first of mediocre sales its solde over 2M on a console that only sold 6.2M about a 30% attach rate i dont know what eles you want from that game also we don't know how long the momentum for MK8 will last i mean since super mario 3d world came out there hanst been much eles on the wiiu till MK8 i highly dought that if you switch there places wiiu would be doing any better.

also since you seem to have the answers what elese could they have made to help sales 

Highly dissagree. More then speaking on the franchises in general I would say MK8 >>>>>>> Mario world 3D. There has been far more hype for this game and it has much wider appeal. Watch it outsell 3D mario 3:1.

No.

I think the better question should be, would the Wii U have been in better shape if it had been released just before last year's Christmas.

Spoilers: Yes.

The problem with the WiiU is that it came out too early, with no real titles, and was labeled as dead by the time its competition even arrived. If the Wii U released at the same time as PS4 and Xbone, all the PS4 vs Xbone articles we were all bludgeoned with would have been PS4 vs Xbone vs WiiU articles because no one in the media is just going to ignore a Nintendo launch like they would a dead system.

On top of that, think of the launch lineup Wii U would have had with NSMBU, Mario 3D World, ZombiU, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Nintendo Land, Monster Hunter, some Sonic games, and Windwaker HD, and then they announce that within the next year you'll also have the releases of Donkey Kong Country, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, and Hyrule Warriors. Suddenly the Wii U is a competitor by virtue of its launch lineup alone.

The WiiU is simply an example of how important timing, marketing, and generating media buzz is for a successful launch, highlighting these things by completely lacking in all three.

As for the debate about Mario 3D world, the game was amazing, and its sales were only lackluster because Wii U sales were abysmal. Same for if the new Mario Kart does fail to surpass any of the others in the series: It's arguably the best but it's trapped on a system with the smallest units sold.

I was waiting for someone to bring this up after the MK8 sales figures were out. We don't even know how many consoles the game sold yet.

MK8 would have been brush aside by the PS4 and XBone hype train last Christmas. I think they did the right thing and launched it at a quieter time.

Contrary to many I think SM3DW got washed out in the hype of everything going on around it last Christmas and would have perform far better if it was released this month. The problem was Nintendo had to get a big game out.

Ultimately we are all speculating but that's what I think.

I also think that MK8 should have been launched this Christmas. But again, Nintendo draught of games didn't give them that luxury.

I'm not sure it would, and there would be big game for momentum in the summer. The Wii U would likely be selling in the 30's every week despite MK releasing before christmas. Even with 3D World during the holidays; it crashed in January so even with a title with bigger impact, the crash would simply have been a bit smaller but the grand total would remain more or less unchanged. In my opinion, but this is all merely speculation on anyone's part.

Mediocre game due to it's sales?

Thinking that the lack of sales is because it's mediocre is oversimplifying the situation and bringing your prejudice into your reasoning.

If you use sales and profitablity as benchmarks of what is best then works like Okami suck while ones like Twilight and Justin Bieber Albums are among the best things ever. While that is financially true, and fascinating, it doesn't mean much.

[[[I realize it is true that Justin Bieber as a character was arguably high-quality (his music wasn't, but props to his character desigers for how well they worked it prior to his complete failure as an entity - they may want to pay closer attention to their raw materials next time) and that Twilight was effectively high quality as romance porn despite its countless literary failings.]]]

No, the gap between Donkey Kong and Hyrule Warriors is nearly 6 months. That would have been a longer drought than last year's drought (4 months)

No use thinking about the past. Mk8 is selling good and moving wii u's. That is all that really matters.