I had a Nintendo 64, and besides my 3DS that was the last Nintendo console I bought. Ocarina of Time was the Zelda game that probably impressed me the most, as games in proper 3D was a relatively new thing back then. And even though I prefer Majora's Mask and Link's Awakening, OoT is up there in my top 3 as one of the best Zelda games I've played.

After playing these games, I considered myself very much a Zelda fan. Same thing with the Mario series that I played from the beginning up to Mario 64.
But after not buying any of the Nintendo consoles since N64 besides 3DS, and the years passed by, I realized one day that I've missed out on so many Zelda and Mario games since then that I don't know if I can call myself that any more. But earlier this year I played through A Link Between Worlds at least, so I'm slowly catching up a bit.
When/if I get a Wii U, I plan to play Wind Waker HD and Skyward Sword. As for Twilight Princess, I already played a few hours of the GC version, and I don't think I want to play the Wii version because of how it uses the Wii mote, and the fact that the whole game was mirrored to fit with Link holding the sword in his right hand in the Wii version, so I'm going to have to figure that one out.

Anyway, on topic, I haven't bought any console for any particularly strange reason. It's mainly just been about wanting to play some games that really appealed to me. After playing a lot of great 1st and 2nd party games on the N64, I was satisfied with the console overall, but I did miss third party support for it none the less. Games like Final Fantasy 7-9 and the many many many other great 3rd party games released on PS1.
So when the next generation began, the choice was extremely easy for me. PlayStation 2. Not only because of all the great PS2 games, but also because it was backwards compatible with PS1. Thanks to that, I caught up on playing almost every game I ever wanted to play for the PS1, such as the amazing Suikoden 2 that just got released as a PSOne Classic on PSN this week. There are only a handful of these PS1 games left on my backlog.
After playing so many great games on the system, it's definitely my favorite console that I've owned.

Nintendo continuing to alienate 3rd party support on the Gamecube was the main reason I didn't get one along with my PS2. And when Wii came around, I didn't buy one either for the same reason. Even though I planned to get both those consoles just for the Mario and Zelda games, in the end it wasn't enough to persuade my, to my surprise. The Wii U unfortunitely is following the same pattern. But this time I will get that console none the less. It's been too long since I owned a Mario Kart game (N64), and I also want to own a Smash game for the first time, since I've also loved playing that series with friends on their consoles along with the Mario Kart series. And since Wii U is backwards compatible with the Wii, I want to play Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 as well.

My only ptroblem right now with the Wii U is that because of the lack of third party support, and me for the most part only being interested in Nintendo's own games for the system, I don't feel the $300 price point is justified for me personally. So I'm waiting for a price cut, or at least an interesting bundle. I already bought mario kart 8, so I can't go for that bundle. So I was hoping they'd release a Smash bundle, but they didn't yet. But if/once they do, that might be when I get my Wii U, which will then be my first 8th gen console.
Personally I'm not particularly interested in the Gamepad. I'm sure I'll like it, but not enough that I'd want to pay $100 extra for it, if I was given a choice.

I plan to also get a PS4 because I know what kind of games to expect for it, even if they haven't been announced yet. But like you, I don't see a reason to jump in just yet. Especially with my PS3 and 3DS backlog still being pretty big.

"I used to be in the same position as many. I laughed at Nintendo. I thought their consoles and games were kiddy and they didn't have much to offer gamers anymore." But I kid you not, when I actually took the time to research the Wii U, I felt that urge to own it. It's exactly what I wanted to feel from the PS4. This is for a few reasons.

It surprised me as well that I ended up skipping the Gamecube. While my primary choice (PS2) was clear, I had every intention of getting the NGC as well, since I had only owned Nintendo consoles before that, and was a big Nintendo fan. I wanted to wait for it to have at least a few games that I wanted before I got one though. (Mainly Mario, Zelda, Metal Gear, F-Zero, Smash, Mario Kart.) Kind of the same situation as with the PS4 right now.
But when each of those games came out, I felt like that wasn't enough, so I'll wait for the next game to come out. And so on. And eventually I realised that I didn't want to get one after all. Especially since I played Smash and Mario Kart on my frinds consoles pretty often anyway.

And I expect there to be a proper Smash bundle and/or a price cut next year as well. (We don't have the Mario 3D World bundle in Europe btw.) Since I've waited this long, I can wait a few more months. That is unless I see a great Christmas deal before then. I'm keeping my eyes open for that.

And as you said, getting a console when I feel I'll use them to their fullest, that's also where PS+ being neccesary for online play becomes an issue on PS4, and Wii U's online remaining free is a positive thing.
I'm not exactly sure when I'll get a PS4, but the games I'm mostly interested in are Persona 5, Metal Gear Solid V and Street Fighter V.

Btw, which Zelda games have you played now? And which ones do you like the most, besides WWHD being your favorite?