Launching later than the rest was not the best on 5th and 6th gen either, so I guess it depends.

It just goes to show brand + marketing is > than anything else

For example, what is better for Nintendo. 5 years of bad sales waiting untill PS5 and XBOX 2 comes or come in 3 more years(end of 2017),  ahead of the rest with a badass console better than PS4? (Hard to guess that one)

Unless being early handicaps you in some way (obsolete tech), then Of course!

The question you need to ask yourself is how much the Atari, Sega Genesis, PS1, Dreamcast and Xbox 360 would have sold without having over a year headstart. Probably significantly less.

Infact I take it back. Playstation is a powerhouse and had a wildcard from a sloppy launch

But there console still would have been less popular had they created the iphone. Makes no difference.

Based on history at the end of Nintendo's peak sales year for a console they have reached  50%ish of lifetime sales. So right now next year is looking like peak year for wiiu and will end the year around 15 to 16 million. Double that and lifetime sales are around 30 million.  I'd love to know what a sub 20 million projection is based on.

I'm guessing that it's based on logic :P

The WiiU is tracking behind the GameCube which itself sold 21 million units. Additionally, third party support has all but ceased and Nintendo has very few major franchises that haven't already made an appearance on the system. There is absolutely no way that the WiiU will come anywhere near 30 million sales.

As the man said it's based on Logic. It's tracking behind the gamecube and it's going to be under 10M after it's 3rd Xmas. 

If you play your cards right, then yes! Just look at the 360 and the PS2.

Dpend if the support from 3rd party is good or not