Wii U is positioning itself as the HD platform to have if you enjoy local multiplayer. The amorphous design will make interactions that much more interesting, and the idea of playing co-op FPS games with two independent screens is insanely appealing.
People are quick to forget that Nintendo published, on the Wii no less, perhaps the best selling single game this generation with online play: Mario Kart Wii. They're not afraid of online play; that's a notion circulated by people who think every single game should be built around online. The difference is they still give equal weight to local multiplayer.
Sadly I've talked to adult game players who sincerely believe that virtually nobody plays local multiplayer anymore, and more importantly,
believe that nobody should want to because being able to sit in your underwear with a headset is clearly the superior way to enjoy video games. I suppose this is the effect of an echo chamber of like-minded gamers who glommed onto Xbox Live this gen, and only ever talk to or play games with people on Live.
It seems that "nobody should want to" part is the origin of the truly bitter sentiments you see tossed towards Nintendo when a given Nintendo game has no online play, because for those folks it's not just disappointment but an attack on their belief about what is the 'correct' way to make a game.
I am glad that Nintendo is simultaneously improving their online capabilities AND focusing on new local capabilities with this console. It also shouldn't be overlooked that they are putting a new focus on distributed social features related to playing local or even single player games - that's not Nintendo being 'weird', but paying attention to the way the wind is really blowing in the industry. It's more progressive than some are giving them credit for. (You know something's up when Valve says they likely won't ever make another single player game that doesn't have some form of online connectivity to share things with other players.)
Speaking of which, I am very interested to see if Nintendoland incorporates any of the Miiverse features as NSMB U does. That could put the package over the top.
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