I was thinking about the different approaches Nintendo took to the Wii and Wii U launches.  It's amazing how differnt the two are at this stage since release:

Wii

Launched with an innovative way to play like nothing seen before.  Console was a fresh new mature style unlike the previous purple gamecube.  New, "weird" console name.  Never-before-seen collection of downloadable classic titles available online.  Games include:

Mario Game:  Super Mario Galaxy - great name, totally new gameplay experience.

Zelda Game:  Legend of Zelda: TP - A dark, mature Zelda where you can wave your remote to swing your sword!

Pack-in:  Wii Sports - A simple, mature themed new IP with no reference to a Nintendo masscot that allows you to simulate real-world activities.

Retro Game:  Metroid Prime 3 - FPS/Adventure with a mature sci-fi theme.

Wii U

Launched with a neat tablet controller with a touchscreen, which is on almost everything.  Console looked almost identical to the previous Wii console, with a name that was almost the same.  Online introduced Miiverse, a cool way to chat about games.  Limited availability of Virtual Console games already available on Wii, but some solid indie games that were available on other systems first.  Games include:

Mario Game(s):  Super Mario 3D World - uninspired name, solid retro-inspired gameplay experience.  NSMBU released at launch.

Zelda Game:  Legend of Zelda: WWHD - A remake of the controversal toon Zelda.  Beautiful graphics with classic controls.

Pack-in:  NintenoLand - A complicated but excellent collection of Nintendo-themed mini-games.

Retro Game:  Donkey Kong Country:TF - a solid 2D cartoonish platformer.

With a completely different approach to the system, online and games, is it any wonder the system has not caught on at the same level?  What were they thinking?  Can they turn it around? How?

Better advertising, more marketing, and re-imaging the Nintendo stereotype of "kiddie gamez."

They can turn it around by going 3rd party of course! That's the best solution to any of Nintendo's problem as we all should know by now. I am just kidding of course.

^
Ditto.

At least Nintendo Land is better than Wii Sports. But we got Pikmin 3 and W101!

Just go third party already, one can wish!!

2013 was a mistake for Nintendo like when not using a condom during sex without birth control pills

It's a fairly pointless endeavor comparing the two.

Wii was a brand new type of gaming tech, with a massively popular killer app in Wii Sports that was pushing units like crazy. So much so that I couldn't find one available in my area until February 2007.

Wii U does not have the "newness" factor of the motion control craze on it's side, nor did it have anything like a Wii Sports that "Everybody had to have". Not only that, but Wii did not have a massive software drought in it's first year. In fact, just the opposite occured, with the system averaging almost 1 Nintendo published title per month in it's first year on the market, and that's to say nothing of a flood of third party software that also came out in it's first year, because Wii was "the next big thing" and everybody wanted a piece.

So they're honestly two totally different situations. Wii's meteoric rise will likely never happen again, for any company.

Speak for yourself.

The whole line of reasoning they had in 2013 that they wouldn't over-hype with all the smoke and mirrors and just let the games speak for themselves is noble but wow did it ever backfire. This whole industry is based heavily on hype, without it, the games might as well not exist. People don't really buys games in store from just "browsing" and "trying it out" anymore. It's all media based, if it's not plastered everywhere it's not being bought.