N64 was a fairly stable no.2 console as well, outselling the Saturn and later the Dreamcast quite easily.

Wii U is much more like the GameCube in that it looks likely to be third place console behind the PS4 and XB1.

Wii U has a 1st party drought. One full year and no AAA first party titles yet released. The best we have is a 3D Mario spinoff that is the sequel to a handheld game. Aside from 2D Mario (which we just were disappointed with on 3DS a couple months earlier), and Pikmin (which is a B game), there have been no noteworthy releases during year 1.

The first noteworthy release will be Mario Kart about six months from now, and then who knows when the next one will be?

I think Wii U could have been a great system, but Nintendo failed to release many games in its first year.

1. A real 3D Mario platformer should have already been released
2. Wii Fit should have been released a year ago
3. Mario kart and Smash Brothers should have already been released
4. More information should be released about X so that more people are excited about it this year
5. DKC should have been released months ago
6. More games should be in development, right now the release schedule ahead looks very sparse and based on this year I am wondering what is happening with Nintendo, if they are even developing for Wii U or just focusing on 3DS.

In reality, I know Nintendo has a good 2014 ahead, but they really blew 2013. 2013 was the year to get a 12-16 million head start. Now it's a blown opportunity. Nintendo will have to work much harder to sell consoles from here on out. Schedules like 2013 are just not going to cut it. Nintendo's release schedule per month will need to be on par with what they released this entire year.

New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, Mario 3D World, Wii Sports Club, Wii Fit U, Wii Party U, Mario & Sonic Olympics are all pretty notable releases actually. Minus Nintendo Land (which may as well be Wii Play 2012), those games represent sequels/continuations to six of the top twelve selling Wii games. The bolded have equivalents already on the Wii U:

1. Wii Sports (82 million)

2. Mario Kart Wii (34 million)

3. Wii Sports Resort (31 million)

4. Wii Play (28 million)

5. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (27 million)

6. Wii Fit (22 million)

8. Super Mario Galaxy (11.7 million)

9. Super Smash Bros. (11.4 million)

10. Wii Party (8 million)

11. Mario Party 8 (7.6 million)

12. Mario & Sonic Olympics (7 million)

What we're actually seeing is that Nintendo is failing miserably to bring back the "Wii audience". 

Which basically leaves them with just Nintendo hardcore fans. I know people like to make a big fuss about things like Metroid and Zelda, but those are not the franchises that sold the Wii. 

Also Mario 3D World may be the 2nd or 3rd best Nintendo game of the past 10 years ... to downplay it is ridiculous. NSMBU is probably the best 2D Mario since Super Mario World too. Nintendo Land is a quality game. All three of these games probably would've sold through the roof on the Wii ... Wii U as a platform is the problem. 

Now you just have to accept that it's not the N64. It's just a disaster, as of now.

- "If you are an hardcore addicted son of a bitch without a life, you gonna need one more console"

hahaha

Wii Fit U isn't out for another two weeks, and it should have been out a year ago. We should already be on Wii Fit U 2.

Wii Sports Club is not a new game. It is an HD re-release of only 40% of an existing game that everyone already has, and you have to pay an unreasonable amount to buy it. You can't even buy a physical copy either.

Mario 3D World is still just a spinoff and not a true flagship Mario title.

2D Mario was the second 2D Mario in that half of the year, and the first one was really disappointing.

Mario and Sonic Olympics is not even a Nintendo game, it is a Sega game.

Nintendo needs to be releasing THE next 3D Mario game, THE next Zelda game, THE next Smash Brothers game, THE next Mario Kart, THE next Donkey Kong game, THE next Wii Sports game. Not spinoffs and ports. Spinoffs, B-series titles, and ports are fine, but that can't be the basis of a release schedule. A release schedule needs top tier games on it, and Wii U doesn't even have one of those yet. Mario Kart will be the first, and that is a year and a half after the console launch.

Nintendo had the opportunity to take a far enough lead, and they blew it. It kind of surprises me how badly they blew it too considering the console released a year late in 2012 instead of 2011.

i wouldn't mind it since the N64 is in my top 3 game consoles

No man, we cannot accept that! Every console needs to have the same games and similar hardware, otherwise they shouldn't exist!

3D World's week 1 sales (345k) are higher than Knack's curent lifetime sales. You do know that Japan isn't the only place Mario is sold, right?

if this the N64 2 where are the amazing games? I will give it some time but even the N64 received better 3rd and 1st party support