I always thought it would be a 2017 release.The point is that is debeatable is that if the NX handheld will be a 2016.Now that could be possible.

I think they will wait until the holidays are over, obviously. No sense in damaging what holiday sales they can get for no logical benefit but for us the public to know a little earlier. 

I would guess a NX hardware conference or something around March next year at the fiscal year end, so it can't damage Wii U/3DS fiscal year totals, followed by a full unveil at E3, and launch in November 2016. 

Yes, I meant 6 years. And I looked West markets because Japan is only one and smallest market.

They might as well not even bother with the console in that case, what exactly is it going to do in 2017? Sell to the same group of Wii U owners? Forget Sony, Nintendo won't even touch Microsoft. That's just completely sent to die. 

I think the era of the discreet Nintendo console is over anyway. It's just going to be portable components in a box ... there's your "console". 

I'm starting to feel more and more that NX is basically a portable console.

Maybe they were experimenting with different form factors, and probably some of those form factors will eventually be released, but I think in the end the realization they came to was that a portable console is the most intriguing way to go.

At least that would be different from the PS4/XB1 in some tangiable way. 

Realeasing in 2016 has its share of problems.First and foremost, it may piss people off because of its low cicle life.Second is that the PS4 is the cool guy now, and i believe it still hasnt reached its peak.If they release it in 2016, with most people convinced that the PS4 is still the best choice, specially with the price cut that will probably come from japan to the rest of the world, and unless it has something that will blow people minds away, the NX will just fail.Another important point is that, if Nintendo really just started showing the NX to the other developers this E3, it would mean they would just have one year and a half to learn its software AND develop games for it.Thats would just be a dumb move to make.2017 would be better, not just because this PS4 momentum by then may pass, but that would give developers to port games for it, or even make exclusives, and also would give nintendo time to get more experienced with the internet service that it is probably developing with DENA.

They're probably screwed either way, but 2017 ... forget even talking about Sony. Sony will be laughing at the finish line. 

Even catching Microsoft is basically a non-starter. 

If it is a traditional console, then it's basically gaurunteed third place. And a distant third place at that, it won't be even close like the GameCube third place was. 

Fall 2017 November, you're probably talking

PS4 - 60+ million, 1200+ titles

XBox One - 30+ million, 1200+ titles

NX - 0 userbase, 10-15 launch titles

I'm sorry but there's no amount of spin in the world that can convince me this is some kind of sane, sound strategy.  

Well, Nintendo did prove us with the Wii for example,That it can pull off a miracle once in a while, but yeah, i agree with you that it is an uphill battle, to say the very least.

Actually all points for 2016. launch:

-Nintendos constant talk about NX and new platform, they started doing that in January of 2013. but this year we had lots of informations about NX. Why they talk so much about NX when Wii U still dont have 3 years if they don't planning to release NX next year!?

-No more big new Wii U or 3DS titles, we are getting mostly spinoffs, smaller games or games that don't require too much development time or resource or games that are earlier announced.

-SQ alaredy annuced DQ 10 and 11 for NX.

-All these recent Nintendo patents.

-Digitimes report that saying Nintendo is gearing for hardware manufacturing that be launch next year.

Every console Nintendo released has done worse than the last except for the Wii and that's only because it captured the casual market who doesn't even play games.  Nintendo isn't going to do well just because an amazing stroke of luck, they need people out there who will purchase their product, and there are really very few parties out there who are interested unless they do something unique.

If it's not a hybrid console, Nintendo is going to be third place no matter what.  Releasing in 2016 or 2017 is what will determine how far back they'll actually be.  Will they sell as bad as the Gamecube, the Wii U, or worse? 

What Nintendo should do is start releasing exclusives on the New 3DS and force 3DS owners to upgrade to that console if they want to play these new games to sell atleast 20-30 million more(I'd certainly like to own more than just Xenoblade Chronicles.)  Push an exclusive on the Wii U here and there for the next couple years.  Then announce their new console first, something twice as powerful as the PS4 for the same price or less than the PS4 cost at launch.  Launch this new console when the PS4 hasn't even been five years on the market so the new Nintendo console will have atleast two years to themselves as the only next gen console on the market.  Nintendo would be selling to those who want the better performing and maybe better looking game with multi console releases, and maybe console exclusives that look better than the PS4s best looking games while also performing better.  Being the sole console out there with the most powerful specs might still not get it much exclusive third party support, but it'll get Nintendo console sales for years before the other two launch their next console, and then Nintendo atleast has a large userbase and has the chance of gaining more support and more sales through that.  I'd like to see them keep the gamepad too since it can be a unique feature, and by that time it should cost little to manufacture.