Now to get this thread back on topic.
Iwata talks about WiiUHow it came to be, 3rd Party Devs, Late/Early Adopters & Game Pricing
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35336/Iwata_Wii_U_Planning_Started_Immediately_After_Wii_Release.php it was as early as 2007 that the company knew it wanted to add a second screen to its next system, says global president and CEO Satoru Iwata. The biggest debate, actually, was where that screen should go.
Initially, the Wii U's second screen was a separate device that was to be placed on a table, not attached to the controller. Also, the screen was much smaller, due to the higher costs of LCDs at the time.
"Considering how expensive screens were then, it did not make sense to have this big-sized LCD," he says. "We would not have been able to come up with a reasonable price point. … We had not decided when we were going to launch the new console [at that point], but we knew we needed to be flexible."
[...]
"During the roundtable discussions there were such arguments about should we make it capable of being a standalone system or should we make it work only with the [base console] system," says Iwata. "We came to the conclusion that this controller is only going to show the images generated and processed by this hardware unit – and sent from the hardware unit wirelessly. That means sharper graphics. A battery couldn't do that."
WiiU is not influenced by the iPad regardless of what comparisons are made closer to and after release. It's actually a graphically supercharged Gameboy evolved into a home console version of the DS.
Now please exploit the full potential of such a setup.
"In the U.S., people are very attracted by the sports and the shooter games - and the quality of those graphics are very important," says Iwata. "As a result, it was not necessarily the case to have the software [for the Wii] developed by the top developers of the software companies. And, as a result of that, Wii software was not able to succeed to the extent that third parties wanted [it] to. For this time around, we are able to expect the top [developers] for the top third parties to make games for the Wii U."
WiiU will be for everyone. Developers and consumers. It was designed to please everyone.
Devs will get the power they need to make the games they want to make at the graphical level they want to make them.
Gamers will get the games that they want with all the play options they are used to.
edit:
"When we consider the people who are first to purchase Wii U and the people who are going to purchase the Wii, I don't think there will be a great overlap between the two," he says. "I believe that those who are waiting to purchase the Wii now are the so-called 'late adopters' and the people waiting to purchase the Wii U are early adopters. So for the time after the Wii U [arrives in stores], I believe both systems will be on the market for some time."
With news that DQX could be forwards compatible, Nintendo actually has a chance at making late adopting DQX hold-outs for Wii into 1st gen early adopters for WiiU instead. And they could do that by selling a Wii game... I can't think of any other time in gaming history that someone has taken advantage of that opportunity. Nintendo could've and should've done it with Pokemon B&W, but it looks like Square might instead bat them to it with DQX
/edit:
"I think there is already some indication that the [current pricing] trend is going to stay here," he says. "When you consider some of the most popular franchise – such as Call of Duty or Madden - the publishers can afford to affix a rather expensive price tag on that because the franchise has a premium value. On the other hand, … without an established franchise, they cannot afford to keep that expensive price tag. I believe there will be a wider price range."
Some games may cost $60 and other may not.
As I "predicted" in the other thread,
"Core franchises might cost HD premium while Casual/Youth/Family games may range from standard to budget pricing"