they could do a club nintendo thing like what they did with smash bros. 3ds... limited demo which is invite-only (or code-only i guess) and then, later, it's open to everyone. except instead of invites, you need to register splatoon on club nintendo. they're already moving towards digital rewards, so this would be a great incentive.

even if they don't do it with splatoon/zelda, i do see them experimenting with this kind of a thing in the near future. xenoblade 3d --> xenoblade x beta anyone?

Yeah, I think there will be a Splatoon bundle. They're really pushing this game and want it to do well, and bundling it with the console is a great way to do that. I'm kinda iffy on there being a price cut with it, but it's definitely possible.

If I were a betting man, I would say we probably won't see a Splatoon bundle. The reason we are seeing so much Splatoon in ND's, is simple. It's a brand new IP from Nintendo, you have to convince people its worth buying since they apparently don't advertise on TV anymore. If anything, we'll continue to see a  standard console with Nintendo land and Super Mario 3D World as pack-ins, as well as a new bundle for Zelda U. As far as a price cut, I think we will see a price cut, maybe as soon as E3 2015. The Xbone was cut to $350 this christmas and it did spectacular. M$ has also continued this price cut 'temporarily', but lets be honest, its here to stay. There are also rumors of either a price cut for the PS4 or even a PS4 slim being in the works, so for Nintendo to not cut the price of the Wii U this year, would be, in my opinion, a nail in the coffin for the systems' future. 

What I'd like to see is a bundle that comes with a game pad that has color marks on it similar to what shooting paint guns looks like in the game.

I can kinda see a Splatoon bundle happen, but with a pricecut? A bit doubtful!

Yeah I think it certainly makes sense for Nintendo to bundle their new IP. It would be hella cool if they bundled it with a demo of Zelda, would make me buy another bundle, and I am sure others would do it as well :S

smash was a holiday title, mario kart is not. same applies for splatoon.

I have for a while thought that Splatoon bundle and, if they are going to do one, price cut around that time could be a good idea. I was even thinking of the free digital game promotion with Mario Kart 8 - doing that with their widest appealing game was obviously a move to help consoles and put the Wii U on the map as much as possible, which I think worked. Doing something similar with Splatoon couldn't be expected to do the same for the hardware, but it could really help make Splatoon big if that's what they are going for, and offer a good incentive to buy a Wii U at that time which a new IP alone wouldn't give.

We will have to wait and see how Nintendo handles Splatoon. It could just be another game for the library, maybe one they hope can do about as well as Hyrule Warriors at best. But since its announcement I have got the impression that it was meant to be a big game for them, and even things like its placement in PR (it was the only other thing listed in a sentencd along with New 3DS and Majoras Mask 3D in their recent NPD statement) and the time of its release suggest they have high hopes for it. I could be wrong, but if they are hoping for it to be their second biggest Wii U game this year they will need to do something special for it.

i will buy another wiiu if it has a cool design, black and white sucks.

This is somewhat expected no?

Sure its a new IP, but I presume they would want to tie the price cut in with a big appealing game. The only games big enough in terms of appeal+budget/ambition to fit that bill are Splatoon or Zelda. If starfox+X are september releases I can see them doing it then in attempt to build momentum for a big holiday push.

Anything else will seem a bit random IMO