They could had made 2 versions:
both more powerfull than wii (something between wii and 360).
one of them without GC retrocompatibility, and without an HD resolution, and as cheap as wii was(250$).
other with GC retrocompatibility and a HD render(a separated hardware that render in HD, and apply antialiasing filters, like dolphin does), this version would be more expensive(350~400$ maybe).
The games would be the same.
It would be enought to ensure the good sells from wii due the price, and keep third parties interested.
So i think it would be better, wii U could wait to end of 2013 to come, and it would be very good for the intendo situation.

Depends on what you look at.

If it were a little more powerful, I think it would have remained relevant for a little while longer, that means it probably would've ended up with a tad higher lifetime sales ignoring other factors. However, it would have been more expensive, which means it's early years could have had lower sales than it did, which evens it out again or worse. If it were more expensive to make because of the better hardware and Nintendo would've been forced to sell it at a (slight) loss, they wouldn't have made as much money off it as they did. I don't see any difference in the way third-parties would've treated it, mainly because they didn't care for the N64 and the GameCube either. The big userbase has never swayed most of them in the handheld realm either. The only upside would've been that the myth of 'Nintendo equals low-end hardware' probably wouldn't exist.

So:
Userbase; maybe, could've gone both ways.
Longevity; would've been a bit better.
Profit; would definitely have been worse.
Support; no difference.

No, because Nintendo wouldnt harness the power. They would keep it simple and but keep the gameplay fresh and new which is how they've always done it.

nintendo have always seem to bounce back and wii and ds showed that you didn't need brute computer power to sell over 100 million units on both these systems...

Nintendo is coming off of the most successful console generation they've ever had, possibly the most successful console generation any company has ever had profit-wise, and yet here are a bunch of people saying, "Yeah, but if I'd been running the show, they'd have been even more successful. If only Nintendo had pandered specifically to my personal tastes, they would have been much better off."

A-R-R-O-G-A-N-C-E

I think if Nintendo continued to support the Wii and had come out w the Wii 2 in HD (instead of Wii U) w Wii mote and pro controller options a little more horse power and storage it would be doing much better today-

I like the Wii- it has some great games - a much more powerful HD version of the Wii (Wii 2) would have been easier for Nintendo and 3rd parties to develop for- Would have also had a much better chance of retaining more of the Wii owners

Yup. If you remember the Wii had decent 3rd party sales initially (with ok support relatice to PS3/360). If the graphics was strong then definitely games like CoD and GTA would've found their way to the Nintendo system. That said the price was also a key factor to the Wii's success. still think Motion controls + HD would've been a killer combo.

Hell no. I still abide to the idea that the 360 was way overpowered for a 2005 console.

I agree, 360 and PS3 were both overpowered and as a result game developement costs skyrocketed causing many developers to go under. Something halfway in between Wii and PS360 would have been more practical.

I'm not sure. I think they would be, but it's hard to say. Their internal studios would be better at HD development, for sure. 3rd parties would have been more willing to put their (non-casual) games on the Wii, which would have helped keep some hardcore gamers on Nintendo's side. But more power would have led to a higher price, which probably would have led to fewer sales among casual gamers. Would the effect of the extra 3rd-party games have made up for the difference? Maybe, though it should be noted that the Gamecube had plenty of power and 3rd-party games, and it still wound up in 3rd place.