I say we'll have a new console ANNOUNCEMENT E3 2016(a tease) then E3 2017 we'll have a full reveal with launch holiday 2017

I seriously doubt the PS5 is going to be released so late. The jump this gen was tiny in comparison to last, and both PS4 and XB1 were already behind mid range computer rigs at launch, compared to the PS3 which was a beast on release.

Also you can't say the Wii U is plateauing when it's still increasing YoY, especially with its biggest year (release-wise) about to start. Even then, as long as the plateau is profitable, it's better then wasting all that R&D on a console that will be rendered garbage a year or two later.

The Wii U has quite a bit left in the tank: Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Starfox, Xenoblade, Crossovers/Second-party support, price drops, and new IPs/Spin-offs mean the Wii U will continue to be profitable for a long time. Nintendo is still learning about new modern development too.

Also, if you announce a new console, the profits still to be made from the Wii U will shrivel up and die. Which would be a shame, especially with the amiibo being a success and the Wii U being up YoY again in 2015.

I stand by my claim: Keep turning profits, use the Wii U to practice HD, online, and DLC. Use the best of the Wii U as HD remake fodder to bolster your next console's launch year like TLoU, MCC (it tried), or GTA5. Use those profits to make a strong online infrastructure, a better eshop, better virtual console, crossbuy, better account system, and then make a box that's on equal footing with Sony.

It really shouldn't come out sooner than the next PS or XB, but that's not the issue.
Problem is that Nintendo will be forced to do so sooner than it probably expected to.
Last gen was one of a kind and probably lasted so long because 2 of the main players for the 3rd party community had no rush to release consoles when they still had to recoup from their losses even years after launch.
So, with no news of a new console, gamers had no option other than stick with 360 and PS3 for more than they anticipated aswell.

Wii U has none of the above: no 3rd party support; no consumer support.
Sales will go down fast after Zelda, not just because the main hitters will have arrived already but because Nintendo will decrease it's support in preparation of the new gen.
Sony and MS can afford to decrease support because of 3rd parties. When Nintendo does it... well, just look at how their release schedule for Wii was like in 2011 and 2012.
In 2011 they released Zelda and Wii Play 2. That was it. And in 2012... nothing.

How will they keep Wii U alive if the Wii situation repeats itself?

Nintendo should just do whatever in terms of when they release as long as they continue to profit

Sales wise, it won't make a difference. The people are going to pick who they pick.

The PS1 came out before the N64- the PS1 got the lion share
The PS2 came out before the Gamecube- the PS2 got the lion share
The PS3 literally came out with the Wii- The Wii got the lion share (you can say the price is a factor all you want, they still had the lion share even if that is true)
The PS4 came out after the Wii U- the PS4 got the lion share thus far.

So as you can see, it doesn't matter when they come out.

Thanks for the laughs.  

I'm saying literally the exact same thing as you.

I'm just saying they need to not jump the gun. Early releases NEVER work if your competition doesn't go full retard. The XB360 is the only early "next gen" release that was successful on the same level as its peers, and that's only because Sony went full retard on release of the PS3. 500 dollars, inferior online, and a pain in the ass to develop for? Gee, I wonder why the XB360 did so well.

Nintendo needs to milk what they have. while gearing for a proper release within the same window with around the same power. They need to look at this as Batman vs Superman. PS is obviously stronger atm, but Nintendo has all the prep time it needs to come up to par with its next move. It doesn't have to worry about fighting tooth and nail against a rival that will try to put them out of business. Prep time. GET IT RIGHT.

They have from now until the PS5 is announced to ride the comfortable profit train while learning all they need to bring all aspects of their next generation up to par. ll evidence points to them going that way too. We know they want a powerful console by the personel they're pursuing. We know they're working on improved online by seeing the vast improvements in online play for MK8/Smash and trying to help Valhalla Game Studios make 16-man online FPS/TPS action a thing on the Wii U. We know they're trying to get crossbuy up and running by their experiments in the EU regions. We've seen their eshop and account system evolve from early homonid to Dark Ages. We seen them struggle with HD development and come out of it making the best looking, most technically sound games on the market. We see them actively trying to improve relations with third parties by outsourcing asset creation and letting others play with their IPs. They're (very slowly) making all the right moves.

If they learn their lessons, release a capable box that will last the entirety of the next generation, and finally f*cking advertise, Nintendo is going to take over.

Also, I would have put money on the Wii U being far more competitive if it released in the same holiday rush as PS4 and XB1. The Wii U would have been mentioned in every crappy gamejourno article that was crammed down our throats, it would have had a very strong launch lineup, and it wouldn't have had an entire year of everyone calling it a dismal failure that was already dead by the release of PS4/XB1.

It does matter when they came out, and you got literally every one of your points wrong.

1. PS1 wasn't the early release of that gen. The Sega Saturn was and it was a horrible flop.

2. The PS2 wasn't the early release of its gen either, the Sega Dreamcast was, and it was hurt severely by the smear campaign the PS2 ran against it.

3. The PS3 was only trumped by the XB1 as dumbest launch in the history of dumb launches. They literally did the opposite of everything that made the PS2 successful. I even pointed out the XB360 as the single anomoly, the only early release to not be a horrible failure, and that was purely because the PS3 was done so poorly.

4. The PS4 coming out after the Wii U and murdering it in sales supports my point of early releases being stupid and that Nintendo should aim for a near simultaneous launch.

It's not about the jump ... In fact I believe the increase of power on the new consoles alone warrants a new generation. Physically based shading for AAA games on the new consoles is a big step from last gen consoles. 

There won't be drastic increases in terms of performance/price and this aspect is particularly the most important one since consoles are meant to be cost effective products in general. 

Yes I can claim that the WII U is experiencing a plateau ... This year the WII U sold less in Japan compared to last year and the same goes with the rest of the world too. What's more is that November NPD tells us that that the WII U remained flat compared to last November despite Smash releasing ... 

The WII U already has the active majority of Mario fans as far as consoles are concerned and Metroid for the WII U hasn't been announced yet. There's only two worthwhile bullets I can count left. Splatoon and Zelda been the obvious ones. 

Amiibo seems like some fad to me and with a new console, Nintendo can potentially reap more profits than they are doing now ... 

1. Technically yes you are, we are however arriving at slightly different conclusions though.
   
   
2. Good example, and good observation. As you said, early release favoured the 360 cause sony shot itself in the foot. Absolutely right, coming in at $600, a year later, with moe complicated tech, the one thing sony needed to have done was release a console with at least 1GB of ram and a considerably more powerful GPU. And last gen would have been a completely different story. An early release will work if you do what your competition will no doubt do a year later. Thats why i said if nintendo is releasing a year before the PS5/XB2, then they better release a console that will play games at 4k. Cause that is exactly what sony/ms will do when they release too.
   
   
3. Nothing wrong with this strategy. Will be a sound strategy is as you say they get it right. Cause the benefit of releasing first means you don't have to compete directly. Also puts you in a position where your platform is more familiar to everyone else and you have a bigger library by the time everyone else comes to market.
   
   
4. Dunno about them taking over, you need to understand that the nintendo core fanbase is actually a lot smaller today than it was during the GC era. The core fanbase are made up of the people that will be a nintenod console no matter what. Right now, I doubt there are even up to 25M such people around anymore. If they do this, that means they are going head to head with sony and ms in an part of the gaming industry that they have ignored for the past 2 generations. It won't be easy at all.
   
   
5. Yes an No. Basically, the reason the wiiU was not mentioned at all and people kinda treated it like it hadn't even come it, was cause it was only marginally more powerful than the consoles that were just about to be replaced. If the wiiU released as is when the PS4/XB1 came out.... it would have been a disaster.

They need a new console with hardware better than MicroSony and they need it within the next couple years imho.