I would have been so much better. Seriously most of the people don't know what a Wii U is. The next console could take this name because a lot of people maybe forgot the Wii or the casual gamers would be more interested in another console but the only reason to name the console after Wii Wii U is bringing back the 90's advertisement: Now U are playing with power!

To me the Wii U is Nintendo using Wii as a substitute for the F word

Wii U
Wii Off
Wiitard
Wii Wii Wii Wiikity Wii

That would have been a great slogan for the U.

The name wouldn't have made a difference when the advertisement from nintendo is nonexistent. Besides 30% - 40% of consumers who bought a wii purchased it because it was a hot item that was very simple to play. A lot of people who don't game don't game because they have no interest, they don't game because the controllers are intimidating.

Nintendo created a breathtaking legendary motion controller that anybody could use and it allowed casuals to plug and play without having to learn controller formats. However the problem when you target casual gamers is they don't have the passion for gaming so when they get bored and move on to the next great item you're left with minimal hard core gamers to support your next product.

And this is what ended up happening with Nintendo and their WiiU

I think it really make sense to make the name based on the wii that has been very successful.
Even a with less successful console, isn't it what xbox and playstation is about, not invest money in a new brand recognition ? Is Apple giving a new name to any iphone ?

Wii 2 would have been better I think (even if MS avoided to have a number inferior to the playstation's one), but the point is more about not spending unnecessary money to get recognition for a new name than anything. Anyway, Wii was quite a shitty name to begin with, and it sold 100 millions or more. I really think if the product is good, at the right price, if there is demand for it... any name is fine.

I don't believe the name 'confusing people' for a second. People aren't that stupid, mostly. They know perfectly well what the difference is between the iPad 1/2/3/4 while they are almost exactly the same, even have exactly the same box and aren't even officially called as such (they're all just 'iPad'). Why is that? Marketing.

That said I do think the WiiU would've sold a tad better if wasn't called the WiiU. Not much though, because every other factor would be the same as they are now, but a little. If only because the 'Wii' name is synonymous with 'casual' in the eyes of the self-proclaimed 'core-gamer'.

Nintendo also should have put the emphasis on the 'U' rather than the 'Wii'. Make the 'U' big in the logo and 'Wii' small so you make it clear it's about the 'U' that's new.

Nope. It's just a bad concept.

A different name can change how it's advertised. If it was called The U, I could see a bunch of clever phrases that can be used in commercials to catch people's attention. 

It can be called shit and people will still buy if it have the games they want.

In the day and age we live in it seems that people are easily confused over names. That is why everything is numbered. If out of the gate Nintendo would have called the damn thing Wii 2, like I've been bitching about since the start, then there would have been far greater consumer recognition that it wasn't a freaking add on but an actual new console. 

Would it have acheived Wii like sales? Probably not. I would be willing to bet that with that simple name change we would have seen at least 10-12 million consoles sold by now instead of 6 million.