Are we realy still haveing this debate arter 20 years and blast processing was founfd to be pretty much marking BS?

MORE POWER!

Look i know the WiiU is going to take a lot of heat but if you guys are happy with the WiiU just ignore them. Honestly i dont see why Nintendo needs a lot of power for their games so im glad where it is. They brought innovation to the table so just ignore what people has to say about the wiiu. It is next generation. Will it be the most powerful? no but it doesnt matter. As long as it has good games that is all that matters.

Kain_Kusanagi said: "Back in the 80's the generational leaps were all 2D and difficult for many to tell the difference."

Odd, I have no trouble whatsoever telling the difference.

I agree what you said about the PC Engine delivering results, but I don't agree whatsoever with graphical output defining a generation leap, or having to be successor to an existing console. That simplifies things far too much, I think. It's about that too sure, but it's also about the timing, what new it brings to the table, and a factor of many other things.

I am not a fan of the Ouya, or Smartphones, Tablets whatever. I do believe they're the start of things to come though and therefore earn a spot in the generation of gaming, whether they are in direct competition to the big platforms is completely irrelevant.

What do you mean by functionality? And what if that functionality doesn't differ between rivals?

...In the OP I stated that generation status was irrelevant to if you enjoy a console or not....You can't just claim it's next gen without stating why. Tis the point of this thread.

Why is it next generation?  because it is the next generation of nintendo hence next generation.  

Power and innovation does not make something next generation.  Moving forward makes next generation.

Here is the definition of Next-Generation

pertaining to the next generation in a family; also, pertaining to the next stage of development or version of a product, service, or technology

Hence wii to WiiU

But you are ignoring rival machines. It may be moving forward for Nintendo, but not when compared to existing consoles. It seems absurd to say that a console which is technically similar to 7th gen machines is 8th gen just because it was released at a later date.