I think that could be a home console that its gamepad could turn into a portable console. they have different architectures, it would have games for the portable and for the home console. but it will be sold like a single system

It will be most likely a unified OS with unified API etc.

I really don't think it will be like that ps3-vita model cause that model clearly doesn't work and I am sure Nintendo knows this... If you have the same game on two systems, it will cripple the sales of at least one of them cause it doesn't offer any reason for the people to get both platforms and in Nintendo's case, I think it will cripple the console sales which I doubt they want to do since gaming is their only business. I truly think they will continue the model of having exclusive versions of the games on both platforms like MK7 vs MK8 and 3d Land vs 3d World cause it gives people incentive to buy both platforms cause the games are different enough apart from just graphics to justify the purchase.

So, if they have the same architecture, what it will do is speed up development time drastically compared to what they have now so they can output more games for both platforms and they dont have to spend time teaching developers the kinks of both since they can just teach them one and the coding/instruction set will work for both. But the best advantage of this will be is for the third parties cause for third party games, it will make porting piss easy cause all they should have to do is take the console version downgrade the graphics enough so that it will run on the handheld version

It will fuse power pc, x89, Nvidia, and AMD under one device to rule them all. They will call it the Nintendo Personal Computer (NPC) and NPD will report that it sells millions.

Plug handheld into TV, becomes home console.

That's what I was afraid of.  It's the worst case scenario.

Honestly, it's what I've been expecting since I head about Fusion. Handheld + HDMI cable + separate controller. I don't find it a terrible idea myself.

But it being Nintendo, you never know what they're gonna do next.

This is just an idea, but for the Fusion I think Nintendo should just give up on the dedicated handheld business and start manufacturing smartphone cases/protectors that come with analog sticks and buttons. Nintendo can start marketing smartphone games that require the use of these buttons (ie. Nintendo would still retain some control over the hardware side via their protector cases) and this will become Nintendo's new mobile platform.

Nintendo's next console platform should also heavily support this concept of smartphone gaming the same way that the Wii U gamepad allows for off-TV play. I am thinking about a type of cloud where a game runs on both the console and the smartphone but the console does some of the processing leg-work for the smartphone and communicates via Wi-Fi even when the person isn't at home. When you get home, you can get a resolution bump by jumping on your TV or you can continue playing on your smartphone.

Hello everyone!!

I am really interested in this issue, so I have just logged in to share my point of view. I share some of the viewpoints already stated. Of course, predicting what Nintendo will do is just insane, because they are so innovative that, when you think you can predict what they will do, they give you a big surprise. First of all, I have observed the following:

1) Nintendo have clear problems to give attention to two platforms because they lack third party support, especially on their home consoles.
2) They have been consistently making similar versions of some of their franchises in both platforms: Mario Kart, Mario 3D Land/World, Smash Bros, etc. Some games on console jump to the mobile platforms and back. Luigi's Mansion ran on gamecube and you have one on Nintendo 3DS. Xenoblade Chronicles ran on Wii and it is in the New 3DS.
3) The WiiU gamepad is, to some extent, very similar to a handheld, yet it is not independent of the WiiU. What I like from it is that you can play the WiiU like a handheld in the sense that you usually do not need a TV screen.
4) The New 3DS is shockingly very similar to a WiiU gamepad in the button layout.
5) Nintendo have been experiencing with using the handheld as a controller for some games. One is Smash Bros 3DS. The other was Pokemon Battle Revolution.
6) The WiiU gamepad behaves (as I saw in a gamepad disection video some months ago), basically, as a WiFi device that joins a WiFi access Point (the WiiU console) and then streams the video from the console and transfers the user input to the console. The Nintendo 3DS has communication hardware that, if it was designed with that in mind, could function in a similar way.
7) Many games in the WiiU can be played with or without the gamepad, yet the gamepad gives you some functionality (touch screen, movement sensors, off tv play, dual screen gaming). If you like it, you use it, if you do not, you use the gamepad pro. This works for many games on the WiiU.

So, my hypotheses is:

1) There will be two platforms, one handheld, one home console, but they will work closely together.
2) Both platforms might share some games, but they will have their exclusives. Reason: Nintendo wants you to buy either one, both or the two. More money for them.
3) The home console will likely work as a common console in the sense that the controller will be differentiating but not mandatory as in the WiiU. If you are a classic user, you will be able to buy a console with a gamepad pro or some similar controller.
4) Yet, the new home console will be compatible with the WiiU gamepad and use it as a controller.
5) The new console will use the handheld as a controller if you have one. It will provide similar functions as the WiiU gamepad: touch screen, movement sensors, button layout, etc. If you do not have the handheld, well, you can use your old WiiU gamepad or use a pro controller.
6) It will not be like the PS Vita TV. A handheld that produces console-like graphics is either underpowered for TV or overpowered to be cheap as a handheld. Nintendo will not do this since they go for affordable devices.
7) They will not cancel out each other. That is, they will not have exactly the same catalogs. There are some games that work better on handhelds than on home consoles. Furthermore, Nintendo wants to sell as much hardware as they want. There is also another advantage: since they are independent platforms, you can take the handheld and continue playing the home console. If you come back home, you attach your handheld to the console and use it as a WiiU gamepad.
8) You will not need to buy both. That would be too expensive and some people are likely to not want both the handheld and the home console. Ones might only want Nintendo's handheld. Others might only want the home console.

This scenario would have the following advantages:

1) By having two platforms with similar hardware and catalog (yet not identical) you can sell one or both to a lot of people.
2) A lot of people claim that the WiiU gamepad made the WiiU much more expensive. By using the handheld as a controller, you can either make a more powerful console at the same price or make a cheaper console. I think Nintendo will try to sell the handheld first since they have a better hold on that market, then sell the console with either a common controller (like a gamepad pro) or with nothing. If you have the handheld, you could have a controller.
3) In this scenario, you can have people who only have the main console with nothing else. A lot of people do not like the gamepad, they prefer the pro controller.
4) There can also be people who only have the handheld.
5) There can be people who own both and have incentives to have both. Eg: buy in one platform and have it in both, getting discounts for buying similar versions of a game, etc.
6) They could reuse assets from similar games and reduce the time to make a game for their platforms. Nintendo have been struggling by either focusing too much on the 3DS (2013) or too much on the WiiU (2014, 2015). They do not need to make exactly the same game for both, but that would dramatically increase their software output.
7) If either fails or struggles, the other platform can help them leverage the situation. Nintendo is more likely to have problems with their home consoles, but they are powerful in the handheld environment.

Basically, I think that Nintendo will make a home console that uses the handheld as a controller when it is around the home console and as a handheld when you go away. They will work tightly together, but it will not be mandatory to have the handheld to control the console. That will allow Nintendo to sell an either cheaper or more powerful console and sell the gamepad as their handheld in advance. Since Nintendo seems to be king in handhelds I do not see a reason why they shouldn't try something like this.

Of course, it is only a hypotheses, feel free to criticise it. Thanks for reading, I understand this is a wall of text.

I think Nintendo comes out with a new handheld in a couple years that is similar to Vita in a lot of ways except about twice as powerfull. Powefull enough so Nintendo can so quickly port wiiu games run on it at 720p. From this point forward all first party Nintendo games go handheld and console. The new system will be able to be used in place of the wiiu gamepad and several can be used at a time. Nintendo's next console will be out a year later be based on mobile components and will be several times more powerfull than the wiiu. Lets say 4 times. It will come with a classic dual analog controller. But now there are cloud saves. So you can make games that use one or many handhelds as controllers for a dual screen experience. Also first party games will have mobile and console versions available and cross buy. You will be able to play all nintendo games on the mobile device or the console with cloud saves. At this point Nintendo can pump out between them and their 3rd party partners about 15 to 25 exclusives games per year and have no need for multiplats. They deliver a wide install base between the devices which will be attractive to cross platform game makers though and will likely receive a fair amount of them and will also be able to double down on the indie support they are already receiving.