Hopefully they use the time to make the game look better.

I'm ok with this.

People who think Nintendo will be able to handle a separate PS4-level console and a Vita+++ portable next generation are going to get a rude, rude awakening I think.

Unifying product lines for Nintendo isn't a choice at this point ... it's a necessity. They can't support the Wii U and 3DS as is, let alone a large generational leap above that.

At this point, Nintendo at max output can deliver maybe 3-4 high-end HD games per year. This year it was Xenoblade X, Splatoon, Yarn Yoshi, and uh ... Mario Maker I guess.

They'll probably delay Xenoblade to 2016 because why not? They can't even localize it properly without Skell's bullshit and age changing.

STop that Niche BS. A good game is a good game. end of discussion, they could market the fuck out of xenoblade chronicles X, makes it a less niche game now

Or they could, you know get some 3rd party support?  Like normal companies?  Cause even if they unify that doesn't help much.  Cause now they are still having to create those HD experiences that eat up so many resources.  Nintendo needs 3rd party support OR they need to roughly double or tripple their resources/manpower.  Unifying will help with efficiency, but it won't make their people spontaneously grow a second head and pair of arms so that they can make stuff for two games at once.  It's either expand ridiculously (absurdly expensive, may not work) or get 3rd party support and market what they *do* make (the rational option). 

"Normal" audience doesn't care much about offline MMO-jrpg, you know. Xeno series is a really niche whether you like it or not.

Once upon a time, Fire Emblem was considered a niche franchise, and it was so niche that it was on the verge of death.
And then Awakening happened. Now it's one of Nintendo's main franchises, and a big time player.
Awakening, as of now, is 4/5ths of the way to selling 2 million.
And Fates is tracking well ahead of Awakening in Japan thus far. Now granted there are two versions of Fates, and there was one Limited Edition bundle that sold out. But still, it's tracking ahead of it, and is on the verge of matching Awakening's lifetime sales in Japan.
Point it, it can be done, all it needs is two things. Quality and marketing.
If Fire Emblem could do it, why not Xenoblade?

It's hardly just that.  First off, MMO esque combat gameplay didn't kill Dragon Age Origins and the DA series as a whole.  And MMO structure (what this doesn't have) obviously hasn't stopped Destiny.  And this game is a massive open world RPG (1 mainstream aspect), scifi (with a very western aesthetic outside of the characters (specifically the faces cause the armor isn't Japanese 99% of the time)) (2 mainstream aspects), exploration emphasis (3 mainstream aspects).  Xenoblade Chronicles has no *reason* to be niche, it's just a fairly young game that needs marketing.  The only thing I would consider a potential issue are the character model faces but as TES and Fallout have proven over and over, character model quality does not matter THAT much :P

I am little disappointment but in same kinda glad because they will have more time to polish game.