2016 release would end nintendo consoles for good, they would be 3rd party by 2018.

Wah?

Welp, they just made the new 3DS and they are already going to replace it.

Its actually not that logical... They havn't even released the n3ds yet into the west which I am sure they will be willing to keep for more than a year because the amount of effort that went into making it... Improved Camera, Improved performance, new buttons, a Cstick and plently more = a whole exclusive production line for it which means that they want to see a nice return on it... If they were to abondon it within less a year, they they wouldn't see much of a return on it at all

Secondly, they said that they are "we have production lines that are working on ideas for what the next system might be."

Working on Ideas... That means that its still in its experimental stages and this is the same thing for every console manufacturer to start developing their next gen console in the mid-life or even before that of their current console because they have to get a lot of things ready which takes tons of time to do. It does not mean anything and I am pretty sure the wiiU will have a standard life cycle and I am also pretty sure that their next console/handheld will not have the same specs on both platforms and they will also have exclusive games on the respective platform

I'm more interested in that bet in your signature than this thread :)

Lol, why would they need to compete) It's Nintendo who have catching up to do and who need to prove first that their new system is actually worth buying. A thing that Sony and MS already did.

Also if Nintendo actually releases that early we need to rethink that "generation" classification system.

I doubt a new Nintendo console will launch in 2016. They are making a profit on the WiiU now and releasing a new console so soon just doesn't make any sense...

2016 is way too early. And did the Vita gain the domination that Sony consoles got? A hybrid between Handheld-Console will lead to one failing. In Sony's case, it was the handheld. In Nintendo's case, it'll be the home console.

Assuming Nintendo releases a console in 2016, they're almost certainly doomed unless they can pull off something like Wii. Why? If it's about equally powerful with PS4/Xbone, it can't compete with them due to its inferior software library. In such case, Nintendo is probably better off continuing with Wii U. If it's more powerful, it's going to be more expensive too, and it won't be able to compete unless Nintendo manages to secure extensive third party support, which seems unlikely considering their history.

To put it short, unless Nintendo manages to create another Wii or secure extensive third party support, their market is going to be quite restricted. The market for Nintendo's first party games isn't that big, even though it allows them to survive.

All in all, I doubt Nintendo's next console is coming out in 2016. It's possible but I imagine it would be quite the challenge for Nintendo.

Their next console is going to compete with the PS4 and XBO when they are hitting their strides. Also, I personally said that they'll release their next console in 2017. I just can't believe that in 2016 they'll announce and release their new consoles.