Nintendo rerun their Wii plot for the eighth generation. MS and Sony will soon have their own motion sensing solution. Nintendo will need to innovate even more if they want to survive.
When will Nintendo launch their next console, since the last 2 generations nintendo consoles have had a 5-6 year life cycle. I suspect nintendo will release their next console on 2012.
On the hardware side, they might go in for a custom AMD CPU+GPU fusion solution which combines a multi core CPU+unified shader GPU+high L2 cache+Texture memory on the same chip. A Hard Disk is almost certain for bigger VC games and downloadable content. They will most probably stick with DVD9 unless the cost of Blue-Ray or HD-DVD drops drastically by then. Traditionally all nintendo consoles have launched for 199$ with the exception of the Wii, which launched for 249$ outside of japan and 199$ in japan. Nintendo will have to raise their launch price to at least 300-350$ to cover to HD and other innovations.With software remaining at 49.99$.

As for a stopgap HD-Wii well if they can release an SKU which is backwards compatible with previous Wii games with resolution being scaled up the HD levels and future Wii games supporting both Wii and Wii HD. With the HD content being unlocked on the Wii HD.

Allow me to be the first to introduce you to Moore's Law ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law ) ... To simplify it for you (because you obviously won't understand such a simple article) a processor that is produced using modern processes two years from now will be far more powerful than one that is produced today. There is something called "Research and Development" which makes "Technology" better; you can not magically produce a processor today that is better than all future processors.

Nintendo in combination with IBM (a corporation which does "Research and Development" that improves semi-conductor "Technology") can easily produce a more powerful console in 2 years than can be sold today.

Anyways, I can understand someone claiming Nintendo, IBM and ATI will choose to develop their next system as a lower processing power console but claiming they can not produce a more powerful system is moronic.

Easy photobucket and then edit it to look better :D

Like the Wii, N6 will continue the consumer-friendly price of $250, and the console will be upgraded to refelct that price. And of course improved motion-sensing, and maybe some new revolutionary innovation

 No editing to make my avatars look better, lol.  Just start with the finest material and they speak for themselves.

Inside
Wii HD will probably use a multicore chip designed in partnership with IBM and AMD (who bought out ATI). The CPU and GPU will be integrated into one chip and there will probably be a total of four cores (two for each function). This will allow the Wii HD to maintain complete backwards compatibility -- the system will just turn off the unused cores and lower the clock speed when in Wii mode and will use the extra horsepower when in HD mode. While it would be nice if there was a scaler chip in the system, don't count on cheap Nintendo to include the functionality (i.e. Wii and maybe even GC games get upconverted automatically to 720p and/or 1080p resolution). To support HD, the system will of course run faster and have the additional RAM needed to support that function.

Outside
The system itself will remain largely unchanged, though it will include extra internal storage and an upgraded version of the Wii OS. Unless there's a major breakthrough in HD versus BD wars, Wii HD will continue to use DVDs though many games will be distributed online. The system will look mostly the same, but with a 'modern' twist. Look at Apple products out at the time or what a newly remodeled DS looks like to get design cues. The GC controller and memory card ports will be removed, but you'll be able to use the Classic Controller and internal storage to maintain backwards compatibility.

The Contoller
The updated Wiimote itself will be evolutionary, not revolutionary. Expect some unique twist -- maybe a touch lcd or analogue buttons. If possible, Nintendo may be able to remove the need for the Sensor Bar, using other positions tech to know the location of the device. Device accuracy will be increased and battery life improved.

I disagree with Legend. It will be 4 Wii's taped together with gaffers tape! More systems, stronger tape.

Historically, Nintendo has launched cheap and stayed there. It has served them fairly well, and kept them profitable. So when they make a new system, it'll just be cheap, but as good as cheap can get whenever they make it and still make a nice amount on the sale of the console.

The next Wii will probably contain some new disruptive technology that will have Sony and Microsoft kneeling before Nintendo. I think the Wii's lifespan will last longer than 5 years this gen. Most likely closer to 7.

I say it'll have better graphics with a simpler controller and a cassette deck.

Hey this has nothing to do with this thread but does anyone know if SSBB will have onlilne?