All they had to do was get rid of the gamepad. As much as I love it I think they could have used the money from the gamepad and put it towards hardware power. They could have then used the Pro controller as their main controller, and keep support for all the Wiimote stuff. A full HD Wii could have been something spectacular.

Well, I think they had two different paths they could have taken.

First option: Use the money spent on the Gamepad to put more power onto the Hardware. That way they could have released a console with almost the same power as the X1 and for a price of $350.

Second option:  Have the Gamepad as an optional accesory from the beginning. That way they would have been able to launch the console at a price of $ 250.

Now let's talk about the launch lineup:  Man, kids and teenagers nowadays are crazy for FPS online shooters and open world games. You will not convince the kids of today with a 2D platform game. Especially not when you're promoting what is supposed to be a new generation of consoles.  So I think instead of launching with Nintendoland and NSMB, they should have launched with a Metroid game able to compete in graphics (and online features) with the FPSs of today. And the Zelda  U should have been released at least within the first year of the console.

Now, I don't think any of this would have been enough to replicate the Wii's success. But at least they would have been fighting for the second place now.

The virtualboy was another attempt and it failed miserably too, the wii was really just an exception

I don't know what they could've done. If they made it a more traditonal console to compete with PS4 & XB1 then it would've done better than Wii U, but it wouldn't have reached Wii levels.

Wii was a viral product, and it's hard to make viral products one-after-another. I don't know why anyone believed they somehow got the magic touch and would keep putting out products as hot as DS/Wii.

If a company is steadily growing it's user base then you know it has a solid business strategy and can probably keep executing well. Nintendo is a company that was struggling to keep it's users, and suddenly had a surge in users on DS/Wii that they didn't even expect, and many of those users were not particularly loyal to Nintendo or to gaming, and as common sense caught up most of those users did not buy again.

No, it should have been an evolved wii mote + nunchuck. a pro controller is two steps back from the wii. they could use the difference in money to increase hardware just a little, since it's already good as it is.

Pro controller along with the power around the X1/PS4 area would have helped ensure more 3rd party support, or at least in theory. I think Nintendo should have kept the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo for the majority of their Wii U games, or at least included the option for those games. All I know for sure is that the gamepad wasn't thought out enough and although I love the off TV gameplay, it wasn't worth the cost to develop and produce the gamepad.

Although I do think that a refined wiimote and nunchuck could have helped bring back casual love to the Wii U. Either that or they should have abandoned the Wii U name completely and made the shape of their console and name completely different from the Wii.

Once the Playstation 4 fad subsides we'll see the sales pattern as more of a generational effect than by the faults (and yes I agree there are a few) made by the manufacturers.

By evolved wiimote + nunchuck, I mean all functionalities of those + all buttons and shape from the pro constroller = no need for pro controller. Power was never an excuse for third parties this gen, since wii u can get the games but they don't port it over.

A good console.

~Mod Edit~

This post has been moderated.

-Smeags

Oh I mean stuff like a new nunchuck with improved sensitivity and a speaker. A new speaker for the Wiimote and a rechargeable battery like the Pro controller. It should be able to hold a charge for 50+ hours including peripherals. Improve the button placement and you got a winner. Like I said the Pro controller would be for the mainstream stuff, but should always be a option. Stuff like this would have refined the Wii U into something else.