By the end of 2014. WiiU will sell at least a couple million more by holidays end this year. Even if PS4 sells 2 million by years end it'll still be a several million system gap by year's end. PS4 just can't supply enough this holiday to keep up I think (though I hope I'm wrong and they get it out early and in abundance). PS4 will outsell it on a week to week basis starting in January though I think and close the gap while getting some awesome exclusives (20 in the first year) to match Nintendo's big hitters in hardware pickup. Don't get me wrong I'm sure Mario World and Mario Kart will sell more than any Sony exclusive but the bevy of exclusives and online offerings along with 3rd party support will get a lot better word of mouth out for PS than Nintendo. That being said I think I'll pick up a WiiU BF 2014 if I can find a nice bundle with Smash (if it's out) or Mario Kart or Mario World or Tropical Freeze. I plan on enjoying Sony and Nintendo as I always have.

not until the next nintendo home console launches (2017 maybe)

Sony and Microsoft's long plans include overlap between generations. They are more likely to release new consoles 7-8 years from now than 10-12, but continue selling the old ones. Nintendo doesn't have the same kind of overlap, so don't have as much flexibility on when they release a new console. Otherwise you end up with what they had this time, which was a bunch of Wii owners moving on to the PS360. Waiting too long damages sales of the successor.

It's not that easy to just stick out low sales. Producing in small numbers increases the cost of the hardware, so they won't be able to drop the price as quickly.

And the last big risk they took with handhelds paid off with the DS. They have already merged console and handheld divisions, so there is a good chance of another "third pillar" strategy here.

This year it will surpass Wii U's first 10 months.