That said, what do you think about the WiiU selling well in the future as a second home console?
At this point, even a Gamecube-level subsistence seems out of reach. Remember, the distinguishing feature of the system (the bottom half of a DSi as controller) keeps the console expensive (according to Nintendo, anyway), eliminating the option of a $99 budget box.
As for software, you've probably seen the full list of 3rd party exclusives, outside of Japanese-centric RPGs that may never see an English translation. For first party software, sure, a small number* will buy the system for the games**, but a whole bunch of people simply skipped the Gamecube. I expect the same here.
Although the internet will argue about it for years, let's be honest: the system is dead. The far more interesting question is what does Nintendo do next; in my opinion, the Nintendo 4DS, their next handheld that also streams to your TV via an HDMI dongle, with Nintendo retreating from the console space for at least the short term, seems like a safer and safer bet.
*I agree with that ridiculed Pachter comment: There should have been millions (at least 2+ Mil) of "Gotta get 'em all" tech nuts and Nintendo fanboys who bought the system out of the gate just based on promise. That they didn't (and still haven't) materialized, despite our basically seeing the entire roster of games for the system (outside of Zelda and Metroid 2+ years from now) should be setting off all the warning bells at Nintendo HQ.
**And let's look at those games: You have Smash with a 3DS version, a 3D Mario... that is heavily based of the 3DS version, and another Kart. Where are the new ideas*** that would get someone to buy a system for them? Nintendo's been gambling on novelty for a decade now - so they put out a system whose only novelty is that it turns your TV into the top half of a DS. So the system's survival depends on somehow coming out with new gameplay concepts for the DS no one managed to find in the last 8 years? Good luck with that.
***As I've already said, the biggest problem with the Wii U is that it came out too close to the 3DS. Nintendo teams were working on 3DS games until the Wii U was practically out the door, and have been rushing out stale retreads of their tentpoles ever since (and for a while still, judging from '3DLand with awkward multiplayer' and 'Smash without story mode and other stuff that takes time'). Personally, anyone who is espousing that Nintendo will rush out their next console followup in ~4 years are morons: Nintendo having the next console and next handheld coming out on top of each other would only magnify the issue that killed the Wii U. Unless the Wii U magically sells millions in the next 16 months, the only reasonable option is retreat.