It hasn't taken off because the casuals haven't soaked it up the same way the Wii did. If you take the Wii out of the mix then the WiiU probably isnt doing that bad when it comes to Nintendo home consoles. It's too late for the WiiU now though. It will get big boost when the big titles come but between them it will drop back to low numbers, Exactly the same way as the Vita does.

It's not unique and enticing enough for casual gamers that made the Wii so successful to even care about as there are so many other products competing for their attention.

It's not powerful enough and it doesn't have (nor will it ever have) the diverse lineup of 3rd party games for core gamers.

It has been too expensive for families and kids.

Basically, it's been a Nintendo fan's system only, just without many games.  It'll eventually hit a price point that may be appealing to families (I think it's close there now), but by then most support will be gone and there will be other buying options for them as well. 

Erm...I wouldn't say console gaming is dead.  Yes, smartphones sell way more than any of the three consoles combined but that's because they are multi-use devices so they reach a much bigger demographic than the gaming consoles do.  Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are very well aware of this fact which is why they're adding the ability to use Netflix , Hulu Plus, and other services.

I think it is a combination of reasons. When ever I talk to people they cite a multitude of reasons why they do not intend to purchase the system - not powerful enough, indifferent to the tablet controller (and sees the console as overpriced in part by it), skeptical of Nintendo's handling of the online realm, a lack of trophy/achievement system, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc (some are less important than others, but they do contribute).There is some overlap in their divulgates (power in most cases), but often they have different reasons for not wanting it. I would wait to see how people respond to the system after Smash and Mario Kart have released though. That should prove to be interesting. Some gamers have been "burned" by Nintendo last gen and claim to be very skepical, so that's another thing to consider.

I've always been interested and while I am at times incensed by some of the moves Nintendo make as a company, that has not discouraged me from investing myself in it. I'm just waiting for Smash to drop before parting with my $.

THIS

I think it is quite simple: its designs principles are exactly the opposite of the ones that made the Wii a success.

Its controller is the perfect example of this, it takes the already complex dual analog standard and make it even less accessible by adding a touch screen on its middle.

The same things can be said for the games, Wii Sports was one of the most important titles (if not the most important) when it comes to sell hardware in the last gen, and where is its sequel?

Nintendo's base of support for its core franchises is considerably less than many people led themselves to believe from Wii sales. Sure its core franchises sold well on Wii, but they are not why tens of millions of people bought Wii. Biggest selling games on Wii were skewed to Wiimote games. Of the 7 games that sold >20 million on Wii 5 are of the waggle variety.

So many of those people who bought into the Wiimote phenomenon and were first time console owners are not highly motivated to be multi-gen buyers.

Plus I think a lot of Xbox 360's late generation success, esp in USA and UK, were Wii owners looking to upgrade their motion control experience to HD and they got into Kinect. Which means they've probably left Nintendo behind for a good while at least.

The tablet controller is not something to get people excited.

Wii U is selling to Nintendo's core multi-generation audience, but it isn't getting much traction with the swing crowd, or the blue ocean.

price, marketing, games and competition imo


I'd like to add the wii image... I mean, wii was a huge success but also a big dissapointment.

I somewhat agree with this, you can tell from Nintendo's previous home consoles each successor sold less. Zelda, DK's ect didn't sell any better on Wii than Gamecube did they?? And that's with the significantly bigger userbase Wii had.

Let me rephrase the question: why WOULD the Wii U have taken off?

If you like FPS games, which system would you buy? Action/Adventure? Hack n' Slash? RPGs? Racing? Sports? What categories does it win besides Platforming? What other genres or types does it excel in?

It's a system that has managed thus far to only entice die-hard Nintendo fans and Platforming fans. Everyone else has little reason to consider buying one.