From the article...
"The Wii U is the only new console system on the horizon and Nintendo has never had a major focus on online games," said DFC analyst David Cole. "More importantly the short lifecycle and fragmented nature of console hardware can make it hard for companies to try creative new business models."
What is he talking about? Fragmented nature of consoles? There are 3 consoles and 2 or 3 handhelds. Sure, there are various SKUs, but they are just minor revisions and bigger hard drives - it's the same console. And short lifecycle? Since when was 7-10 years classified as 'short'.
What about all the smartphones and mobile apps... are they consoles too?
The WiiU is the only new console on the market atm... but this is predictions for 2016. The PS Vita is coming out at the end of the year. I'm sure MS and Sony have something up their sleeves too... But yes... Nintendo are not known for Online play, but things can change rather quickly, so we'll see. The Wii was about social play, as a group in front of the TV - not always about coach potatoes connected online - thats what made it popular.
It's on about online games through the PC... not PC gaming generally. But anyway - after reading a lot of 'analyst' reports over the years... I take them all with a pinch of salt, they very rarely prove to be accurate.