jb said:
Wii U has a lot more potential than people give it, Shin'en have done a top job optimising it and they're third party. Others really need to take note!

Absolutely. In as far as next-gen system design goes, a distinction both the X1 & Wii U share, the new Nintendo system epitomises those engineering qualities.
Fast interconnected machines encompassed by multi-level cache regions and globalized by a huge primary cache, having deep, wide page files and minimal external RAM. Essentially putting as little on the external bus as possibke is all very next-gen engineering semantic.

Without meaning to anger Sony fans, the Wii U is actually the polar opposite in memory hierachy to the PS4 a haute x86 version of the PS3 design, with greater overall performance. Large external bus RAM that by definition is distinctly last-gen; where next-gen in these closed systems (and indeed all devices) are using modern memory hierachy.

If groups like Shi'nen identify that in hindsight, further optimization of the pipe nets them tighter code by 40% at minimum, then it suggests quite clearly that getting close to the metal is deep indeed.