I think I'm the only one that thinks this WiiU situation was unavoidable for Nintendo regardless of what they did. All Nintendo could've done better was release their games and more of them on time to fill in the gaps and have system selling software earlier. 3rd parties, IMO, are dead on arrival for the WiiU and Nintendo home hardware in general (from the start). Even if the WiiU was spec to spec with the PS4, it wouldn't have made a difference. Sure, 3rd parties would've probably put in some more support at launch, but I highly doubt many people would have bought into them anyway. Thus we would be where we are now again, with 3rd parties nearly abandoning Nintendo. Most "hardcore" gamers made up their mind a long time ago on what systems they were buying, and that was either the PS4 or XboxOne. I think Nintendo's biggest problem is not so much the hardware but their image. Nintendo has not been looked at fondly by the general gaming crowd for years. It might even stem back all the way to the Nintendo 64. The gamers that flock to Madden and CoD never give Nintendo a second look regardless of what they are doing. They are the "casual hardcore" which image matters very much. They are the ones you hear talking nonsense at Gamestop proving their blind loyalty to Sony/MS. Or they are the ones oblivious to anything else outside of their PS/Xbox world as their systems satisfy their needs so hey have not needed to look elsewhere.
Nintendo matching the PS4/Xbone would have left them worse off IMO as that would've resulted in a slightly more expensive system. Nintendo did what they had to do, which I believe was the only logical choice. Release a system just capable enough to put out nice looking games within their budget. Whats the point of having PS4 specs if Nintendo themselves will more than likely never tap into all of it due to their own design methods and because they'll never fund the millions it takes for AAA titles like The Last of US to really show off those specs?
Nintendo was banking on the Wii crowd carrying over to the WiiU thus their decision to keep a similar name and design. It burned them bad. At this point, all they can do is put out there software and try and retain as much of the Nintendo faithful as possible while hoping to pull in a few new customers in the process. I think if they break even or pull slim profits, that could be considered a win given the situation they are in.