I'd like to be wrong and he didn't say they were completely abandoning it but with a statement like "The notion that products sell well if we run big TV advertisements or make attractive (discount) offers in sales seasons is no longer accepted." sure sounds like they don't believe in it anymore.  I'm not sure how long you have been around but I've been playing since the 80's and from my standpoint at least, Nintendo does not advertise nearly as heavily as they used to. I see probably 10 to 1 adds from either Microsoft or Sony relating to hardware or software in comparison to Nintendo.  Again I said "I see" so I am talking strictly about what I am exposed to these days.

So your interpretation of "no longer accepted" is " "TV advertisements aren't the be all, end all they once were anymore"" ... ok I think your interpretation is incorrect although your statement is not. TV isn't as important as it once was now that we have the Net.  Remember I pre-date the Net.

- proof ? I could say the lack of fresh Sushi was the cause.  I seem to remember you scolding others for such leaps without proof.

I would say the idea that "The notion that products sell well if we run big TV advertisements or make attractive (discount) offers in sales seasons is no longer accepted." is more likely the reason for an anemic launch advertising campaign surrounding the Wii U.  That said I have no proof to offer either so it is kind of moot.  Another thing neither of us has addressed is "in sales seasons" which to me would equate to the Christmas season. Was the advetising for the NN3DS durring the "sales season" ? Alas it was not so my interpretation has not been condradicted, so sorry.

I just think tv ad is so hard to justify the amount of money put on then. I hardly remember any ad that made me want to buy something conciouslt... maybe it manipulated me on subconcious level.

Everytime Iwata talks, people take just a small piece (usually something that make him or Nintendo look bad), then ignore everything else he said. For example this, just cherry-pick a small part of what Iwata said and ignore the part about Nintendo needing to do more work and learning.
Sensationalist sites like mynintendonews love to cherry-pick and people are quick to read headlines and make judgments without reading the full source.

I don't agree with him that they need that "one" software title and Wii U will do blockbuster business. That seems like such an impossible goal. Pokemon was 20+ years ago, and they haven't created a new IP phenomenon like that since, so I wouldn't hold my breath for it now. What they do need to keep doing though is building their strong first party software lineup. MK8 helped sales a bit, Smash helped them even more. I think another 2-3 titles on that level and the Wii U would be in completely fine shape. Hopefully some combination or all of Zelda, Star Fox, Xenoblade, Splatoon, and Mario Maker does that for them by the end of this year.

Though back on the topic of that "one" title Iwata mentions...I have to hope there is some kind of new Amiibo focused IP in the works. That would be their best bet to create that killer IP for the system that could propel huge sales, with how well Amiibos have sold despite their relative useless-ness. An addicting and fun game centered around them could definitely be huge.

If this was true, he should tried harder to get Pirate Warriors 3 on the Wii U.

*hits cymbal*

Well, if they made a console mainline pokemon title, that would be a possibility.

Otherwise i dont think that magic title will come.

Wii mUsic?  (seewhatIdidthere?)

Correct me if I'm wrong but it was the very first Pokemon game that revived gameboy right? That means Nintendo needs a brand new IP, unrelated to any current IP to have this miraculous effect. People can;t be just expecting new tricks from old dogs or mere platform switching of Handheld IP to home console to achieve the sort of miracle Iwata is looking for.

Splatoon ain't gonna do it by the way.

Of course in total contradiction to what I just wrote, if they payed 2K and Activision $2 billion each they could make GTA 6 and the next 2 CoD games Wii U exclusive I suppose. But that would be 3 games, not one. GTA6 would sell 10 million Wii Us at a minimum. CoD '15 and '16 would probably also sell another 10 million Wii Us. So that could guarantee a minimum LTD for Wii U of 35-40 million, which is possibly double what it's looking like right now.

If Mario Kart couldn't do it then I doubt anything else will.