Like others, I agree with many of your points and disagree with a few. There's no question that Nintendo has made many batshit-crazy moves this gen from the console's name to abysmal advertising to, well, not having something like Mario Maker at launch to demonstrate just how useful the Gamepad can be.

Fortunately, the one thing they have delivered on is providing great games in the face of their current hardships, which, hopefully, will set them up pretty good for next gen.

But I completely disagree about Zelda's graphics; in fact, it's probably the most visually pleasing game I've seen footage of so far this gen. Why? Because it's imaginitive and unpredictable. And for the record, I didn't like Skyward Sword's visual style either.

Not every game should need online to be relevant. I'm sick of people thinking this. Which is funny, because I don't play singleplayer games!

Nintendo being a video game only company(for the most part) cannot afford to play the horsepower game that Sony and MS do. They cant afford the massive losses on hardware that the others do. Your "It made sense for the Wii because of the controller" line makes absolutely no sense. The Wii U is also more powerful than the PS360 overall. What they were thinking that the Wii crowd was largely the Nintendo fanbase, when in fact the real Nintendo fanbase is closer to what current sales are. I feel that Nintendo could have released a console 2x as powerful as X1/PS4 and the overall situation would not be much different.

You lost all credibility when you said you don't owe a Wii U bud. Really, what does the name, SM3DW not appealing to no one, and the gamepad have to do with ACTUALLY enjoying the games on it? The gamepad is great for all Nintendo made games and Bayonetta as well.

Wii U hardware not as good as the PS3 and the X360? ::AHEM::

The Online is the same as Sony's. And it also doesn't go out due to hacker attacks. Not bad for a company who charges you NOTHING for it. I know it's the same because CoD: Ghosts was great. Also for Mario Kart it RARELY lags. And Super Smash Bros. 8 PLAYER online mode might require expense servers on their part, hence they might want to charge us gamers for it. I applause Nintendo for not doing this.

New IPs? Nobody wants to play them! Only the Hardcore... there's not many of us... Plus... Slaptoon is New, Captain Toad is a New Spinoff, the Wonder101, ZombiiU, Shovel Knight? What do you call those?

Granted you are spot on with some Points... But completely miss on about 50-60% of the rest by a country mile.

Complain all you want. Me? I'll just go Enjoy some Bayonetta 2, Super Smash Bros. Deus Ex, Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, Wind Waker HD, Earthbound, and Mega Man VII.... (And I have more Wii U games, just on my backlist or got tired of playing them...).

Not trying to defend the gamepad, even though it is one I use every day instead of ipad, mac book, Lenovo android pad or PC. It is my personal taste and does not apply to everyone.
BUT...
...in 2010 when Wii U were starting to go from mind experiments to real prototypes - what was the big event on the technology market? The iPad came and was an instant success. Furthermore THQ launched the uDraw with initial great success in the 2010 holiday season.
Nintendo had experience in touch screens from DS and from doing cheap hardware. They needed the "casuals" (that might like a cheap ipad) to stay with the Wii brand as much as they wanted to appease third party publishers need for a "traditional" controller.
The other console manufacturers was not sure that it was a bad idea with an extra screen even one year after the Wii U launch, which they show with SmartGlass and Remote Play.

Oh yeah I just thought of another thing that is annoying me. Nintendo has clearly bought exclusives before. Sony and Microsoft are doing it now kind of. However, Nintendo DID do it this gen and what did they buy?

Sonic the Hedgehog. Seriously, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, Tomb Raider, and Titanfall were ALL on the table and Nintendo chose Sonic?!?!?!?!? Not only that but Sega barely even cared and gave us Sonic Boom.

Nintendo has made tons of dumb choices this gen. With that said, you should experience the Wii U in full before ripping it apart. Not saying your opinion on it will change. You still might think it's bad but to rip on something you don't own makes your opinion a bit less valid.

Couldn't make it too far. Started laughing when I got to the Zelda 2011 HD demo (it is not from 2012 and you are not the first person I've seen make this mistake) being the god and what we got in its place being "ugly." From there my vision started to blur and I couldn't focus on the OP any more.

There's 2 reasons I disagree with you:

a) If Nintendo is going to do the blue ocean strategy again, it needs to go full stop. The Wii U is not a blue ocean strategy product.

b) Nintendo has had powerful hardware before, and I think they could have gave us a pretty powerful console in 2012 for $349. Not PS4/Xbox One powerful, but something that could compete.

Lol cause I got a date wrong on accident?