As I said elsewhere, I believe there is an unspoken covenant between platform holder and consumer that Nintendo is fundamentally betraying here.
Sony shit the bed with PS3, on size, launch window, and price. They were behind Wii and 360 at various points in the cycle but they cut costs, refabbed cheaper models, and threw everything they had at software to rehabilitate the console. They succeeded. Nintendo did a similar thing with 3DS. Wii U? It's got a great library for sure, but to abandon the most loyal customers like this? It's a disgrace. People expect 4/5 years from a £250/$300 console at minimum, and they've every right to feel burned. This is not how you gain good will and confidence for a future console. I hate to say this - as I don't particularly subscribe to the Sony vision for the industry - but in terms of marketing future prospects, respecting the consumer, paying for their own mistakes, learning from mistakes and building confidence in a brand: Nintendo have a lot to learn from the likes of Sony.
