basically what I want from Nintendo next-gen is what they have already been hinting at lately. a few statements from Nintendo include, "next console and handheld will be more unified like brothers" and "the transition from GC to Wii was the easiest we ever had and hope to replicate that next-gen by absorbing the Wii U architecture".
basically what that means to me is that Nintendo's next handheld and console will share much of the same hardware which will allow them to play the same games as one another.
I believe the handheld version will be somewhere between Vita & Wii U in power like 3DS is between PSP & Wii.
the console version will essentially be a super Wii U, similar to how Wii was basically a super GameCube. the extra boost in power over the handheld version will allow games to run at a higher resolution/frame rate.
these devices will launch sometime between holiday 2016 & holiday 2017, possibly with staggered launches. initial price $199 each. they will share the same virtual console/eshop and support cross-buy/cross-save so if u own a digital game on one u will own it on the other as well. also they will have a unified online system so someone with the handheld version can play online against someone with the console version. they will have some sort of connectivity as well so a handheld can act as a controller for the console like the Wii U gamepad.
the most important part of this idea is that it allows Nintendo to focus all there attention on one single platform which will hopefully allow them to supply a steady schedule of games, something they have struggled to do while supporting two seperate device. this also allows Nintendo's home console to regain strong 3rd party support since there handhelds always have strong Japanese 3rd party support and a ton of western games based on kids shows/movies.
one other thing I would like to see is a much improved Virtual Console along with a subscription service. $50/year gives u unlimited access to the virtual console. this gives consumers access to hundreds of games for cheap and since the average person probably doesnt spend $50 on it per year, Nintendo would be making more money.
since Nintendo can't really afford to go all out against MS/Sony for specs/multimedia features and doesn't get most of the AAA western titles, they need to find a way to differentiate themselves further and be more self-reliant. this scenario is the best way for them to do that and hardcore Japanese games+child friendly western games can easily fill in the gaps.
When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.
