They can do something innovative with more power and a 3rd party support and great 1st party titels.

or they can do something nobody can describe at the moment because it will be so innovative and new that nobody can think about it

By bringing to market another revolutionary system that resonates with most people. Pay Leo Burnett 200 million dollars to market it for them like they did with the original Wii back in 2006/2007 instead of doing the marketing all by themselves.

I'm sure you don't remember one little thing called 3DS. Even if NIntendo release another "Gamecube" they will survive

"Innovation" doesn't come easy. Nintendo will have to work for it that's for sure.

One thing is certain, to dominate the market they need to a) shake things up to win over people who have or are considering another option and b) offer a product that meets the needs of the core gaming consumer. Without the CODs, FFs, GTAs and ACs of the gaming world, you can lead the market but never dominate it for the long term. 3rd party support is vital.

It's easy to say release an innovative console. You may as well also say "well just make a new franchise as popular Pokemon and Mario". It's not so easy to do that, clearly Nintendo thought things like a 3D screen and tablet controller were innovative and would drive hardware sales too.

I say ditch chasing the next fad/craze. Go back to the basics and just release a good solid console in fall 2016. Something that's a good deal more powerful than a PS4/XB1. That's probably at least a 2 year head start. Invest in some good software development, reach out to some Western studios and finance a couple of strong exclusives.

If you can innovate with the controller/interface without making the controller $100 freaking dollars, go for it. If not, back off. Use a powerful, but off the shelf AMD GPU solution, don't waste time/resources on another highly propietary chipset. Make the system for Western tastes first this time, Japan is done with consoles. 

Good utilization of a 2 year head start should net them a 15-20 million unit headstart.

Launch the system with EAD Tokyo's next Mario game and push them to make it a game that really showcases the hardware, and make sure Mario Kart also is available in the first 6 months. Start both these projects well in advance of console release and give them extra staff if needed to finish on time. Create a new big Western IP and also make sure that is available in the first six months.

You will have success if you follow these basics IMO. 

I agree.  Saying make something "innovative" is silly, unless you know what said innovative thing is.  Since no one does, I say go with the basics and do it well.  If all things were equal: price, power, launch date, 3rd party support and so on, I think a Nintendo console with its much larger 1st party software base would win or at least compete in the market.  People site head-to-head failures such as N64 or GC, but I think they failed for other reasons, such as lack of Disc, look, and third party support.  Key titles such as FF, GTA, Metal Gear and so on made Nintendo's 1st party strength insignificant because of the absent 3rd party titles.

If Nintendo could launch a console 3 years after PS4 launch at the same price, there should be a noticable difference in power.  If it has a cool image/style, great launch games and full 3rd party support it would be a very desireable product.  If they link it with a successfully launched tablet handheld, it could have even greater interest.  I think this could work very well, and Nintendo should work to make it happen.

Will not happen, hope they can release a relevant solid console and do well. But they are incapable of making the games needed to win. And 3rd parties are done with them, last thing they want is for ninty to win a gen.

N64 wasn't that bad in sales and after GC they got the Wii. With the longer gens, doing 2 bad ones in a row would actually mean 14 years (and that would be 3 of the shorter gens we saw before). I don't believe they would survive 14 years with that. 3DS helps, but it won't solve all the problems, Nintendo financials prove that (low tie-ratio and low profit margin on hardware are a problem). The 3DS problems are easier to solve, since they are more from a unit cost point and about software sales. Wii U is more about bad decisions at the concept.

I think what Sony made with PS4 is a lesson for Nintendo. PS3 was a disaster because Sony tried to put things it shouldn't on it and because Sony actually believe that they were invencible after the PS2 and they could do whatever they wanted and every 3rd party would follow blindly. PS4 is basically what PS2 was, no gimmicks, a balanced gaming machine. And that's what everyone wants. Nintendo can compete in power. It's not necessary to make and underpowered console to sell it for a profit.

Both One and PS4 sells at a low profit or low loss, being surelly profitable with one game purchase (or the PS+/Gold subscription). With a initial tie ratio of 2 games and these subscriptions, they are generating profit. Wii U is underpowered, but it was still launched at a little loss (profitable with one game), so the question here wasn't that Nintendo couldn't do a powerful console is that they just went with bad design decisions that generated a expensive product. I fear that they don't like to watch their competitors. It's actually a quality to prefer doing inovations in your own manner instead of trying to reply to anything you competitors bring, but somethings you have to look and include in your product simply because they are the next big thing. And what I see in Wii U is that they ignored both PS4 and One and lost a big opportunity. 

Actually, the big lesson to learn from PS4 is that consumers will accept an $800 console as long as you mask it with a pricing system that has $400 up front and then $50 a year for as long as you own it.  In the past Nintendo has sold hardare at a profit because it needs to, as it is a games company.  Sony (and MS) was OK with losing money on Playstation because it isn't really a games company.  If DVD or Bluray took off, the system did its job.  But now Sony is in a financially precarious posistion, and Kaz set forth that Playstation needed to be a pillar of the organization and make money.  And with consumers willing to accept the subscription model, it is now possible to sell hardware that is both powerful and making a profit.  This is the trend Nintendo missed out on, badly.

Nintendo should have made a more powerful system, made games that used online heavily and charged for online.  They could have had a system that 3rd parties would support, consumers would want and they could make money on.

Going forward, Nintendo must learn this lesson and join this trend.  ASAP.