It's scoring about the same as the original Bayonetta, infact it's only one point better than Bayonetta on the Xbox 360.
Besides that what was The Wonderful 101's excuse then?
wonderful 101 is a whole different game and irrelevant to the discussion because there's nothing like it to compare. Some great games just aren't for everyone.
Im assuming that you are using the metacritic score average to weigh bayo 2 to bayo 1's review. I think there's nothing wrong with that, but there's the issue of metacritic's selection of valid review websites imo. Its also very inconsistent in its selections as well. The point im making will be clear if you look at the reviews individually. A lot of 9's for bayo 1 are now 10's at the same outlets. A lot of 8's for bayo 1 are now 9's for bayo 2.
I mean lets list some of them side to side.
Destructoid: Bayo 1= 80, Bayo 2 = 100
Gamespot: Bayo 1= 90, Bayo 2 = 100
Giant Bomb: Bayo 1= 80, Bayo 2 = 100
Gametrailers: Bayo 1= 90, Bayo 2 = 98
Cheat code central: Bayo 1= 86, Bayo 2 = 92
IGN consistent with both a 95
The only one which I found to give a lesser score was gamesradar. I mean this is as far we can look for a decent comparison in reviews. Gamespot is stating a bad being "The sad realisation that future action games may never top this".
The only way we're gonna find out is when the game comes out. But having played the demo for a bit I could already tell that it was a polished game through and through.
So back to my point of bayo 2 meeting its full potential under nintendo. I think if salestalk and potential future of the console is important to a person, I can see where one is coming from. The WII U costs more than previous nintendo consoles and the investment has to be right for you. But if you're looking for the best bayonetta, it could be that a team like platinum games with their gameplay mindset was right at home under nintendo.
About nintendo expectations on the game's performance. I think both you and radrappy are right and the truth is probably at the middle. They probably expected more at the time when they got the deal, but a lot of things happened hence expectations lowered and focus changed.
The one thing that could possibly make bayo 2 a succes is this. The great reviews and the current installbase actually giving a damn + people who'll buy the console for bayo 2 in anticipation towards smash bros U. I have a feeling bayo 2 may do a lot better than nintendo's "current" expectations.