And a small second/third party list, some of which are absolutely AMAZING exclusive titles. Undersold and underloved is absolutely right!

Not next year, I was talking about 2016. To announce it in Feb 2016 would give them 15 months to figure out exactly what they want to do and create it, iron out the kinks by June to have it playable at E3 and then launch it in Nov.

I'm not entirely sure what Amiibo and Quality of Life have to do with releasing a new console. Amiibo releases this week and Quality of Life releases sometime next fiscal year so Nintendo could release new hardware in 2016.

Ah, so release near Nov 2017... In that case completely doable and I agree. 

The amiibos are a point due to early adopter want to feel their purchase of amiibos are justified, though I stand corrected that the quality of life stuff could be multigen an I doubt many if anyone cares. But giving Nintendo 3 years from tomorrow (when the amiibos go live) should give them plenty of time to satisfy Wii U adopters with plenty of amiibo functionality if they come out of the gate running with these things. Already having plans for Smash and Kart is a good first start. 

Someone on neogaf pointed out that the step of choosing the parts and whatnot is actually fairly late in the process.

The hybrid thing doesn't refer to one single device that acts as both, it refers to separate devices that are much more integrated and similar. A possible scenario would be a separate handheld and console that have the same architecture, operating system, online infrastructure and similar specs in order to make development for two devices much easier or possibly to give them a shared software library.

Successor will be released in 2018.

If 2015 is not kind to the Wii U, I expect we'll be hearing about a new console underworks in 2016 E3, and release it in 2017 sometime (middle or end of the year). Of course, the new console is already underworks, but Nintendo will announce it sooner (imo) if things look bleak for them.

What do I think Nintendo should do? Hold onto the Wii U for a long time and allow hype for their next gen console to heighten by sheer expectations, and also to wait out the life cycle of the PS4/Xbone, and give them the proper amount of time to create something that can surpass the PS4/Xbone by enough of a margin to make it feel like gen 9 while also remaining cost effective. They need to ensure that they understand the ballpark power of Sony/Microsofts next gen consoles, and then replicate it closely enough before they decide on the power too quickly. Waiting it out for a longer period of time increases the chances of getting an idea of that.

Nintendo should never again aim for ports of previous gen titles. What they want is new games and to share 3rd parties with Microsoft/Sony. Their consoles should be around the same ballpark in power and capability of their competitors so that they can share multi-platform titles more easily.

The mentioned a joint software ecosystem and they are unsure of how many variants they want to make (could even be more than 2 variants according to Iwata, meaning it could be 3-4 different hardware systems). 

It will be like the iPhone-iPad-iPod Touch that was the analogy Iwata used and those are all seperate devices, yet they have the same apps, OS, and similar chipsets. 

In this scenario, the traditional "tags" you guys use for 'console' and 'handheld' basically go out the window. 

People thinking like the "next console" being a completely seperate entity from the handheld are the ones who have it wrong. Those days are over for Nintendo IMO. 

Wii U in a lot of ways will be their last "traditional" console (as in something that's completely seperate from their handheld wing with its own distinct hardware chipset and distinct software). 

If you want to play Mario Kart 9 for example, you'll be able to play it on a Nintendo handheld. You'll be able to play the same game at home if you have the console variant. It will be the same game though on both systems, probably will just some variable differences in things like screen resolution (540-720p for the handheld version, 1080p for the TV version for example). 

Omg I know we've been over this a thousand times. Hybrid is the completely wrong word to use. also Sound wave you say that there won't be a console then say there still. There will be a home console and a handheld and maybe a tablet sized form factor etc.