Ah... count me as a Wii U-only console gamer this generation. Frankly, it's not as bad as you guys made it sound though.
As a dad with two young children, a full-time job, and other hobbies as well. Playing video games is something that I love but can't commit much time to. I also happen to have a pretty massive Wii backlog (all conveniently playable on my Wii U) and a 3DS that receives a hefty portion of my gaming time. Shelling out another $500 for a second console, with additional costs on top of that for games/services, is simply not going to happen.
So while I totally understand how most gamers feel like Wii U isn't good for anything but a secondary console, for me it's all the gaming I have time to handle. Maybe 5-8 years ago that wouldn't be the case... but things change. (Plus it's by far the best console to play with my children in the room.)