While I don't expect this to be a big success just because I don't think people want to play $1 Android apps at home, I think this is worth noting for Nintendo fans. 

Basically Nvidia just unveiled the Shield home console box. Why this is significant is because it runs on a Tegra X1 ... which is basically a smartphone/tablet processor. But it clocks in at a whopping 512 TFLOPS with 3GB of RAM ... which means this is likely more powerful than a Wii U. It can run games like Crysis 3, Borderlands, ... the real Crysis 3 too, not some watered down smartphone port. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JODCymya7Pk

As you can see it's tiny ... much smaller than even the smallest Nintendo console, and I imagine it could be smaller if Nvidia really wanted it to. 

And it's only $199.99 ... sold at a profit too (nVidia does not sell anything at a loss), available in May. 

So what does that show us? Mobile tech is ready for prime time already. 

Nintendo should be able to make a handheld that's on par with the Wii U in 2016 to run games at say 540p-720p resolution, and a home version that's 550-even 1 TFLOP (considerably better than Wii U) in power using just mobile components. 

And they should be able to sell that at a reasonable cost at a profit too, the cost won't be outrageous. 

"A Hint At Nintendo's Fusion Future?" No. A hint at Nvidia's future.

It's still interesting to look at because one of the big questions is can a mobile chip recreate a good "big game" experience ... the answer now is yes it can. 

Nintendo should have access to similar or even better technology in a year's time to this ... that means not only is Fusion a doable concept, it likely can hit all their needs, while providing an upgrade on the Wii U even. 

This $200 box is probably more powerful than a $300 Wii U, even smaller, whisper quiet, has more RAM, and better processing power. 

If Nintendo goes this route they should be able to sell a home variant that's a very nice sized upgrade on the Wii U without having to break the bank using cheap mobile components. This really does make a ton of sense for Nintendo's purposes, they probably can score a massively cheap deal on the component prices too if they use the same chips/RAM in the handheld and home version. Win-win-win for them. 

This is hinging on Nintendo doing a deal with Nvidia though. I'd be ok with a handheld with the capabilities of the Shield. Does AMD make a chip that is as power efficient/powerful as the X1? But if Nintendo makes a deal with Nvidia to be their hardware people maybe they could get a deal to get GRiD streaming available for their next console. So it wouldn't be the worst thing if Nintendo finds a way to make this their handheld.

I think AMD will be able to do it. AMD has things like the Mullins tech. Not only that, but they'll be able to deliver Nintendo a mobile chip that has a lot of similarity to the Wii U GPUs architecture which will probably also help Nintendo's developers hit the ground running with the chip and make for easy Wii U ports/cross development (why hello there, SMT x Fire Emblem, wouldn't you be an awfully nice launch title for a Japanese portable launch, ahem, ahem). 

The fact that it runs at max 20W at 512 GF @ $199.99 right now, makes Wii U's "efficiency" feel old and ancient. Well, their next console will probably run at 30-40W like Wii U, with likely 2014-2015 technology, so it'll likely be more powerful than this console thing if they take advantage of the headroom......hopefully....

I'm not sure if its confirmed but it seems like the Tegra X1 running here is at 5 watts for 500+ gigaflops (I think it's 10 watts for 1 TFLOP, which is also insane) ...

If Nintendo could get a chip like that at a 5 watt envelop into a mini-tablet style handheld .... holy sh*t would that be insane.

Honestly even PS4/X1 ports at 540p might not be out of the question. A lot of Japanese devs making things like Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III could suddenly be able to make handheld versions of those games possibly.

Not saying they would go this route ... but it's a possibility. 

According to Nvidia the full speced Tegra X1 runs at 10 watts and 1 TFLOP ... that's almost XBox One level and absolutely destroys the Wii U at a fraction of the power consumption. Crazy stuff. 

I'd be OK with this.

Although whether or not the 3rd parties would be is another question entirely. Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm no tech guy), but wouldn't this have the same architecture issues as the Wii U is currently having (ie, not PC based)?

no. If its Nvidia then they should be fine with 3rd party ports.  It would just be a matter of adjusting settings so its in a playable state on the handheld.