, not the SNES, not the PS1... not even the DS.  And the reason for the PS2's remarkable instant success was due to Sony having pretty much every core gamer in the bag at its launch, in addition to DVD playback.  Nintendo knows that much of what makes the WiiU stand appart (1080 graphics and more powerful tech) is not going to persuade many mass market consumers immediately, as these aren't the things that attracted them to the Wii.  Nintendo also knows that these same consumers will not be buying a NeXtBox or a PS4 at launch, either.

Therefore, Nintendo is (wisely, IMO), targeting the core gamers early on; the ones who early adopt, typically spend more on games, and who actually are apt to consider a NeXtBox or PS4 at launch.  As the system comes down in price and gains a robust library of titles, this is when WiiU can prioritize on courting the mass market, much like the DS did, which wasn't a mass market monster until over a year after its launch... and we all know how that worked out for that system.

That said, Iwata stated in a recent interview the importance of evergreen titles that will lead to Nintendo's growth early on as well, despite the whole "depth over width" philosophy.  So as long as Nintendo doesn't ignore the mass market entirely in the beginning, I see great possibility for the future of WiiU with this strategy.

*I'm actually in the process of making a thread on this very subject, so you just got the chance to debate it early.  :)

Absolutely. Nintendo did what they had to do (Wii) in order to do what they wanted to do (Wii U). The problem is with them doing what they want it doesn't neccessarily mesh with what the market wants. Third parties didn't create the Wii so third parties couldn't break it either. It is tragic that even now, we are seeing revised history about the Wii, not just from crazy gaming media outlets, but from Nintendo themselves, that Wii was a mistake or even a failure. It's mindboggling to say the least.

The Wii had a large decline surely, but its all about perspective.

Look at its sales now in direct comparison to the old Gamecube and things don't look so bad. The Wii's only problem was the decline was too sudden; the Wii's peak was the highest in history. It is abnormal to see a market leader fall to last place.

Wow... I miss the Wii's HayDay. :-/