On the positive may be a new business structure with potentially minimal or no hardware and different pricing structure for software opens the door to seeing franchises like F-Zero, Star Fox, and Wave Race again ... because Nintendo didn't seem like they were ever going to bring those back under today's $50/game + $300 Wii U to play it on model.

I guess the big issue is what he means by a new business structure.

Does me mean as I assume in that he'll move to a smart-Nintendo device OR as you've stated they do in the past with a very low cost hardware focused on the games?

The smart device is definitely the "me too" device and as we've discussed in the past, you're likely right that it spells doom in the long run just as Xbone is losing to PS4 and nearly all Android OEMS lose to Samsung.

So what's the real alternative? A $200 box with a ton of quality Nintendo and only Nintendo games? (aside from the small number of indies)

I've also said it many times ... I think Sony should jump all over this Kaz should call Iwata just to offer an olive branch.

They should understand that Nintendo is a very proud company and will never accept just being subservient to another company, but if Sony can offer Nintendo a deal whereby they still feel like they have some involvement on the hardware side (especially with say a portable/cell phone/tablet) ... Nintendo may just take Sony up.

What if it means no big hardware fee at all? You pay say maybe even $30-$50 for a Nintendo controller and receiver, take that home and can start streaming a library of Nintendo games straight away with an internet connection perhaps?

That's just an example, but today something like that is (technically) possible. 

You learn how to use it, & hire people who are experts with it.  They are going to have to learn a new system at some point anyways, right?These people who know Unity (just an example engine) are flooding the job market at the moment.  Yes Unity games are less demanding then other games, but Nintendo seems very comfortable making less technically impressive games than the competion, so developing for a low common denominator shouldn't be much of an issue.

Oh, I'm on the defence, k

Fullly online is still now mass market feasible. Especially considering online/networking is not Nintendo strong competency.

This +1

I've heard different things about this. Nintendo could hire another company to handle the infastructure side. 

The other thing I was thinking the other day is maybe Valve is simply smarter than all the console manufactures. Look at their setup -- they're now up to 70+ million active users and that's a service that isn't reliant or tied to any one specific piece of hardware. 

In a lot of ways consoles are for suckers ... I mean even if you do everything right, after 5-6 years you basically have to start again at ground 0 and then work your ass off to build the userbase again from scratch. In many cases you have to suffer hardware losses to boot. Valve is just sitting there adding to their consumer base every day without having to sweat any of that. 

I think Nintendo is starting to feel like all that monumental effort is simply not worth it anymore.

BAD IDEA.

Really, Nintendo does probably need to figure something out with their home consoles, but going into smart devices is suicidal. Nintendo has regularly crushed the charts with the 3DS, in both hardware and software. Smart devices is the marketplace you don't need help in.

The home consoles do need a hand, though. The Wii U isn't imploding or anything--in fact, it still leads the generation--but it really needs X and Zelda to hit shelves ASAP because Mario doesn't sell consoles in today's market.

Nintendo just needs to buckle down and make some more mature games. They don't need to have cursing or sex in them past a T rating, but they need to be complicated and satisfying for a mature audience.

You're incorrect.  Even if Wii U is still sold at a loss, Nintendo makes most of its revenue by being a hardware provider.  Almost all hardware they sell is sold at a profit (even Wii U will be for about 75% of its life), and then a huge portion of their revenue come from licencing fees on software sold for their hardware platforms.  The $7 per $60 game fee is pure profit that all of the console makers build their buisiness around.  Even on 1st party software, Nintendo would make $34 on their own platform but only $27 on other platforms - in other words 20% of even their own software revenues are due to being a hardware platform owner.   Your statement clearly indicates that you don't understand the video game business.  Nintendo has stated that just under 2/3's of their buisiness and revenue stems from the hardware side of things.