When average consumer buys a car, they dont ask what materials are used to make the car... They see the car, try it, buy it if they like it.
Same is with the consoles. I dont think M$ will go into details with their system too. Sony can do that and Sony's interest is to do that because of their audience, and myths about Sony's power.
The fact is, only small percentage of consumers really care about specs. What people call "core gamers" are not more that 10% of all gamers, and large percentage of core gamers are mainly PC gamers.
Wii U is one solid piece of hardware, it just needs software and marketing. I think that Wii U is more appealing to core gamers than Wii was, it is the best balanced machine to date, and have the most comfortable controller ever created... People just need some software that they can play on it.
When X, Mario, Metroid and Bayonetta 2 come out, spike in sales will be huge.
Actually, most people research the car. Engine type, number of cylinders, horsepower, torque, how many liters (cubic inch displacement), exhaust type, etc.
Same with consoles.
It's all about potential. When you buy high performance hardware, you have peace of mind knowing that your hardware won't be a limiting factor in your gaming enjoyment. With weak hardware, you may still get a fun game but it will be sub par in other areas such as graphics, that would have really changed the e perience.
But Nintendo thinks different. They don't want to focus on specs, though they obviously worked very hard in putting together a high performance machine.
They want to be the place you go to just enjoy. Like willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Without all the technical difficulties. Lol