Agreed. The problem would obviously be power related because a handheld is usually very weak and a console needs to be very powerful. If you're going to combine the two, both of them need to meet the console side of the expectation spectrum and that would put the price of the unti far out of the handheld side of the equation.

Part of the reason why Nitnendo handhelds have always sold so well is because they are cheap and affordable. This wouldn't be the case with a next gen console like system.

I have 2016 at 6-8 million?????

Here's my post from earlier:

"No, I mean 2 seperate devices that share the same architecture, operating system, online infrastructure, software library and allows cross-buy/cross-save.

A handheld that is a moderate improvement over Vita in terms of specs, similar to 3DS compared to PSP. A device that can handle Wii U level visuals on a small screen and lower resolution.

A console that is a moderate improvement over Wii U in terms of specs, similar to Wii compared to GC. A device that can handle Wii U level visuals with some extra effects and a higher resolution.

Since these devices would share so many similarities in terms of hardware, it would be easy to scale games up/down to one another and since they wouldn't be releasing completely seperate games for two completely different pieces of hardware, they would be able to significantly improve their software output.

Either of these devices could realistically retail for $199.99 at a profit in 2016/2017, assuming they don't go for extras that jack up the price (3D, Gamepad)."

Nintendo is not going to try to compete head to head with PS/XB, so they have no need to worry about making a powerful PS4-PS5 level console. Recent statements from Iwata imply that they are looking for a future where they can be self-reliant, making two similar devices that share a library allows Nintendo to pump out software at a faster rate. Their dedicated gaming hardware is likely to first and foremost concentrate on retaining the 3DS/Wii U fanbase and use things like 1st party software/DLC/Amiibo to get as much money from their dedicated consumers. Outside of that they will license out their ip to further expose them to other audiences, things like the rumored Netflix Zelda series and the CG Mario film fit into this category. And lastly they will use QoL to appeal to the Wii Fit/Brain Training crowd they had back on DS/Wii.

Something better than the Vita should be fairly easy for Nintendo to manage.

The Vita is basically an iPad 3 chip, the newer iPads blow that out of the water, and Nintendo still is a year out from their product launch.

I think they will push their handheld to be more powerful than the usual "super outdated" philosophy of past handhelds for a couple of reasons.

For one it will allow for easier porting -- the whole point of a unified platform is to allow for very easy porting, if one system is radically more powerful than the other the whole setup falls apart.

The iPad generally tends to be more powerful than the iPhone, but usually not by a ton, so apps run seamlessly on both platforms with no problem whatsoever.

The other reason is to differentiate their handhelds from lower end tablets, giving it more grunt under the hood is one way of accomplishing that.

Next gen will be the first cycle that Nintendo will also need their handheld to be able to play all their big-gun IPs like Metroid, Zelda, 3D Mario, etc. Not just hand-me-down/scaled down versions of the console games, it will have to be able to run the same games reasonably well. So the handheld becoming more tech driven makes sense. 

Nintendo didn't need the Game Boy to run Super Mario Bros. 3 or the GBA to run Zelda: OoT or for the DS to run Mario Galaxy. That dynamic will change, the handheld will in effect become the new lead platform for Nintendo's dev teams.