Is this the beginning of the end for Nintendo?

I’ve said for a while now that for all its success over the past five years Nintendo actually never had any idea what it was doing, but this latest Wii U rumor seals the deal beyond a reasonable doubt.

Basically, the Wii U is shaping up to be as ill-defined and rushed as the 3DS. Its centerpiece, the single-point of contact non-HD touchscreen, allegedly isn’t working without a tether, and even with the tether the performance is so poor that developers have had to halt production on titles.

Adding insult to injury, the Wii U’s purported summertime launch date is now September 2012. Nintendo is big enough that a flop like the 3DS could probably be weathered, but if you add in another flop in the console space…I’m really not so sure anymore.

I’m now well beyond the point of “disappointed parent” with Nintendo. It’s full on anger, and the box of unused Wii games and Wii console sitting to my side as I type this might as well be a box of hammers for all the enjoyment it’s given me over the past 12 months. Which is to say none.

A single-point non-HD touchscreen console that can only interact (barely) with one controller at a time? Launching in a year? Gee whiz, could I have ten?