This can get tiring. Maybe I should copy paste a generic response to these type of posts.
[/sarcasm]
Anyway, I digress. You cherry picked PS3, so let me do a little cherry picking of my own.
I remember when the 360 came out people harped on Rare's PD Zero for looking not much better than original Xbox. That nothing at launch showed the system and what it can do. So I guess the 360 was doomed, and it isn't capable of running games like Gears of Wars, Halo 3 & 4, Assassin Creed III and Watch Fogs, right?
Look, every generation we have that one game for a console that really shows what games will look like. Gears of Wars was that game last generation. That was a YEAR after the 360 launched. How long has the Wii U been out?
Look, this is just ludicrous that people expect end of generation level graphics at the start. With the PS4. and X1, it's possible only because developers know the hardware. But with Wii U they have to learn it's strength and weaknesses, and it's very clear listening to developers that the Wii U does better when you use it's features instead of trying to use what worked on past consoles.
[/End of Rant]
In addition, we have the ROI factor. The budgets on these games are enormous, so much so that a publicly traded company (or any company for that matter) is concerned with getting the product running, and taking advantage of the gamepad.
With 2.5 million users or so (2012), and a lower attach rate, the incentive is not really there to pour resources into optimization. Re:R is a good example of a compromise. A 360/PS3 port that takes advantage of the Wii U's unique features. Sniper V2, from what little I played, appears to run well, but seems like an attempt to cash in before more competition enters the market.
Now, with the Xbone and PS4 imminent, with the same architectural design (GPGPU), we should see down ports of those versions. I hope we do at least (in the case of Watchdogs and Drive especially). In this instance, it makes less sense to port the 360/PS3 versions unless no other resources (marketing, DLC) are used for the Wii U version.
I presumed, from rumors of the quad core PPC and 4850 that the Wii U was a souped up 360 from an architectural standpoint, or roughly a 1080p PC from 2008-9. Given what we are seeing, I am wondering how Nintendo thought launching early was possibly a good idea, considering that the summer update appears to bring things closer to a final version for consumers, and more mature tools are emerging for developers.
Great thread guys, very enjoyable reading!