The Ram is off the shelf. It just needed more of it, not half of it dedicated to the OS... A wider memory bus wouldn't have hurt either.

The IBM and ARM CPU cores are also a known quantity.

The only really uncommon part would be the semi-custom Radeon based on VLIW5/VLIW4.

What Nintendo should have done is made the console a higher TDP device and dialed up that 160-shader GPU to the max.
My own testing on older 40nm VLIW GPU's is that when dumped with enough voltage and enough cooling... 1,200Mhz is more than attainable reliably, that would have doubled the systems GPU performance+more, outside of fillrate limited scenarios without increasing chip size.

Heck, I once took an integrated Radeopn 3200HD (AMD 780G) that was built on the older 55nm process and took it from 500Mhz to 1,600, of course I had to strap a fan to the heatsink and increase voltages, but it did make a hell of a difference. - I was expecting it to be a suicide run, but the system lasted for years.

The cost was with all the little "accessories" that Nintendo tried to cram in.

The Wii Sensor bar, the gamepad with it's Battery+480P display+Wireless/Bluetooth connection module+other electronics/motion controls and processing equipment is what dumped on the manufacturing costs.

Some great software in 3D World, Bayo 2, WWHD, etc. But Nintendo's worst home console hardware. Super slow, limited storage and the controller is just awful. Between a power adapter for the Tablet, console, external drive... sensor bar cable, Pro controller, Wii controllers... it takes up more room than my ps5.

I got the wii u in 2015, mainly for super mario maker. Ended up getting only 10 games for it, just like for the gamecube. my favourite by far is breath of the wild, but bayonetta 2, super mario maker, xenoblade chronicles x and tropical freeze are up there as well. and shoutout to wonderful 101, have yet to finish it, but i like the concept!

I've been a Nintendo fan since we got an N64 for xmas in 1997. Ever since then I've bought every Nintendo console during its life span with the 1 exception of the Wii U. It simply did not interest me and just looked like another Wii with an admittedly cool gamepad but that didn't do enough to make me spend the money on it.

Sounds pretty negative on the Wii U so far but I've actually grown to love the system now. I did eventually buy one in 2017 (after I had a Switch) and I have had it hooked up in my living room as my 2nd main console ever since. The reason I bought it is because all the ports that had come over to NS (and many others that were going to move) were much cheaper on the Wii U as well as the fact it had a few key exclusives. Quite simply it's one of the best local multiplayer systems ever. Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros 4, Nintendoland, Runbow, Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3, Yoshis Woolly World and of course access to play all Wii games in HD are really cool aspects to the console.

Bad console!

I keep mine hooked up. Was playing it the other day. A few tracks of Fast Racing and then some Axiom Verge. Plus i have all my wiiware games on it like the Rebirth series.

The Wii U was a great console. I loved mine. I miss the original menu soundtracks and UI design the Wii U had lol. The Switch UI is as barebones as possible and very sluggish. The only "music" is when you load up the eShop. Just doesn't have any character to it that made the Wii U special in that regard. Plus, things like Virtual Console and WW/TP HD as everything else minus XCX has been ported to the Switch.

How WWHD & TPHD haven't been ported is a complete mystery to me.

While not one of Nintendo's best systems, I had some great times with it. A lot of fantastic nights playing mulitplayer Mario Kart and Mario U with friends while having a few beers. Some surprisingly good games that used the controller well early, especially Zombie U. Some great Zelda remakes in WW and TP. Good selection of older games (although not as great as the Wii's) Played the Minish cap Golden Sun, and Earthbound games for the first time on the Wii U. Finally beat Zelda 2 from the NES on the Wii U thanks to quick saves. Played my first Shantae game there with Pirates Curse. Since the system wasn't selling well loved that Nintendo gave us a choice of a free game when you pre-ordered Mario Kart which I used on the fantastic Pikmin 3. Again not a great system, but I still had some good times with it.

I still feel so conflicted about the Wii U.

On the one hand, the design was terrible, and the software droughts were torture. On the other, it did have some genuinely amazing games like BOTW, Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, Splatoon, etc.

I enjoyed it more than some other Nintendo systems like the Gamecube and 3DS, but less than the Wii, SNES, N64, or Switch.

As the underdog I guess I'll always have a soft spot for it, but now that we're swimming in amazing games on Switch, I certainly don't miss it.