Wouldn't releasing another console this early in this console gen be alienating all of it's wii u player base? Why buy any of their consoles if they make another in a few years.... The wii u needs quality games not a replacement console this early. If it's true that they are planning on releasing it any time before 2019, they are idiots. This new console is more like 8.5 gen and not the 9th gen. 

Holiday 2019 would be a 7 year lifespan, which would be a pretty long time considering the Wii U's level of success.  

Nintendo has done shorter lifespans for their products before.  The GBA had a shorter lifespan, and it led to the ultra successful DS.  Gamecube had about 5 years before the Wii came out.  

You're also overestimating customers and their longterm memory and reasoning ability.  I mean, people bought XBox Ones at launch despite the issues the XBox 360 had.  People buy incremental upgrades for their phones every year.  The tech industry as a whole is moving towards more rapid upgrades.

Four years would be a bit below average, but not so low that people would be shocked and offended.  It would be about the lifespan of the original X-Box, and people weren't too bothered about that.  If it's cool, people would buy it.  

2019 or later on the other hand would be absolutely insane.  The Wii U doesn't look like it's turing things around, and riding it out for 7+ years would be seriously detrimental to Nintendo.  The Wii U does have quality games, but first party software can only do so much, and third party software isn't forthcoming.  Unlike the Wii, the U doesn't have a hook that is appealing to customers.  Sadly, I don't see anything in the pipeline that will change things in the next year.   In technological terms, the Wii U is already approaching middle age, and it's going to be hard to manage a turnaround now.  Not impossible, but unlikely.  

Personally, I feel like there are enough quality games to warrant my purchase.  I wouldn't be thrilled for Nintendo to cut the Wii U off so soon, but I also wouldn't feel cheated.  Some people would inevitably be upset, but the cost of not making a move to make Nintendo relevant would outweigh the loss of consumer confidence.

 Considering the prices of the 8th gen's consoles during their releases it's too expensive to "upgrade" to a new gen console every 5 years. You might as well buy a dedicated gaming computer or better yet, just buy a ps4 or xbox one for cheaper than a pc. A new console ($300 to 500) and a couple of games ($180) to go with it every 4 or 5 years is just too damn expensive. That's not including the several or more games you would buy during that 5 year period. Most actual gamers will just stick with consoles that stay around longer and spend that extra $480 to 680 on new games.

Back in the day it was more tolerable for a console to have a short lifespan because the consoles and games then were cheap. Now, it's a different story. We're not the idiot cell phone consumers who buy overpriced rereleased cell phones (apple). I like to know I'm getting the most for the money I pay. Nintendo really can't get away with much on consumer confidence because it only has it's fan base keeping it alive. Look what happened to MS with trying to shaft us with no used games and online only. It lost a console war just because of that. 

Nintendo can turn itself around with the wii u easily. First, it needs a price drop to $250 or less then make some actual adult games (5 or more) to entice the largest core gaming demographic to buy it. It's that simple. Kids games only appeal to a minority of gamers. No point in jumping out of a floating ship. 

No its not that simple. $50 price cut along with a few adult games won't do much for Wii U. I find it very odd anyone actually believes such a simple strategy would turn things around.

 Considering the prices of the 8th gen's consoles during their releases it's too expensive to "upgrade" to a new gen console every 5 years. You might as well buy a dedicated gaming computer or better yet, just buy a ps4 or xbox one for cheaper than a pc.

The audience Nintendo would target would not be inclined to buy a dedicated PC.  An XBox One or PS4 would be around the same price at that point.  At any rate, consoles aren't that much more expensive than they were.  The Wii U launched for the same price as the PS2 before adjusting for inflation.  Nintendo also never really shoots for the moon with specs, so they could probably price it at $300 or so while being technologically on par with the PS4/One if not a little better off.  And, with Microsoft and Sony probably not in a hurry to start the next generation until 2019 to 2020, Nintendo could be in a position where they have a system with a unique hook, comparable price, and comparable or superior graphics, with strong integration with a dedicated handheld.  That's a big IF, but it could be a neat scenario. 

A new console ($300 to 500) and a couple of games ($180) to go with it every 4 or 5 years is just too damn expensive. That's not including the several or more games you would buy during that 5 year period. Most actual gamers will just stick with consoles that stay around longer and spend that extra $480 to 680 on new games.

Of course, Nintendo wouldn't necessarily be encouraging people to upgrade.  They'd be probably focussed more keenly on getting people who hadn't owned a system since the Wii, or never owned one.

You're from Europe I presume?  Games are less here in the US.  At any rate, I don't think upgrading every five years is expensive.  Factoring in the cost of games doesn't make sense.  If they didn't upgrade, they'd just be spending that money on games for older systems anyway.

Back in the day it was more tolerable for a console to have a short lifespan because the consoles and games then were cheap.

No... they really weren't... Games were pretty similar in prices to what they are now, before adjusting for inflation, during the SNES era.  During the NES, they were pretty similar with inflation.  Things got a bit cheaper with CDs, but by the cube era, they were 50 dollars or so.  With inflation, that's basically the same.  As for console prices... http://kotaku.com/36-years-of-console-prices-adjusted-for-inflation-1485353267

Now, it's a different story. We're not the idiot cell phone consumers who buy overpriced rereleased cell phones (apple). I like to know I'm getting the most for the money I pay. Nintendo really can't get away with much on consumer confidence because it only has it's fan base keeping it alive. Look what happened to MS with trying to shaft us with no used games and online only. It lost a console war just because of that. 

No... we're not the idiot cell phone customers who buy overpriced cell phones.  We're the idiots who buy remastered games at full price, buy season passes with no assurance of quality content, buy anual upgrades to Madden, continuously buy glitched out games at launch, and buy consoles before they have compelling software.  

Gamer's aren't some sort of super intelligent race carefully considering pros and cons.  We like shiny new things as much as people buying iPads or the Galaxy Note Super 11.   

Nintendo can turn itself around with the wii u easily. First, it needs a price drop to $250 or less then make some actual adult games (5 or more) to entice the largest core gaming demographic to buy it. It's that simple. Kids games only appeal to a minority of gamers. No point in jumping out of a floating ship. 

Why would the core gaming demographic buy the Wii U for 5 or more "actual adult games" (whatever that means) when the Wii U has no third party support, and the other consoles have 3 times as many (to be kind to Nintendo) "actual adult games"?  

Why not? How is it not that simple? Nintendo hasn't tried anything like that yet and they just keep pumping out the kid games but it's still selling like crap. Hmmm, I wonder why. It needs to show that it's taking adult gamers seriously then more adults would buy the console. How many marios can the consumer market take before it's utterly burnt out on it? It needs new IP's.

Why not? How is it not that simple? Nintendo hasn't tried anything like that yet and they just keep pumping out the kid games but it's still selling like crap. Hmmm, I wonder why. It needs to show that it's taking adult gamers seriously then more adults would buy the console. How many marios can the consumer market take before it's utterly burnt out on it? It needs new IP's.