Wasn´t the issue to outsell Super Circuit? Remember?

The stakes have risen. ;)

Outselling Super Circuit is pretty much a foregone conclusion now.

I must respectfully disagree with the sweet spot arguement for pricing. I believe people will decide to pay a certain amount based on precieved value (partially based on the precieved quality and quantity of games, partially based on precieved console features and capabilities, partially based on perception of brand). If there is descreptency between the price and precieved value then people will not pay. Hence, the sweet spot for a Sony console is not necessarly the same as the one for a Nintendo or Microsoft console.

The Wii U currently lacks meaningful third-party support (and the future of it getting third-party support does not look promising), it lacks many of the media features that is competitors offer, it (and Nintendo) have been battered by various media outlets after the system's first year debut (creating brand damage). Hence, the precieved value for this system is much lower than that of PS4 and Xbox One. Ergo, many people might not want to pay $300 for the system (espcially since the other systems with better precieved value are priced higher only by about a $100), but they might be willing to pay less based on precieved value (my belief is that the system needs to be priced at least $150 [preferabbly $200] less than PS4). I believe this same precieved value vs. system price also explains why the 3DS managed to gain segnificant momentum at $170 rather than at $250.

Another example I will give you is with smartphones. Apple is easily capable of selling many units of $850 phones, but this does not make it an industrial sweet spot because most other flagship manufacturers sell very few units at or just below that price; the precivied value of an iPhone exceeds the precieved value of most other phones onthe market, which is why it is capable of selling at that price.

/No objection

Your right that percieved value matters but what value does a consumer see in the WII U ? 

Normally DLC appeals exclusively to owners. However this is a fairly unique situation. The Wii U has undersold and not even fully tapped into its own audience yet, and with a game like Mario Kart 8 or Smash unique appearances can appeal to those outside the current owners. It also acts as advertising too. Having some of the cast of F-Zero or Star Fox pop into MK8 lures some interested in and exposes the characters to more people prior to a release.

The original Xenoblade's sales were crippled by some of the worst handling ever seen in video games. X is bigger now because there's a great dearth of JRPGs this gen, looks to be gigantic, and has all of Nintendo's support. They're even making a new version of the original that'll likely see proper localization and raise brand awareness. Yeah theres a few JRPGs down the pipe, but stuff like FFXV will be lucky to be out by 2017.

As for the amiibo, I can easily see one way it could push systems: "Mommy/Daddy I want that toy!"

That's besides the real point though. While we piss and moan about sales, companies piss and moan about profits. The amiibo is a great way to increase profits. Cheap to make, possibly a Skylander's like attach rate, easily makes almost every Wii U sale more profitable.

F-Zero and Starfox aren't big franchises anymore and for a good reason ... 

Yet Xenoblade Chronicles was on a larger userbase ... 

Kids are smarter than you think they are ... 

It's a great way to increase profits but not userbase ...

I believe people will be willing to pay a low price for a Wii U in order to play the Nintendo games that are currently on the system (its primary value); if the system (with a game bundled) was priced lower it would be a decent thing to give to a child or have as an adult to primarly enjoy some favourite Nintendo franchises. This would at the very least get them to around a 25-28 million unit mark (at this current time I do not see the Wii U going over 17-18 million units life time sales, if Nintendo were to discontinue the system in 2018). Unfortunatly, I believe, Nintendo's neglect of Western gaming trends in and around 2008, their neglect of the Wii's huge install base starting in 2011, and horrible marketing and lack of delivery of content with Wii U has immensly damaged the Wii brand which is why I do not see a revival like we saw with the 3DS (I am pretty sure that even Nintendo knows that the Wii U is not their future); yet I believe the system is solid enough and has enough well recieved games to be of value to people who want to play Nintendo games although at a lesser price. This is somewhat anicdotal and unscientific, but I have a lot of friends and family members (many with PS4s and Xbox Ones as well as older systems) who are waiting for the price of the system to drop in order to play games like Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, Super Smash Bros, Hyrule Warriors, as well as some other currently out or upcoming entries in popular Nintendo franchises; these same people did not give the 3DS a glance at $250 but jumped on board when the system recieved a price cut (some jumped on board when the 2DS launched) but all got a 3DS by 2013.

The important point is that the system must be $150-$200 (maybe only initially or maybe permemnantly) less than the PS4 in order to capture people or else we are going to run into the same precieved value and price descriptancy problem, because unlike the PS4, the Wii U's main value right now is to play games from one company.

Star Fox and F-Zero don't have to be big. They still appeal to some people and can increase sales.

Xenoblade Chronicles had a larger user base but had no push behind it and got lost in the field which had a pretty good lineup of JRPGs. A larger user base doesn't mean much when no one knows you exist and you weren't supposed to be released outside of Japan.

Kids aren't smart and they're the most easily influenced by advertising. Besides, over 70million children showed interest in smart toys, with the amiibo being chief among them in interested children. There's potentially a huge market for the things and if FPs in Smash can become half decent compaed to humans, they'll likely be a big success.

If a toy catches on with children it can push console sales quickly. I mean Skylanders took off, furbies took off, beanie babies took off. You never know how big something like this can be. Regardless though, do you really think Nintendo will give 2 sh*ts if the amiibo doesn't push a lot of consoles if it has a massive attach rate?

low the price is a must.
but i cant see nintendo doing this.
they are profiting with each wii U sold and they still want to profit. they would rather give free games instead lower the price. for me seems better to carry some losses now in order to grow the base, and then earn more from software.(damn shareholders that want imediate profit...)