I would agree with NinPie on this, actually.  The main purpose of both handheld and home consoles is gaming, and, thus, comparing sales trends between them is not necessarily apples-to-oranges.  The 3DS's  very weak start and partial recovery can be examined to see if the Wii U is capable of doing so as well (software, advertising, pricing, etc.).

I think it will. Price cut and games will assure it that. Nintendo expects to ship 1 million units in Jan-March to increase total sales to 4 million. They will most likely miss that number by a good amount considering Nintendo only sold 120k in NA for 2/3rds of the quarter and will most likely sell similarly in March. And selling 175k in Japan and be lucky to pass 200k by the end of March... With things looking worse than NA in Europe. and to top it all off Nintendo wasn't supply constrained for fourth quarter and probably had a lot of stock left over from demand not meeting expectations. So.. how many units could they possibly ship for the entire year if after 6 months they can't even reach 4 million with no holiday sales to help? They will be lucky to reach 6 million (shipped) by it's first year anniversary which means ~5million sold.

So you don't think with a lower price and better sw Nintendo can improve sales in the next few years? I think they will. However, as I made a thread about it, I don't think sales will increase by how much Nintendo fans are wanting or expecting it to. Next years sales might get close to 8million or something and 4th or 5th year sales might get close to 12mil.

It just doesn't make sense. History has shown us that Nintendo consoles peak early in their life cycle. Gamecube had price + games and that didn't help it against the PS2. Now, I'm not saying Wii U is another Gamecube but if we rate Wii U on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 equals performance similar to Gamecube and 10 is closer to Wii......I would rate the Wii U a 5. It won't fail like Gamecube, but it won't succeed like Wii either.

The main purpose of a micra and an aston martin is to get from point A - B. 

Both farmville and Black Ops are games. 

Now who compares the above? The point of a handheld it to provide PORTABLE GAMING, not just gaming. 

I completely agree with your conclusion, that the WiiU will sell somewhere between GC and Wii (well, thats a lot of free space between the two). But to the first (early peak): I think SNES had good sales over a long time.

The experience provided by handheld and home consoles are similar enough as to warrent comparisons; that is the point. And, by gaming, I'm being a little more specific than saying they both entertain.  The sales of both are driven by very similar means.  For instance, if some mega-selling software came out on the 3DS, it could bolster the handheld's sales in general.  So could it be for the Wii U.  Moreover, that which caused the 3DS's sales uplift (pricing, modeling, software, or whatever else happened) might be done to the Wii U.  That's pretty much what happened with the PS3, anyways.

In what way?!?! The consoles have local multiplay, better graphics, can play media like DVD, bluray etc and of course, can be put onto a 42"+ TV.

A handheld does none of that.

 If a new fiesta comes out with new features, it will sell, just as if a new BMW 5 series comes out with new features. You are comparing a micra to an Aston Martin, and farmville to CoD. Stop it; it's absurd.

The primary way in which they compare is the type of electronic gaming they provide: that is far more relevant than anything you listed. And, in the Wii's case, it was the Wiimote and the rather revolutionary games Nintendo made as opposed to what you listed.  I'd argue, indeed, that it is primarily software that drives sales (especially in Nintendo's case), which, is what both handhelds and consoles have, of course. So, to argue that which bolstered a handheld's sales (software, price point, etc) could not possibly do so for a home console is unwarrented, I would say.

That wasn't the original point though...I do agree that price point and content are essential, but then again that's a basic rule for any and all products. However I don't agree in people directly comparing sales figures of handhelds to consoles as the markets (read intended audience) are so vastly different it really is like comparing BMW to Kia, which is what other users were doing.