Is it a failure? Although the Wii U have been sold at lot due to Smash Bros and Mario Kart 8. But there's no denying that the Wii U still have bad sales. Plus, Nintendo is making a new console that will soon make the Wii U useless to get. (Just like what happened to 3DS due to the New 3DS.)

And the lack of virtual console, indies and original Wii U download only games makes Eshop sorta useless. So, tell me in not a fanboy or Nintendrone way. Is the Wii U a failure?

Yes, it's a failure it's sold under 10 million units. And it's their own fault, they made an unpowered system that no developers want to develop for.

you should know better than to argue that being underpowered is ever the reason for a console failing. The Wii U failed because of a weak launch, abd branding, mediocre at best advertising, and the mass abandonment of 3rd parties

I'm not sure where you are getting those numbers from, I only paid €35 for BOTH my adaptor and Smash Bros. Edition GameCube Controller over on PlayAsia. Amiibo are not even required for Smash Bros. DLC adds more to a game that already has a lot of content to begin with and is fairly priced when compared to other fighting games.

 

Also, "banking solely on Smash Bros. and it's pathetic" that is ridiculous statement. Smash Bros is ONE of their biggest games on the Wii U, to not support it would be a missed opportunity. We'll no doubt get more content for Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon later down the line so they aren't banking solely on Smash Bros in the slightest.

My point is they are more or less trying to keep a system alive on a handful of games when their competitors don't need to rely on that. My point is that they are milking Smash Bros. for everything its worth and not in a savory way. It's more of an acceptance that it is all the Wii U.