Toadfish1 said:
4 things.
One) The Ps3 was, at the very least, on an equivalent power level to the 360. It could enjoy a shared library that helped to pad out the consoles library and make it more attractive. Most third party developers have already gone on record as saying they will not make games for the WiiU, so it is nothing like the Ps3.
Two) The most anticipated upcoming game by a huge margin is the Xbox One exclusive Titanfall. It blows any Nintendo game completely out of the water in any objective comparison.
Three) No console gamer has shown any interest whatsoever in the Steam Box. All anticipation has come from PC gamers, many of whom seem to be proud of the fact that they were going to refuse to buy a Ps4 or Xbox One in the first place. It will draw customers from the PC, but absolutely none from the Ps4 or Xbox One.
Four) Price only means anything if you are providing an equivalent experience. The WiiU is providing an equivalent experience to the Ps3 and 360. As such, no, its not the cheapest console on the market, not by a long shot.
1) Not at the beginning of the PS3's life. In fact, PS3 sales at the begining were so bad that big 3rd Parties (Activision and EA) were actually threatening to drop support for the PS3 and PSP, in favor of NINTENDO. [http://www.nintengen.com/2009/03/more-third-parties-threaten-to-leave.html] Amazing how things actually change. And while I believe a number of third parties won't be heading for the WiiU, they wouldn't sell well on it anyways. Plus, Nintendo's first Party is enough to support the system.
2) Oh yeah, A new IP with 0 sales and a lot of hype is certain to outsell Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Super Smash Bros 3DU, and Legend of Zelda U, individually and combined, which are all really hyped Nintendo Games that all have been a part of series that have sold 5 Million at least once in their life.
3) Well, there are a lot of PC Gamers, to be honest, and if it gets some good exclusives, then it's possible. This is Valve, we're talking about, and they can make good Exclusives. And we don't know that absolutely zero people will jump ship from PS4/XBone for the Steam Machine, hype and reviews could convince some people.
4) Even if that's true, then that would put the PS4, XBone, and the Steam Machine in bigger trouble as all of them are more expensive then even the WiiU! Now you can claim that they are a completely different EE (Equivalent Experience), but it won't be immediately obvious, just like how the 360 and PS3 weren't completely different EE's from the PS2/XBox/Gamecube era (Look at the launch titles for the 360 and PS3, they look like XBox and PS2 games). Nintendo, on the other hand, is already starting to release games that look Next Gen (A benefit for being the first one out the gate), and either way, that would mean the WiiU does win.