As far as I can tell the WiiU audience is primarily kids and Nintendo fans, which is only headed to maybe 15m lifetime sales. So clearly Nintendo has to consider a new audience for for their next console. Should they try to pull a Wii and recapture the smartphone/tablet aka casual crowd? That won't be easy to do though. Or should they go for the more standard audience that's currently buying PS4s? That would require Nintendo to get 3rd parties back on board which will also be pretty difficult. Or do you think they should go after a brand new market?

Thoughts?

How about no console at all.

Make Nintendo a service on PC, tap in to that. Nnty are not power whores so their stuff can be made for average PCs that make up the majority of the massive pc market. Not just the top end fanboy ++++$1000 types.

No costs with hardware, just set up the service copying steam. Sale all Nintendo games on it. Just funnel $$$ into the marketing of the service.

If the ever want to sell upwards of 25m again they will have no choice but to pander to the mainstream gamer. Meaning powerful consoles and lots of 3rd party support. I can't see anything that would get the casuals back ever again. Mobile has pretty much everything. Nothing a mere home console could compete with.

VR might be the only possible shot that could draw the casuals back but for that you are bound to have a very poerwful machine. For that they first have to lose their hardware allergy.

Unless Nintendo makes a 3rd pillar to their bussiness and release a Smartphone, the original Wii fanbase is long gone. Nintendo should keep its focus on both core gamers and young audiences. An approach similar to the DS might help. It cattered to everyone, was cheap and if you looked enough, its library was able to satisfy anyone.

Improve the relation with 3rd parties, make a console easy and cheap to develope for: most of the DS and Wii titles were possible only on the Wii because it was a simpler architecture than the others. That way, developers can experiment and give an unique library to the console.

Also, make it compatible with thw QoL systems and devices.

What about the last 4 gens tells you that is a good idea ?

Next Nintendo home console will struggle against PS4 and X1. When it releases price and power will be big concern. And Nintendo cant take the risk of alienating developers and gamers will weaker hardware and forced gimmicks.

Would be an absolutely idiotic idea*

The PS/Xbox market will not move away from PS/Xbox, while PS/Xbox get the games that the PS/Xbox market enjoy playing and 3rd party developers have problems working with Nintendo.

*They tried it with Wii U

At the 50 million and growing install base of 3DS

PS1 managed to steal gamers away from Nintendo. 360 stole gamers from Playstation. Now PS4 is stealing gamers from 360. It's not impossible to get people to switch to Nintendo again. It won't be easy but not impossible. The WiiU was a poor effort on that front.

But if they don't go for a more mainstream gamer, who do they target? They have to get somebody to buy their consoles. Selling purely to Nintendo fans isn't cutting it anymore. 

Explain.