Genesis/Mega drive says hi.

Unless you want a pandemic every year after 2024.......

??

The Genesis/MegaDrive (and even the PC Engine/TG16, which released in Japan the year before) are both clearly Gen 4 consoles alongside the SNES.

The only consoles that arguably could get a generation all to themselves would maybe be some of the consoles released very late into the 2nd and 4th gensm which sort of were a gen 2.5 or 4.5 (Colecovision, Sega SG1000, Atari Jaguar, etc). But those are all massive outliers.

The Switch ironically is a candidate for getting a generation to itself (or more accurately, being some sort of Gen 8.5). Though I will say that generally Nintendo handhelds, since the days of the GBA, have been 2 generations behind in terms of power compared to home consoles so that's a strong argument for the Switch being Gen 9 proper. (Gen 6 GBA was as powerful as Gen 4 SNES; Gen 7 DS was as powerful as the Gen 5 PSX; Gen 8 3DS was as powerful as the Gen 6 Gamecube, and now Gen 9 Switch is as powerful as the Gen 7 PS3).

By these rules, we should expect Gen 10 to get started some time in 2023 or 2024 with a Switch 2 that will be somewhere about as powerful as a PS4 or PS4 Pro.

What are you on about? I don't think you read what you're replying to properly Genesis being Gen 4 is the point as he's trying to say Switch isn't gen 9 because it released a few years before the rest yet that is exactly what Genesis did but was still Gen 4 same thing with DC it released 2 years before the others but is still Gen 6. So in other words yes a platform can get a gen to itself if it releases early, Switch had gen 9 to itself until the PS5/XSS which is the point. Gens are also not defined by power of hardware.

That's pretty much what I said as well.

I think a device with 3x the GPU power should be enough. Something they could potentially achieve now but will get cheaper over time. They could do a less powerful GPU but I'd like to see less 360p on Switch.

8GB of RAM would be plenty, the Series S has 10GB but a more demanding OS. Then throw in a more capable CPU and we could have a device capable of running 9th gen games.

Ideally it would be at par with a base PS4. A device that is already handling cross gen games fairly well.

No; Nintendo doesn't have enough impact titles left to maintain interest for that long. That being said, if they can make 2-3 new IPs that can have the same kind of impact Splatoon did, then I'll be singing a different tune.

I think so. What helps the Switch is it's very scalable with technology. Like the iPhone, Nintendo can just keep iterating on it without releasing a totally new console. So it wont get left behind too much, but even still, we aren't getting the same leaps in technology we used to get. The last two generations have been a bit longer than normal so it wouldn't be a surprise to see a longer one from Nintendo too (though that may be more due to development times). Switch is at a happy medium for performance so it doesn't need a next generation upgrade anytime soon.

Plus, as you mentioned, Nintendo has been able to create value on the Switch with their titles. Nintendo has already used most of their big hitters (save a 2D Mario and a new Mario Kart). Still, the system can still be pushed by sequels, new IPs and the B/C Nintendo series (such as Star Fox or Rhythm Heaven). All the while, games like Smash, Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing keep bringing in new players. Also, we might start seeing more third party games on the system thanks in part to the system's success in Japan. Really, this factor could be the reason Nintendo prolongs the system's life. 

One thing to add is that Nintendo may not want to release anything too soon due to the fractured economy. The 2020 lockdowns have ravaged the economy with high unemployment and inflation (thanks to central bank money printing). Pocket books are going to start being pushed, so a Switch would be a good proposition. Nintendo could even cut $50 bucks off the standard and Lite and still be totally OK. Really, if the economy gets worse (which I expect it will), then Nintendo is in a better position than Sony and Microsoft are. So this, more than anything, may push the Switch towards a 10 year lifespan. 

If it launches in 2024 as I think it probably should, it'll be coming 11 years after PS4/Xbone, and so should be more capable, as Switch 1 came 11-12 years after PS3/360 and is more capable.

I find difficult that Ninty delay Switch 2 launch to 2027, but to 2025 is a possibility, BTW that year they could make a special yellow and white launch version and pretend the Pope made the Jubilee for it.