Vg charts (PS3 was outselling 360 WW, and X1 price drop didn't stop sales from plumeting in the summer). $399 would be the safest option, but I reckon it would have to be  more then $299 in order to pack the specs necessary to appeal to the core. If they had 3D Mario, Smash Bros, Fzero and superior quality 3rd party titles (compared to PS4/X1) within the launch window I'd bet you a cutting edge $449 Nintendo system will open with higher numbers then the Wii U but of course we'll never know :p

Seriously though console prices have been increasing, neither the 360 or PS3 have reached that magical $99 pricepoint 7-8years later. In 2013 $399 is the new 299 and by that logic $449 in 2017 is not that crazy at launch if you have the specs/features and software to back it up. But I'll agree Nintendo wouldn't do it.

Its also about brand power. PlayStation is a very strong brand in Europe and Asia and sells well even at very high prices. PS4 costs $670 in India and yet its selling at a very high rate because people know that they will be able to play the multiplats and exclusives they want on a PlayStation device. Nintendo cannot say the same, there platforms don't sell well at even moderate prices.

Yes, thank you! Dammit!

Yeah, I definitely agree. My thing is Nintendo has that power where their core audience is concerned, if they launch strong with software there core fans will pay any reasonable price and IMO 449 for cutting edge tech in 2017 would be reasonable- remember that the gamecube launched at $199 and the wii at $250. Xbox at 299, Xbox 360 at 399. Beyond that it would play into repositioning Nintendo's brand, they're not going for cheap gimmicks any more or fads, they're selling a premium product which will have Nintendo best IPs out of the gate and superior 3rd party titles to sony and microsoft. This would be the pitch anyway ;)

I think integrated architectures for home consoles and handleds is likely going to happen and makes sense for Nintendo, not for the sake of gathering more 3rd party support, but for the sake of internal development, they would be able to release more great games in a short time, also they could start to release many games (like 2D mario, Mario Kart, Smash, Pokemon, etc) as multiplatform. (home + handled)

Branding, hardware, and software. I'll give you a hypothetical while trying to remain as realistic to what Nintendo could possibly do as possible:

Nintendo releases a new console in 2016. Part of their new Nintendo Network unified platform, they call it the Nintendo Prime. (And the handheld counterpart the Prime DS) Aesthetically, it's a sleek looking black color with chrome accents. No cheap plastic. The entire console looks premium. It's smaller than the PS4 and XBO. The console still comes with a "Gamepad," but it also comes with a standard "Prime Controller." Two controllers. Both have been upgraded. The new prime controller is urganomically identical to the Wii U pro controller. The change is that the controller now has a little bit more weight. The material used feels less cheap, and it mimicks the "black with chrome accents" color scheme as the console itself. It also gains gyroscope and analog triggers, even if I hate the ladder. The Primepad is now not much larger than a PS Vita. Same premium build as the rest of the system. It's shaped more lik a controller now than a tablet. It's much more urganomic now than the original gamepad, is capacitive touch, and supports multitouch. It still has a stylus for precision. Analog sticks are still at the top. The console launches at two prices: $400 for the one with two controllers and $350 for a system with just the standard prime controller. 

Because of the reduced price for materials, the Prime is launched with power. The reduced price in size means that the new Primepad costs far less to produce than the original gamepad, which means that they can put more money into making the console powerful. The console comes with a 1TB interchangable internal harddrive, which will have significantly gone down in manufacturing costs by that time. The hardware is significantly more powerful than the PS4's, which will have been three years old by the time the console is released. The OS and UI is revamped and looks much sleeker aesthetically. The "channel" system remains, but is changed to look more sophisticated and organized. All the firmware bells and whistles are top of the line and modern. Even forward thinking. It is all made to be 100% managable without the primepad, though the primepad significantly adds to the UI experience. Cloud saves and storage are all present. The console is completely BC with the Wii U and all of its eshop games are available on the Prime at launch. The console is being sold a slight loss to give it just that little bit more power, because Nintendo's new goal is to sell as many new consoles as possible this time around as more of their profits will come from software than ever before with the new unified platform.

The console launched with two killer apps. One is the new 3D Mario, and the other is a completely new IP developed by a western studio they aquired in secret. The game is M rated, has a large budget, and is being lead by Ken Levine. (He is still independant. He was recruted to head this team.) Launch window games include a new Kid Icarus game, a new exclusive rated T Contra game with a linear campaign like Uncharted, but the fun control of games like Unfamous and Sunset Overdrive, and a new M rated adventure IP from Retro. Nintendo also teased a massive open world Pokemon JRPG as their megaton game, now possible as the unified plaform allows Gamefreak to work on console hardware and simply scale the game down for the handheld version. The game has production values rivaling Zelda U, and is the big game they are using to sell this new unified platform and it's benefits to Nintendo's gaming landscape, as it would not have happened without it. It is part of the core series and the successor to the 7th generation's XY, also coming in two versions. The Prime launches with good third party support because Nintendo approached devs this time and took their feedback seriously when putting together the system.

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That's one of many ways they can change their kiddie image while still making Mario and Pokemon. They need to fix many factors, but they absolutely can appeal to those gamers.

Sounds like a terrible idea.

I love these kind of articles with bold letters. It makes reading them a pleasure and an easy affair, no brain usage is required for them!

Firstly, this:
"There's also the question of initial momentum. The Nintendo N64 hardware might have been delayed, but the wait was worthwhile - launching with Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 (and Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire in Europe) saw Nintendo hit the ground running in a way that GameCube and Wii U couldn't achieve."
Makes the whole text feel like BS, as I don't think any sane person could find anything good in N64 being 2 years late in the market, and why is N64 being compared to GC and Wii U, why not NES and SNES. Oh, wait...

Secondly this:
"N64 and GameCube demonstrated that Nintendo doesn't need to win the console war in order to be hugely profitable, it simply has to do what it does best"
Huge profitability was due to handhelds, not because of lackluster sales of home consoles and their games. I don't doubt the two being profitable, it's just that the Gameboy line was the bread and butter.

If the whole story is evaluated in the light of those idiotic statements, the author likely doesn't have any clue what he's writing about.
When you look at the Iwata statements, he seems to be addressing issues Nintendo has, such as them needing to ditch the "old" platform when introducing new ones, as Nintendo lacks the resources to develop to multiple platforms, while Nintendo might be interested in supporting more than one or two at a time. Iwata also seems to hint that Nintendo is prepared in the lack of 3rd party support in the future.

Nintendo is obviously looking for a "future proof" tech that is expected to be scalable for home consoles and handhelds and into the future. It's quite possible that Wii U isn't going to be on the compatibility list, but starting from the next handheld.

Releasing one game to an installed base two systems large is absolutely not a terrible idea. Releasing two separate versions of the same game to release on two separate systems instead of releasing two completely different games to be released on one unified platform is a terrible idea.