Well I know and totally understand why that 3DS game is well received. I'm still trying to like it in small doses, but I don't like just wandering around aimlessly in my limited time I have but I do not hate it as it can be fun. And the WiiU got sold because the only interesting games left appear to be that open world Zelda, Starfox(only one I consider a true loss), Xenoblade (which is so large I'd never get it as I couldn't come near finishing it), and that's I think it.

I don't think on zelda wii u they're going to de-emphasize the dungeons but they won't be the big focus they once were as I think the world itself on the whole will be and they'll just be a smaller part of it due to the wide expanse they're in. I don't think it will be scrapped, nor do I think it will be radically changed. I just think if history goes as it does with them delaying Zelda projects a couple times it may get scaled back a little to hit some ultimate deadline that probably will be impacted by the sales data of the WiiU and the need to pull in more sales. My brother seemed to think that in 2015 they may be doing a Mario Galaxy 3 since that series was far better received than their 'New' Mario line or even the 3D Land/World games. Perhaps that'll be thrown out there at E3 2015 and Zelda pushed back to drag out the clock further if it's real. I hope you're right they delay a Zelda game less than they usually do, but as we know, it's huge, so testing that and finishing it up will take a ton of time as Nintendo hasn't been one to ride the upgrade/bug patch train Sony and MS do.

I'm one of those pushing the idea of what you've seen as a possibility, the console/handheld in one device. Let's face it, outside of their own releases they fairly well blow at getting out up to date hardware and third parties to back it since the Gamecube period. Yet they get huge support even from their most critical of developers for their handhelds -- GBA and DS of all things even got GTA games. Since they can't compete well at home but do on the go, it would I think serve them well to make a bitchin $300 handheld which also has a TV dock and a controller (think Neo Geo-X) and go with it. They would be putting all their eggs in one basket instead of two, but they could focus far better that way on the market that hasn't betrayed them -- portables, while still giving the TV some use with a dock. It also would bolster their WiiU credo of off-tv play.

ZP3 I think it had a few great releases, but it has lost steam is all. New SMBU, Mario 3D World, Zelda WW, Res Evil Revelations, DKC TF, Rayman Legends, the physical release of Duck Tales, and a few others I enjoyed, but I ran out of steam with not having something to enjoy with it going forward. And yes, I don't care for smash or kart on the console side either. I'm sure a few more things will be announced, but if what my brother has learned is true that 80% or so of the known remaining releases for the system are public knowledge now, that's worrisome. It could just end up a nice box with 3 years of fun before it craters kind of like Dreamcast -- a good short ride.