If we are talking about the time of release then we can say it is next gen however judging by the hardware specs it's more like a bridge console between last and next gen with a fun gamepad feature.

I don't blame Nintendo as their strength generally lies in their 1st party software and not the hardware side of things. But let's not kid ourselves and pretend that this console will be remotely in the same ballpark as the nextbox and PS4.

Because gen is short for generation, a term borrowed from human ancestry. It is used, in its most correct sense, to refer to the number of 'great's before you say the word grand(father/mother/son/daughter).

If one side of the family has kids at a younger age, that does not change what generation those kids are in.

Additionally, it has been noticed that there is a correlation between being in a later generation and being smarter and stronger, and being able to do more. This correlation should not be considered a causation. You might be able to (with decent chance of being right) guess someone's generation to reasonable accuracy from their strength, but that does not mean that you can use their strength to define what generation they are in.

Strictly speaking you are right of course. However you must also recognise that when we are discussing gaming hardware then "generation" can and does also refer to the capability of the said hardware.

Also it should be noted that just because something is current or modern in terms of release and architecture it doesn't necessarily make it more capable than a top end piece of hardware released earlier. An example would be a GTX480 being far superior to a GT630 video card which is newer and part of a new generation of video cards but clearly a low end model.

of cause it is... what do you consider next gen anyway? i usually think of next gen as new ways to play a game, new features, and better graphics from its predecessor, Not better graphics then it's competition.

Lol I counted 5 years :P did u take a year off?

People who try and define generations by graphics general don't know what they're talking about and are sticking with a convention that died out during the 2d era.

When we went to the 3D era that was the "32 bit era"... part of that era? The 64 bit N64.

The PS2 is also 64 bit.

Actually before then... afterall how many far more advanced handhelds did Gameboy trounce before they even bothered to add color.

Generations are based on product cycles.  It's next gen because it's starting the next product cycle.

It can barely run Black ops 2 and Arkham city so that statement is false.

Once again, I'll say that I know generations are defined by the time period and not graphical power. It goes without saying.

Companies were releasing hardware that was several times more powerful than the Gameboy color years before the GBC was released. The GBC was still from a later gen. I get that. I'm the guy that's posted several times about what goes with which gen!

I guess I should have been clearer in the OP. I am specifically talking asking if you think the Wii U is 7th gen technology released in an 8th gen time frame or if it is a satisfying leap, technologically, over what is already available.

Barely?

By your logic, the PS2 could barely run Dreamcast ports.  The PS3 could barely run Skyrim.  Looking at the start of this gen and playing those games (I have Kameo, Ghost Recon Advance Warfighter, Call of Duty 2, and Perfect Dark Zero--played all of them in the last six months), it almost looks like those games are from a different generation.  Oni on the PS2 doesn't look like it even belongs on the same console that spawned God of War.  We are judging too quickly, I think.

Next gen is when there is a new hardware released that coincides with the releases of other HW from the competition +- 2 years.

If Sony were to stick with PS3 for five more years, then they would simply skip one gen.