I will be satisfied once it fulfills a 5 year cycle. The games aren't a factor for me. Longevity is.

Once Zelda U is finished, I think Nintendo is pretty much finished with the platform.

I think maaaaaybe Retro Studios might be doing something like Diddy Kong Racing U as the swan song in 2016.

By that time though Nintendo will have given the Wii U all the major Nintendo IP. There's no point in dragging out an unsuccessful console. It just hurts the company by devoting resources into a dead end.

The GameCube really didn't get 5 years either, Nintendo pretty much stopped supporting it after March 2005 with DK: Jungle Beat's release. The rest of the major games were basically outsourced projects and Zelda: TP was moved to be a Wii launch title with the GCN only getting a limited, late release of the game. 

Release late 16 at latest, WiiU is selling too low to last beyond that. So announcement in 15 or early 16.

The next Nintendo handheld which is coming in 2016 IMO will basically be their next console I think.

I think they're done with dedicated/discreet home consoles after this gen.

The next console will be the equivalent of what the VitaTV is ... just a small box that lets you play the handheld games on your TV, but I think as a bonus it may be 2-3x more powerful than the handheld just to allow games to run at a comfortable 1080p resolution suitable for TV play. 

I disagree. I'll stick wtih 2017

Nintendo gave up on the GameCube by 2005 too ... it's holiday 2005 "big game" was Mario Party, lol.

So lets not act like that had a full 5 year cycle either. Nintendo supported it from 2001-2004 primarily, and basically bailed out as 2005 wore on. 

It was supported by having Twilight Princess not be canned on GC. Granted no one company can keep a console alive with few games. But that did release and finished the GC support at 5 years.

WiiU really shows how little sales matter, Nintendo is really pushing some great games onto that machine :).

2001-2005 isn't "five years of support" last I checked. 2005 was basically mostly outsourced projects (ie: Namco making Mario Baseball) too. 

They abandoned most internal GameCube development in order to support the Nintendo DS, which was a smart move because the DS was far, far (faaaaaar) more successful in the long run. 

The game came out in 2006 no? 5 years. I always count the final game the console maker releases the last point in the support. Even games like Fifa 14 on PS2.