The next nintendo console will probably be on par with the PS3 and 360 for hardware performance or better. At the time this comes around those consoles will probably sell for around 150$ and the graphics even quite nice now will probably be getting old and we will think they are outdated at that time thats for sure. I think the PS4 and 720 will have more powerfull hardware and might I motion controle depends on how the market goes at that time...

For development purposes, "horsepower" still matters to a certain extent and stating otherwise seems a tad foolish.
I believe that the next Nintendo machine (late 2010 or early-to mid 2011) will be about on par with the 360, possibly sporting a simple multicore processor and a decent videochip.
The most improved aspects of the next Nintendo, however, will be memory and storage, which have turned out to be the weakest links.
The greatest advantage of having the cheapest hardware would be the fact that you can fix or improve upon the machines weakness' without the cost of doing so erupting completely and with a good margin and it will also probably be quicker in the making, both development and manufacturing.

Of course, the above model assumes that Nintendo will choose the exact same route one more time, which I think is a little unlikely, they cannot afford to develop and release on simple and past surmission when they have (finally) taken back first place and they are too clever and experienced in the game (literally and figuratively) to fall into that pit imo.

LOL the next Nintendo console won't be out before December 31st 2011 I can tell you ;)

The issue with the cost with Sony is because of it's technologies life cycle. It was not any more expensive (a lot cheeper actually) then a console if they had taken whatever the best Intel chip was at the time.

The next Wii can pick something that's 3 years old, and it would be faster then the PS3.

Yeah, the next Nintendo console will be more powerful than the PS360, just as the Wii is more powerful than the Xbox.

The next Nintendo won't be more or as powerful as the PS3, but if Nintendo releases there next Wii after 2012 then it'll probably be pretty close to the hardware in the PS3.

Sony and Microsoft will continue with making powerful HD console, they wont make a leap as big as they did for this generation because a console can only get so much powerful till there really isn't much more they can do with the games, already the game's are looking very realistic. So after the next generation of consoles it'll be really interesting to see what they come up with.

And of course the HD war will still exist in the next generation of consoles, HD will be huge by the time they come out with the next consoles, a lot of people will have a HDTV and everyone will have a Blu-ray player.

I think this leads to understanding what the Wii is. Wii is an intermediate console for Ninty. It's there simply to upset the established market. A "Joker" console as I now like to call it with no Batman to stop it haha.

Meaning it's setting up the next console that can release with an even more ambitious hardware at a larger price which is able to make more profits and revenues because they have alot of brand appeal then entering the market. Thus the "Two-Face" console will be able to dominate the world. This is the goal of Ninty's strategy. However Wii has done a lot bette than they ever imagined but I doubt that'll mean they won't upgrade the hardware as they know what it takes to win the market and devs.

You do know that by the time next generation comes Nintendo could probably make a console probably alot more powerful than the PS3 and still make a profit. The PS3 is so expensive because of blu-ray, and I guess somewhat because of cell technology. By then though the PS3s hardware would probably be really low-end, and very cheap to make. So I don't see why the NExt Nintendo console woudl be weaker than the PS3. The Gamecube made a profit despite selling at sub $200s, and it was more powerful than the PS2, and stood up pretty well against the Xbox. This is because the technology used wasn't expensive at all. There is no reason to think Nintendo can't make a console on par with the next Microsoft and Sony console.

@Zucas

yeah this is what i hav always thought

I don't believe that Sony dumped casual/mass market with PS1 and PS2.