I've wondered that myself. Perhaps it was simply that the Wii essentially marketed itself, although that would be taking too much credit away from 2006 Nintendo, I think. I recall reading somewhere that they're deliberately doing less marketing for the Wii U than they did the Wii because they expect the system to sell itself for the first few months, and that their marketing energy was "wasted" on the early Wii because that system was unavailable for so long. But not only might I be making that up, it also sounds really, really stupid.

I also wonder if, by any chance, 2D Mario is starting to show signs of fatigue.Remember around 3 years ago, when NSMB Wii was released and the Wii moved astonishing 4 million units according to NPD?...of course, the Wii U is $50/$100 more expensive, but once it hits $250/$300 for the premium, I´ll be curious to see the 'power' of NSMBU.

I think so. There is hardly any compelling software for the WiiU released or announced. I don't think Nintendo communicated with third party publishers very well, as it seems very few publishers have any real games ready. Nintendo releases another New Super Mario Bros and the shaky Nintendoland, but doesn't have any hard hitters ready for the next year it seems. Even TVii isn't ready.

To me, the WiiU feels incredibly rushed without any real thought behind it. How many PS3/360 games releasing in 2013 are coming to WiiU as well? Very few.

The people sitting in the theatres are gaming press.  Yes, there are all stripes of game industry people there, but E3 is judged by the gaming press, hence why Ubisoft was judged one of the best shows last year.  Their conference was full of AAA hardcore games.

If it's true that companies like Nintendo only put on their E3 show for casual coverage from news media, then it's puzzling why they advertise their conference so heavily to their dedicated fans, and it's equally puzzling why Ubisoft would be widely regarded as putting on the best show as opposed to focusing on mainstream, casual-friendly titles.

No lol.  I don't even think there is a basis for saying they have a weak lineup in the first half of the year.  By any measure, Wii U's spring lineup is at the very least noticeably stronger than their launch lineup.  Less year-old ports, and more original, from the ground-up first and third-party content.   

Third parties have that luxury. All they have are games, so all they need to do is hype stuff to their audiences (which are usually gamers). First parties need trade shows to be more communicative to potential partners.

I read Reggie's quote as they'll reveal 3D Mario, Zelda, Retro and Miyamoto projects this E3...

And don't forget Bayonetta 2 and Diddy Kong Racing Wii U!

Don't expect much from nintendo at E3. Sony and Microsoft are going to steamroll E3 with their PS4/720.

Typical PR from nintendo. I mean what else are they supposed to say? "We had a quiet launch, sales are alright...not exactly what we expected."

Very generic statement though. Nothing of news. Good luck.

The biggest third party franchises were released for Wii U at launch. Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed. Nintendo is always going to outshine third parties because not one of them have games that are as exciting as Nintendo's, on any console. Especially now that Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto have declined.