Think about it.

• It had at least one entry in nearly every active Nintendo series at the time, plus a few new ones and revivals.
• Much more substantial built-in features and games (StreetPass, AR Games, etc.).
• Was able to be rescued fairly quickly with a price drop and hit games.
• Much more consistent release slate
• 3D was a far superior and less intrusive gimmick than the GamePad.
• Eventually got most of the Wii U features like Miiverse and amiibo, especially by the time the New 3DS arrived.

Overall, the 3DS just seemed like the better "Nintendo system" that generation than Wii U. It got all of Nintendo's mainstays, at or near console quality (some of them just straight up console ports), plus ones the Wii U missed out on. It had far less droughts, better third party games, most of the same features. And didn't need any stupid GamePad gimmicks, third party pandering, or "core gamer" cred like the Wii U was chasing to become a beloved system.

I don't think anyone would argue that haha.

3DS is a well respected system. The whole 3D part was cool but definitely a gimmick (a short-lived tech fad at that time) and not necessary, and caused the price to be too high so they had to save it with that big price drop early on...back when I guess Nintendo was more open to aggressive business strategies. But after that price issue it did well, it was probably just the rise of smart phones with mobile gaming that limited it from achieving Game Boy success levels, but definitely a worthy successor to the DS I think.

Wii U on the other hand was an absolute failure that had to be cut short with a very limited library (though granted a few gems which made their way to Switch) and is easily Nintendo's only big failure other than the Virtual Boy of course which was just a ridiculous experiment and total flop haha.

Pretty much everyone acknowledges that the 3DS had more good games. I would add the caveat that the top 10 Wii U games are largely superior to the top 10 3ds games: Both 2D and 3D Mario were better on Wii U. Breath of the Wild vs A Link Between Worlds, Mario Kart 8 vs 7, Bayonetta 2 vs nothing, Splatoon vs nothing, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze vs a port of Returns, Xenoblade X vs a downgraded port of the first game that couldn't be played on most systems anyway, Rayman Legends vs an inferior port of Origins, Pikmin 3 vs Hey Pikmin, and Super Mario Maker vs a port that took out the most important part of the whole game. In all of those cases the Wii U comes out on top The only one where the 3DS version is arguably better is Smash, and that's because Smash Run is far superior to Smash Tour and the stages are better. The Wii U version still has the beautifulHD visuals, 9-player matches, and more content overall.

The 3DS really shines in the depth of its library. Fire Emblem got the sublime Awakening, Fates, and a great remake of one of the original games. Samus Returns was great. Kid Icarus Uprising was worth the painful controls. It got Monster Hunter 4 and Generations and not just a port of the Wii game. It got Dragon Quest 7 and 8, as well as the Bravely Default games. It got 2 great Kirby games instead of a spinoff that forces the player to choose between the graphics and the controls. Resident Evil Revelations was originally an exclusive. It got Lugi's Mansion 2 and a port of Luigi's Mansion 1. It got the Zero Escape games, Shin Megami Tensei 4 and Apocalypse. These may not be as good as Mario 3D World and Breath of the Wild, but there was still much more quality games overall to play on 3DS compared to the Wii U. The top 50 games favors the 3DS, and that matters a lot more than the top 10.

I could not have said it better. 10/10. No notes :)

I don't know. It had some games on the Wii U, like New Leaf, but it was so under powered, and you couldn't play it on a TV. All in all, I think the Wii-U was easily a better console with better software.

You couldn't play it on a TV but you couldn't play a Wii U more than 30 feet or so from your console. So, just a mater of preference there.

As for games, I can't really buy that. You can argue the best of the Wii U was better than the best of 3DS but there was so much more on the 3DS.

That’s a good perspective I had never really considered: resources intended for Wii U being pivoted to 3DS. However I think was is more likely is that Nintendo knew early on that they were going to be jumping ship from both 3DS and Wii U after combining divisions, so resources were shifted away from both 3DS and Wii U, and toward Switch. (Just look at Switch’s first year compared to the 2015/2016 for Wii U, 2017/2018 for 3DS.) Nintendo publicly announced the NX’s existence in Spring 2015, and I imagine they had already gotten started on pumping out software for it as far back as mid/late-2014, especially seeing how little MK8 and SSB4 were moving units.

It did however have a vastly inferior version of mario maker.

I don't think anybody would argue that the Wii U counterparts of franchises were better. What I was arguing is that from the perspective of a non Nintendo diehard (like kids, or gamers who just wanted Nintendo games) that didn't matter. 3DS had basically every core Nintendo franchise and the games were console quality enough that most people didn't care. And it had the majority of the same features and controls as the Wii U.

In previous generations, Nintendo's home console and handheld were distinct enough that you could justify owing both. But the 3DS broke that, and was the first time a Nintendo handheld could sufficiently replace a Nintendo home console for a lot of people. 

Maybe before Switch and if you didn't have a PC or any other consoles. 3DS back then had a more unique library of games and versions of games you couldn't play anywhere else. 3DS had less software droughts throughout its life. Once Super Mario 3D Land launched, 3DS droughts were mostly gone. Wii U droughts were exhausting for first-party games and worthwhile third-party games. Especially in 2013, a lot of 2015, and 2016.