Next handheld this year?

Wow if so Yokai watch needs to be launch title as well ad a good Mario - maybe Mario Maker - and finally Minecraft on Nintendo handheld.

Wow Pavolink. You made some good points i agree with there. 

Anyways, its pretty expectable that we will get Pikmin 4 and Paper mario U aswell this year. If i had to guess SMTxFE will release on the second half aswell... and if the Wii U is sticking around for a while longer, theres a pretty good chance Retro's new title will still come out for it.

Will be interesting to see what happens.

Same day means neither system will sell as much up front, as few people will have enough cash to buy two expensive bits of hardware at once. Same games means there's little incentive for the majority to ever buy both systems. Same price means a horribly expensive handheld or a really underpowered home console.

This is pure speculation, since exactly zero about the NX has been confirmed yet, but the "unified" part appears likely to me to be referring less to hardware specs and more about the operating software. If that's the case, it would be unnecessary to release both systems at once.

The article you quote does not say Nintendo will release the handheld first. It simply cites sources that expect Nintendo will order displays for handheld units in 2016. Maybe the WSJ article says something different but I can't read that in full. The article you quoted does not indicate the home console will come later.

So, it's happening like I always said? Where are these "everything points to a simultaneous release of handheld and home console in 2016!"-guys now?

Yeah. Could be because it won't be unified ;)

(like I always said btw)

Yeah, it makes sense. But idk, maybe they should be released together since they are unified? That is, if rumors are to be believed.

Anyway, I'm just happy they'll release something new. 3DS is too outdated already, we desperately need a new handheld... one that at least match Vita in specs/power.

God guys, so touchy with the thread titles! But you're right, so maybe NX is just ONE piece of hardware, who knows? But, I was running under the assumption that there was a home console as well, since Nintendo has pretty much already stated that there is indeed a home console in the works. Anyways, sorry for the title being off, I have altered it to reflect a correct statement.

Bussiness-wise it makes sense to wait. Releasing a new home console during the peak year of the PS4 is never a good idea. Who going to want to buy another home console when you can get a PS4 with an amazing library? The dev kits are only out for a couple of months and that's just not enough time to develop for a home console. Even the Wii U had its dev kits released about 1.5 years before its launch. 

The 3DS is on a steady decline in terms of sales, they need to adress that crowd, they can't just forget about the 55/60 million 3DS users. They shouldn't forget the Wii U userbase either, but let's be honest, the 3DS is much more important right now. Whether they launch a new home console this year or next year doesn't really matter, they have to start at zero either way. If they forget about the 3DS, there's a chance they loose a big part of that crowd. The Wii U's userbase is too small anyway, most hardcore Nintendo fans that are likely to buy their new home console anyway, whether it comes this year or next year. 

The Wii U, despite its low sales, is actually selling very steadily. Around 4 million units every year, no decline as of now. With the proper software support, they can easily stretch the Wii U's lifespan till 2017. 

What software do you say? 6-7 months ago, just after E3, someone told me the Wii U wasn't going to get any games in 2016, SMTxFE was the only confirmed game for 2016, and the guy believed that Zelda U was an NX title with its TBD release window. Now we have at least 5 games confirmed for this year: Zelda U, Twilight Princess, SMTxFE, Pokkén and Star Fox (although that last one was delayed). There's a very strong chance that Paper Mario is coming to the Wii U, and we know that Pikmin 4 is near completion as well. Just wait what Nintendo reveals this year. There's plenty of time. Absense of evidence is not evidence of absense. They revealed 3D World at E3 and released that game 5 months later. It's definitely not impossible, especially since Reggie said last year that they want to reveal games much closer to their release dates, so no years of waiting anymore, like we had with Zelda U, Xenoblade X or Woolly World. I'm going to be patient like I always am, and often that turns out to be the right mind-set when it comes to Nintendo. 

You said well: delayed games. Zelda, 2015 delayed games. SF, 2015 delayed game. SMTxFE, late localization of a 2013 announced game. Pokken, Arcade port. TPHD, remaster. Don't fool yourself calling this "support".

And there's zero bussiness sense to wait until 2017 if you are taking in count PS4 in the equation, as 2017 will be a worse year than 2016 with a higher installbase.

Agreed. With all of these crazy information "leaks" out there, I'm just waiting for Nintendo to clarify things a little with at least a statement. I hope they have something coming soon. Releasing separately in my mind is crazy for a "unified" approach, so I'd like to know where their plan is heading.