Nintendo =/= Apple

U sure about that?

2001-Gameboy Advance

2003-Gameboy Advance SP

2004-Nintendo DS

2005-Gameboy Micro

2006-Nintendo DS Lite

2008-Nintendo DSi

2009-Nintendo DSi XL

2011-Nintendo 3DS

2012-Nintendo 3DS XL

2013-Nintendo 2DS

2014-New Nintendo 3DS/XL

That's nothing compared to smart phones in general. This is a decent update cycle, the thread says "more frequent". I don't we'll get a new update every year or every other 10 months.

Ok u read the title but did u read the thread? Let's say Nintendo's next platform has 3 form factors, a portable, a tablet and a console that share a software library and every 3 years they get moderate hardware upgrades (similar to 3DS-New 3DS). That's all this is

3 years is too short in the gaming world. People will cry. But the same people will happily go buy the next iphone model after 6months time.

They would spend 8 times the money developing new devices than they do now so I find this highly unlikely. Stick with one handheld and console or some fusion thing but my goodness don't make a billion things.

It's 3 form factors all based on the same hardware (console, handheld, tablet) so it is the fusion concept. Also we already have 3 Nintendo form factors (2DS, New 3DS XL, Wii U) so it's not anything different from that. Also, as the new model releases, the older one gets phased out but still supported since its a Fusion concept so the revisions are in a sense similar to the difference between 3DS and New 3DS (supposedly 2x CPU speed, 2x RAM).

The 3ds, 3ds XL, and 2ds all have the same internal specs (in terms of games they can play) and the N3ds BARELY has an increase. The Wii U is their 2nd device with actually significantly different specs (in terms of power/visuals, not 3d). Again, I seriously doubt Nintendo wants to have to enhance their devices every year, remarket them somehow convincing people to buy their new model which is "so" much better than last years model, and potentially deal with bombs of devices. If they put all their resources into one device per area (handheld, console, phone [if they do this at some point] then they have a bigger chance at that single device turning a profit and gaining word of mouth marketing). Having a new model every year kills word of mouth because people won't grow to love a single device, they will be disgruntled 1-12 months after purchasing it because something slightly better came out.

U seem to be misunderstanding me, Nintendo will release 3 different form factors based on the same internal specs (portable, tablet, console) but  the releases will be spread out with each getting an upgrade every 3 years.

Tablet line

Gen 1-2016, Gen 2-2019, Gen 2-2022

Console line

Gen 1-2017, Gen 2-2020, Gen 3-2023

Portable line

Gen 1-2018, Gen 2-2021, Gen 3-2024

The 3DS has a dual-core ARM11 and single-core ARM9 with 128mb RAM. New 3DS has a quad-core ARM 11 and 256mb RAM so essentially it's 2x CPU and 2x RAM. Something similar to that is what I'm suggesting with each upgrade so 99% of games will release from one gen to the next just with better resolution/performance on the newer model. Perhaps not very many Gen 3 games will be compatible with Gen 1 but that's 6 years after they launch meaning they recieved a full life cycle.

zorg ...

I think you are very much on the right track with this stuff.

But I'll throw a twist at you.

What if the "console" is just a generic little black box about the size of a 3DS XL lets say.

What if Nintendo just gave players the option to buy up to 3 of them and link them up together (like snapping Lego Pieces together).

1 Console = 15 watts lets say 1 TFLOP performance
3 Consoles = 45 watts at 3 TFLOPS

Future proof ecosystem driven by a Nintendo/DeNA central service, which is the heart of everything. Kinda like Steam, but very much Nintendo's take on that.

For example, when you buy a new PC or upgrade your GPU ... all your STEAM games are still there, flawless transfer. The Nintendo Network comes FIRST, the hardware just orbits around it, maybe we need to shift our thinking to the opposite, we are still thinking of hardware in 1990s/2000s terms. 

I think this idea's time has come.