Whatever they do they just can't launch hardware at anything more than $199.99, even if it means dropping backwards compatibility (outside of the VC of course) and stuff like 3D n the gamepad.

Nintendo said all those things. It's common knowledge. I'm not going to continue this conversation if your going to ignore fact.

Nintendo's not going to launch a new console for that cheap and risk having an even more underpowered console, and they aren't going to release a new console with architecture meant to "absorb the wii u's architecture," but not make it backwards compatable, which means the gamepad is hear to stay as well.

I'm in the camp that believes it's futile for Nintendo to try and get third party back, which btw is even more risky since their console would be more costly, so when third party's don't bite, you have the Wii U 2.

How powerful do u think this their console will be, having a unified platform that emphasizes sharing a library with the handheld would kinda limit the power the device can have, wouldn't it?

I personally believe we will see the handheld fall somewhere between Vita & Wii U in terms of power, able to handle Wii U level visuals and ports at a lower resolution, similar to the way 3DS is between PSP & Wii and able to display Wii level visuals/ports.

The console version will be a slight graphical improvement over Wii U, similar to the way Wii was a slight graphical upgrade over GC. The extra  power over the handheld allows it to run the same games but at 1080p compared to 480p for the handheld.

Both these devices could feasibly sell for $199 at a profit in 2016/2017.

Didn't Iwata use those as an example and then differentiate Nintendo by saying Nintendo is programming the hardware directly. Currently you're able to make ports between system by middleware, but they are inefficient when talking about taking advantage of hardware potential.

Anyway, Iwata said they still are thinking if they should be doing two separate devices or just one for home and handheld. In both cases, this means Nintendo is able to make more games in the same timeframe, and even Mario Kart 7 and 8 would be possible; even if on a different console, Mario Kart 8 would be a direct sequel to Mario Kart 7, that wuold share the same engine which would be optimised for both devices, instead of making two completely separate games, when looking at the tech behind the games.

You could think it in terms of architecture; it's possible that the hardware would have "legacy" features or backwards compatibility would just be emulated. Considering what you're able to do with the 8-core ARM processor and how much power it consumes, I think we can see "good enough" games using them. Then, if you think it in terms of "generational" hardware; Nintendo gen 9 hardware, Wii U2 would be followed 3 years later by Nintendo Bono, that would have the same hardware in it.

Sorry, I'm not really sure what ur trying to say.

The points you made actually go against what you want to believe. Nintendo consumers don't like to spend much money on hardware the same way PlayStation and Xbox gamers do. If they launch their next console at a high price they will neither be able to get their fans to buy their console nor would fans of the other consoles buy their console for the same reason they aren't buying Wii U's right now.

I don't think that just launching a console at a premium price makes it a premium product in the eyes of consumers. They would have to come out with games like Uncharted/Halo/God Of War/Gran Turismo, and have to prove that they can develop these kind of games as well. With their current lineup its hard to believe that they can pull it off. They would also need proper marketing on channels whose viewers are more than small kids.

-Shared platform between gen 9 home console and gen 10 handheld, and between gen 10 home console and gen 11 handheld.

-Gen 10 home console would be backwards compatible with gen 10 handheld

-Going into power consumpion race instead of power race