I admit i thought it would've done alot better. I totally didnt predict that Nintendo would be completely blocked in terms of engines. I thought they would get all the multiplats, but some parts of the industry in the US didnt want them to.
Lets be fair, if nintendo had all the multiplats they would be serious contenders. I imagine some echelons of the market dont want them to become that influencial and are happy dealing with the easier to manipulate/influence Microsoft and Sony.

I really thought it might do better, until I realized that Nintendo had not made an effort to make consumers aware of what the Wii U really was and what it's capabilities would be. They dropped the ball in 2011 when they unveiled... the controller, but not the system. The fact that most consumers that see something like that, that showcases only the controller is a misrepresentation of the console itself. And now almost one year later Nintendo have done almost nothing to tell the general public what the Wii U really is and why they would want one. I have one and haven't even touched my other systems since I got it. The lack of captivating software during it's initial launch was (IMO) a huge beating to the sales of the Wii U. I really think that Nintendo was hoping the having "Wii" branded on this console would make people salivate for the device, when in reality it just confused them and the "U" added onto the Wii did nothing to differentiate the console from it's predecessor. Perhaps they shot themselves in the foot with their lack of marketing, or maybe it was the fact that the Wii had so many peripherals released for it in it's lifetime that most consumers just figured the Gamepad was another add-on for the Wii.
Any way you slice it, Nintendo is to blame for the Wii U's dire straights right now, lack of marketing and the inability to showcase it's capabilities to the masses is a big reason for the console not selling and no real software support until August! MH3U is awesome and all but there still needs to be more quality games to entice people to purchase the Wii U, something that Nintendo didn't have and still don't seem to have going into 2014. I really am hoping for a turnaround, but I think it's still a long hard road ahead of Nintendo!

I originally believed 10 million sold by the end of 2013 would be a realistic expectation. But none of us really had any way of knowing that the goddamn drought would happen and that so many titles would get pushed back like they have. That really killed whatever momentum Wii U had right after launch, and let's be honest, it did good at launch, selling around 3 million units in a month and a half or so span. But then not a single piece of retail software came out in Jan. or Feb. (thanks Ubisoft), and the only Nintendo published (not even Nintendo made) title to come out for about 6 straight months, was Lego City. All of that was just a disaster, and I certainly don't think Nintendo meant for things to end up that way, why would they, but they absolutely dropped the ball.

You have a year head start over your competition, and they pretty royally fucked up what they could have right now. I still think, had they been able to keep the software flowing (as they were able to do in the first year of the Wii), had they gotten games like Pikmin and Wii Fit U out the gate in early 2013 like they were originally supposed to, if Ubisoft had released Rayman Legends on time back in Feb., etc. etc. etc., I do still think they would have at least sold 6 million or so by now. As it is, with all the stumbling and fuck ups along the way, they're standing at about 4 million, which isn't GREAT by any measure, but it's also arguably better than you'd think they deserve after such an abysmal stretch of the year. This has not been the first year of a new console they should have had, nor one that any Nintendo fan wanted. But here's hoping they can solidify things in these last two holiday months, and carry that strongly (this time) into 2014.

I still feel that they'll at least reach 5 million by the end of Dec., if not a bit more.

Nintendo struggle are self inflicted, they cut down the hardware to the point of making the WiiU so under-powered that it barely outperform the current gen Xbox 360 and PS3. Yet, these cost cutting measures were not enough to make the WiiU attractive to the Casual market. In order for them to really attract a casual market the system should of release at $299 for the premium bundle and casual friendly bundle at $250.

Nintendo's WiiU as done much worst then I anticipated, there should of been a price drop in May 2013. Nintendo should of also release a NSMBU bundle with the price drop.

Wii Fit U and the new 3d Mario game can still save the WiiU in 2013, regardless how good does this holiday 2013 was a disaster for the WiiU and Nintendo is to blame.

Looking forward to 2014,
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Super Smash Bros
Mario Kart 8
Bayonetta 2
Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem

If Monolith new RPG "X' release in 2014 with Monster hunter 4 then 2014 could easily be the year of the WiiU.

I also predict that a WiiU system without any game will hit the market next year and will cost $250 or less. (maybe a free download code of Wii Sports games)

Well, it is more powerful than PS3 and 360, that's a fact. And it also has had superior ports of many games, including Tekken Tag 2, Ninja Gaiden 3, Need for Speed, in some respects arguably Batman Arkham City, RE Revelations, Rayman Legends, and from what I understand, both ACIV and Watchdogs are superior ports over PS360 as well. So in that respect, you thought right.

It just hasn't been a huge success as yet, mainly on the back of so few titles releasing in 2013. If not for that, it might well be a big success right now.

@yvanjean

"Nintendo struggle are self inflicted, they cut down the hardware to the point of making the WiiU so under-powered that it barely outperform the current gen Xbox 360 and PS3."

Again, sorry, but that statement is totally false. The system is not underpowered, it just isn't super-powerful like the PS4. The CPU doesn't blow minds, but the GPU by all accounts is very strong and perfectly capable of running any modern graphic tricks. And you really can't make a false statement like "it can barely outperform current gen 360 and PS3", when the only "proof" you're obviously basing that on, are a bunch of a quick-buck ports that the developers obviously didn't put much serious time and money into to MAKE them better and MAKE them really take advantage of Wii U's hardware (with the exception of Criterion and Need For Speed). Why not wait to see ACTUAL efforts made with the Wii U hardware, not just cheap ports, to make a final judgement on what you deem to be pitiful hardware? It is almost a guarantee that there will be games within Wii U's lifetime that are just as impressive, graphically and otherwise, as PS4 and Xbox One. If Wii's hardware could produce games like Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy and Xenoblade, then Wii U is certainly capable of producing some impressive stuff.

i thought it wouldve sell like 10 million in first year :( my forecast is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy off....

i am not sure if mk8 or ssb can save wii u.. i mean gc also had those games and look at the result

To be perfectly fair, Double Dash was a serious mis-step for the Mario Kart franchise. Like Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker, it has it's ardent fans, but on the whole DD is considered to be a lesser entry. MK8 is the first MK in quite some time to truly look fresh and like they're really putting forth a huge effort into it, and I think it will have a hell of a lot more buzz surrounding it near release than DD did, DD being a game that justifiably got a "what the hell is that?" reaction from many people.I also think that since Mario Kart DS and Wii, the MK franchise has become a lot more popular in the mainstream than it was before DD released.

As for Smash Bros., people were excited for Melee, and it was a great game that didn't (at the time) disappoint, but again, it was a sequel to an N64 title that was more of a sleeper hit, a curiosity than anything. Brawl really took the popularity and anticipation of the series to new heights, and I think the franchise is much more "visible" now than it was before Melee's release. Meaning there are a lot more people likely to buy a Wii U just to play the new Smash next year, than there were who bought a GC just for Melee.

So yes, I do think those two games will impact sales in a very positive way. But let's not forget X, and Bayonetta, SMT x Fire Emblem, and most importantly, "Zelda U", which is bound to be that kind of "centerpiece" title that really shows off the system's muscle, and wows people, just as Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess once did. It's not really a matter of one or two games "Saving" the console. It's a matter of building up a libarary of quality game after quality game, adding up more reasons for someone to want to buy the system in the first place.

I don't remember making any predictions about it. I did make a thread stating that Nintendo Land wouldn't do for Wii U what Wii Sports did for Wii (http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=146990).

I knew for sure that the Wii U would sell below the Wii (that was a given) but I don't think I had anticipated such a weak performance. I think I was assuming that Nintendo would release its key games much faster than they did.

I thought it would match x360 or PS3 in first year sales. I couldn't really see Nintendo making so many mistakes and excuses.

here's the drawback for SSB.... it has a 3DS version....

it would drastically hurt the sale of the game and the system esp in the non existing market in japan....

i just hope wii u will survive, i myself thinking to ditch wii u and go for the ps4