I'm honestly not sure there was an actual way to make the 2 separate screens in the tv/tablet form work in a way that wasn't already done significantly better and cheaper by the DS line
This is actually one of the things I
loved about it tbh, it was like Nintendo just tried to bring the DS concept into a tv-connected console. Not for creative use of the screens or asymmetrical play or whatever, but just the DS-style two screens where play could be on one and the menu or any supplemental stuff could be on the other. Especially in games that rely heavily on maps!! My god!! It is such a weird little headache for me to play modern Metroidvanias and be constantly,
constantly hitting a button to freeze play and pull up the map so I can keep it in my head where I'm going, whereas on the WiiU all it took was a quick, natural glance. And don't even get me started on how much more comfortable Splatoon 1 was than 2 due to having the map constantly active and visible instead of having to push a button that
overlays a map on the whole screen in the middle of live online play wtf.
Seriously all I needed/wanted was for the WiiU to function exactly as it did. The HD GC Zeldas were great examples of how something very simple can be offloaded onto the handheld touchscreen and still enhance the game experience. And I genuinely think it woulda done well if not for the one-two punch of the name/marketing and the PS4/XOne releasing so soon after.
Coulda used another gig of RAM too, but still.
IMO, the biggest issue with the Wii-U concept is that it prioritized one person over other players. Only one person could use the gamepad at any time. The Wii-U didn't allow for two people to their own GamePad on the same system at the same time. That creates conflict in the living room when kids have to fight over the controller. One kid holding the big fancy controller while the others are holding old, boring Wii-remotes isn't going to look attractive.
There was potential with the concept, I agree. It was still very flawed.
I even got that impression from the names. "Wii," as in "we," is meant to be played together. Then came the "U," which was focused on "you." I genuinely thought it was purposely named that way to show the new system would focus more on the individual "core" style games people were saying the Wii lacked. "The Wii was for the family, but this new system is for you."
Not saying it was a good idea, just that that's what I always interpreted it to mean.