With talks of Nintendo's next gen console already starting to hit the internet, I'm a bit confuzzled.

From the looks of it, we might be seeing a new Nintendo console between fall 2017-2018. This puts it in a release weird place compared to its competitors since PS4 and Xbone will be about halfway through their liffecycles by that point. So how does Nintendo position themselves?

Do they make a console that is on par with PS4/Xbone like the Wii U is to the 360/PS3? Or do they try to go all out and make their new console more powerful than PS4/Xbone? Or do they just try to go with the Wii route and carve a new niche for themselves which obviously didn't quite work out with the Wii U?

I honestly have no idea, all of these early next gen console have boggled my mind. The smartest thing they could do is make it stronger than both the Xbox one and PS4. I think though that we will be seeing a new ninty next generation console by 2016.

If they're clever they will choose a console that will be slightly more powerful than PS4 with a similar Chipset so they can get all the juicy 3rd party ports. Then just pick a slightly lower price and wait for the money to roll in.

Third Party Friendly wity performance only a bit lower than ps5/x2 but with the same architecture and  lower price point than the other two would be my hope. If they dont have third parties, then they either need another wii situation or it will be exactly like the wiiu again!

Oh and 2017/2018 release

I disagree. It would absolutely no sense to release it then when they are just now getting a handle on developing for this system. The gamecube lasted for 6 years receiving Nintendo titles. 

Also, releasing in 2016 will just spur all the stop gap perception the Wii U received back in 2012.....

I wouldn't expect them to make it an absolute powerhouse of a console, I'd expect them to make it on par with current gen with maybe a little more power, I've not seen Nintendo push one out since the Gamecube but even then the market and economy were much different back then than today.

I would hope that they at least work on it given the time and also wait for Sony and MS to release their enxt one so Ninty could at least pour a little more into it to set it further apart.

Heres a question I have to ask though, if they release something silmilar in power to the PS4 do people flock to it knowing it will be obsolete (okay maybe thats a tad harsh) in 3 years when the PS5 and Xbox -358 launch. Especially if they already own a PS4/XBO which is more than likely.

They have already done this with the 3DS and I can see them doing it Wii U. All these Next gen ninty console news have done already alot of damage.

They say "fuck the competition" and do what they want. Wii U's struggles are not due to how it fails to stack up to the competition, but how it fails to live up to the expectations of consumers; two very different things.

Wii U shows that Nintendo cannot do things by halves. They either need to match the competition pound for pound in all respects, or should forge their own path. The latter is much more feasible because of the impasse Nintendo has reached with the major third parties, as successfully courting them would be a monstrous cost.

But the question is, can Nintendo really replicate the Wii?

The blue ocean strategy is very hit or miss. They tried something risky and the risk payed off then. I'm not sure if that approach is very feasible though.