PS3 by a landslide.

PS3 had the most native 1080p games in its generation and the most sound options. It had one of the best blu-ray players for the time with 3D blu-ray patched in later. It supported all sound formats and I still use it as my main blu-ray player, Akira in DTS HD-MA 24 bit 192khz sound for example. It is still the most complete media player and I love the glass door cross bar UI, simultaneously playing little clips of all the videos stored on it instead of boring icons. The original even launched with a multi SD card reader. I could simply pop in my memory card from my 1080p video camera and directly watch the M2TS files on it. It's a shame my original one bricked on me. The replacement doesn't have BC nor the SD card reader :(

The WiiU was great as well, however the pad developed stick drift. BC with Wii was nice to have but cumbersome since you couldn't use the WiiU pad controls, and no BC with GC games. Otherwise a lovely system, I really enjoyed having the map, inventory etc in my hands while the tv imaged stayed clutter free. For that reason the Switch was a step back for me.

Objectively the PS3, but subjectively I'd choose the Wii U over it any day of the week. If I liked dual analog shooter controls it would be different, but the first person and third person shooter genres don't work for me unless I can use mouse or motion controls, and that disqualifies a huge chunk of the PS3's best games from being something I can enjoy.

Playstation 3 by a country mile.

In saying that, the WiiU when it had games appropriately optimized for it's hardware, did have the technical edge over the PS3.

But the PS3 just had the games, in the end, that is what we buy these devices for.

If I had to compare the best games of each, say the top 10, I'd actually go with the Wii U, as Nintendo's top tier games are simply the best in the industry in my opinion. Nothing on the PS3 matches Breath of the Wild the way I see it.

That said, sheer quantity of good games gives PS3 the overall edge; you got the Bioshock trilogy, Mass Effect Trilogy, Uncharted trilogy, Dead Space, Vanquish, Bayonetta, Puppeteer... the only reason my Wii U collection is bigger than my PS3 collection is because I bought my 7th gen multiplats on 360.
There is simply more worth playing on PS3.

I did prefer Wii U's controller though, both the Gamepad and the Pro, as I find the dualshock 3 horribly uncomfortable.

Ps3 wins this one. It had way bigger library and better games. There were top tier games like gta 4 and 5, assassin's creed 2 and brotherhood, red dead redemption, the last of us, uncharted 2 and 3, metal gear solid 4. Wii u had breath of the wild but that came out when the wii u was already dead. I didn't include games like persona 5 and mgs 5 because those released when ps3 pretty much dead

PS3 by a million miles.

Wii U is one of the worst consoles I've ever owned! PS3 had some flaws, and the backwards compatible model getting discontinued sucked, but the PS3 was still a great console. Better than the Wii U in literally every aspect.

The Wii U trailer showed a lot of potential for gameplay, but sadly, a lot of it never made into the games.

I barely played PS3; I played A LOT of Wii U. But PS3 sold 100 million.

If I was on a desert island and could only have ps3 or Wii U, I’d pick ps3 as long as I could use a 3rd party controller 

Based on the systems alone, Wii U. The gamepad, even though it wasn't used that well in many games, is a really neat controller, and off TV play alone makes it better on a technical level for me. Plus it had backwards compatibility, and Miiverse was kind of nifty.

But, in terms of software it's no comparison, PS3 crushes it. Arguably the best library of any system.