I feel bad for Nintendo. Just when the 3DS is no longer selling at a loss, the Wii U comes in with the same exact problem the 3DS originally had.
The problem is that things are expensive and people don't have the money. It's a good business plan to sell at a loss, because it would mean more consumers will be willing to buy it. But it's a huge risk, because if they don't buy it, then they'll lose more money than they would have otherwise.