It's a virtualized hardware sandbox system for security.

Which as I said before, Sony figured out with the PS3.  I honestly don't believe Nintendo's engineers are that incompetent.

I would also have preferred a better integrated BC. They can leave the Wii U app for config and organizing your Wii content (or if you are feeling nostalgic), but you should be able to boot your BC content directly from the WiiU OS (just like the 3DS and Wii). For example, when you put a Wii game and you click the disc icon, it should boot directly to the game instead of going to the Wii menu. I don't think it's that hard, they could even use the Wii save icon to represent the game there, and please remove that IR confirmation screen. If you can integrate Wii retail games, you could do the same with WW and be bootable from the UOS via shortcuts, since they won't give those titles the VC Gamepad support. And VC is out of the question, they want you to buy them.

Sony initially did B/C totally in hardware by having the actual PS2 hardware in the system.  Only after several years and multiple hardware revisions (incuding several that had no B/C at all) did they go to a totally software B/C but that's limited in that it's not 100% campatible with everything PS2.   Same with the X360.

Now, none of the PS3 systems are B/C with PS2 and in fact haven't been since 2008.

Viper do you have any idea about what I'm talking about?  I know full well that the PS3 had the PS2 inside of it, I said it a few posts up.  Sony had full PS2 games working with PS2 hardware running through the PS3s OS.  The Wii is just an upclocked Gamecube, the assembly should be the same with additions.  Gamecube games should run right off the bat without any need to recompile anything unless OS functions are missing from the Gamecube.  If the Wii has to restart into Gamecube mode for those functions something is terribly wrong with Nintendo's engineers.  With what we know about the Wii U's CPU, it should be based off of the GC's processor which makes sense since Wii games run on the Wii U (foward compatibility).  Wii U has to restart into Wii mode to run Wii games just as it had to restart to run in GC mode.  Sony managed to pull off running a PS2 cross hardwared with Cell and the RSX without having to restart your machine.  Like my analogy the Wii/Wii U having to restart for BC is the same as saying I have to restart my PC to run Quake.  You mention security reasons, which come back to "Sony did it", without any issues.  Are Nintendo engineers that incompetent?

I hate how games look on the 3DS, but it does work... just not well in my opinion.

Edit: Nooooo! Double Post. -.-