This is true, and it was the same thing when the Wii launched. Nintendo could release something that was only marginally more powerful than the Wii, and if they intended to go head to head with the next Xbox and Play Station, it would still be next gen. It's their offering to the next generation of consoles. It doesn't matter how damned powerful the console is. What if the Nextbox is 2x as powerful as the WiiU, and the PS4 is 2x as powerful as the Nextbox. Are they all in 3 different generations? Then how do we categorize them?

In short: A console's generation is determined solely on which consoles it is in primary competition with.
Gen3: NES, Master System, Atari 7800
Gen4: SNES, Genesis
Gen5: N64, Saturn, PS1
Gen6: GCN, Xbox, PS2
Gen7: Wii, X360, PS3
Gen8: WiiU, X720, PS4

Im going to put your comment in the OP since you explained it perfectly

I'm going to copy paste what I wrote in a previous thread.

"A considerable leap in power/efficiency in comparison to it's predecessor."

Is the Wii U noticeably better than the Wii in terms of power/efficiency? Yes, therefore it IS a next gen system. Just because it is similar to the PS3 and 360 does not mean it is not a next gen system.

I thought consoles were made to play fun games on them, not to boast about which one is most likely to rival an airplane.

Sorry but this has been done in poor taste - no one is omniscient. Just because you claim something is so doesn't make it so and as it stands, the gaming community is currently debating the status of the wii u and therefore the definition of what a next-gen console is.

This is highlighted when your post contains logical errors:

Error 1
"Next generation is simply the next step in technology for that company. For example PS1 to PS2, XBOX to X360, PSP to PSV, and now Wii to WiiU. "

What if it is the first step for that company? And why do you say the PS1 to PS2 is a step omitting the PSone?

Error 2
"In short: A console's generation is determined solely on which consoles it is in primary competition with"

Was the Wii really in competition with the PS3 or 360? The audience for the Wii was not the same audience as for the 360/PS3.
Therefore is the Wii a generation above or behind the PS3/360?


Your "definition" is not logically sound and a gross over-simplification of the many variables one has to consider with each and every console.

Take a step back and use common sense before talking with me.

Not my definition.  Look it up. And this isn't something that I go by, but the indsutry as a whole.  If you want to change it then dont look at it that way but it will still stay that way.

com·mon sense  

I'm not sure what the above has to do with technical and corporate matters. 

There is no definition. As I showed in my thread, the industry is quite clearly split on where the Wii U stands. For such a concrete definition, there sure is a lot of debate going on. 

I mustve been replying in the wrong thread -_-

Xbox was is it's first generation born in the 6th generation of games. Somebody brought that up and is 100% correct.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/next-generation

Once again there is your definition.  You are over thinking the situation which is why i said use common sense.  

The first generation of video game consoles lasted from 1972, with the release of the Magnavox Odyssey, until 1977,^{[citation needed]} when "pong"-style console manufacturers left the market en masse due to the video game crash of 1977 and whenmicroprocessor-based consoles were introduced.^[1]