The Wii U is launching after the Wii, isn't it? 

I like this. 

Perhapps Microsoft or Sony should launch one console in October, then another in November. That way they can be one gen ahead of the competition.J/K

Ah, the Apple business model.

Don't think it works for anyone but Apple though.

;)

So if I released a console with a 200Mhz CPU, 46Mb Ram and a Geforce FX 5200 you'd classify it as next-gen?

Note how I said "with that GPU". 

The GPU, in fact all specs, are largely irrelevent to being classified as next gen.

The sole requirement is that you are part of a predecessor/successor relationship of flagship consoles.

Whether they want to release a console with specs that are doomed to fail is their business.   It's dead on arrival next gen but still next gen.

Then how come re-releases of old consoles like the Sega Saturn aren't considered current gen?
You have to be a successor to your previous iteration whilst being better then the current gen competition. As such, the WiiU is not next-gen, but this gen, due to it's hardware being on par with current consoles. It's this gen, and very late to the party. 

The Wii U counts as next gen, the same way the Dreamcast is usually lumped with the PS2/GC/Xbox generation when people discuss its place in the 'consoles wars' or how Nintendo has approached every generation of portable consoles compared to most of its competitors.

While, it isn't the cutting edge tech, it is more powerful then its predecessor and in previous generations would have signalled other companies into releasing their own systems. This upcoming generation is likely to be different from previous ones however, as the jump in tech will probably not be as large, thus Microsoft and Sony are playing it cool, seeing what the Wii U does and how they can improve on it. If the Wii U gets a substainal base, just like with the Wii, it will compete and thus be "Next Generation". Cutting Edge, no but the only consoles that Nintendo releases that have been close to being considered that would be the N64.

Hey, guess what! You're wrong! And your example is a contortion and evasion of Viper's point, which is the 100% commonly accepted defintion of "next generation".

But, hey, rock on with your very own, personal, definition of what "nextgen" means--it isn't like you dont' hvae plenty of company in the 'distort language to suit my own needs' category of message board posting (or the annals of marketing or politics)--you're a regular Humpty Dumpty, in fact!

They are though.

Think the Wii, PS3 and X360 are the only 7th gen consoles?

What about the HyperScan by Mattel, or the Zeebo? Or the Atari Flashback even? Sure, one has N64 graphics, the other SNES and the last is a 2600 clone, but they're still all 7th Gen. Time is the only deciding factor.

Even then, the WiiU kills PS360, so the only relevant comparison anyway would be against PS4720. Which can't even do yet.

"100% commonly accepted defintion"

Yeap..I'm not going to bother with such flawless logic as you clearly know everything, so to do so would be pointless.