This thread is all purely speculative.  I predict that the new Wii will come out before Christmas of 2011.  The Wii actually has a pretty good line-up for 2010 and Natal and Arc don't come out till late 2010.  I think Wii will keep up its momentum through 2010.  I think the Wii will begin to drop in 2011, especially with more competition for the casual market.  The Wii should have a few great titles in 2011, but it will be the beginning of the end. If the Wii makes to Fall of 2011, it will have had a 5-year cycle which is standard for Nintendo consoles.

The next question is this:  How will Nintendo compete into the next-gen?  All we know so far is that the next Nintendo console will not be merely an upgrade to HD.  Nintendo has always brought fresh new gaming concepts to all of their consoles (except perhaps the GameCube).  In addition to better graphics, Nintendo will bring some new advances to their motion controller schematics-- although Natal is definitely stealing some of the thunder.   But how powered will the next Nintedno gaming console be? 

The next Nintendo console needs to have at least HD graphics, that much is obvious.  It will also need a much bigger hard-drive and a much expanded internet interface.  Nintendo can not play it too safe with this next-gen.  Microsoft will probably also be releasing their new system at around the same-time.  Nintendo is going to need to create a system that is far more powerful than the current Xbox 360 if they want to even have the slightest chance at recapturing their hardcore gamer audience.  If Nintendo goes into the next-gen audience underpowered, then it will be a repeat of this current game generation where Nintendo loses all the 3rd party support for AAA titles.

One thing is for sure-- Nintendo will have much more competition for the casual market, so they will need to provide incentives for 3rd party developers to bring the big games back. 

PS3 is somewhat of an x-factor in this equation.  PS3 claims that they want to have a 10-year lifecycle.  If Nintendo releases in 2011, then the PS3 will be 5 years through their lifecycle as well.  Prices should have dropped enough by then for Nintendo to be able to manufacture something that is at least as strong as the PS3.  Plus, I doubt the new Nintendo will use Blue-ray-- which will also reduce the pricetag.  The current Wii doesn't even have a DVD player, so I think Nintendo will do just fine if they focus as a gaming/casual machine rather than as an all-around entertainment hub like the PS3 is trying to be.   I think Nintendo is going to need to make something stronger than the PS3 so that they can still have a solid gaming system compared to the next-gen Playstations and Microsofts.

Nintendo has the cash to bring about this change, but will they actually do it?  Thoughts?

I think it will be about as powerful as the 360 is.

I predict Nintendo's next console will be equal in power to the original GameBoy and in a surprise move sport 4:3 black-and white graphics only, as well as mono sound output.

LOL @ Cheebee

Carl, I think the new Wii is going to have to be much stronger than the 360, especially with Microsoft coming out with their new system on a similar timeframe.  If the Wii is any precedent, then the new Nintendo console will be more powerful than the 360 and the PS3, since the Wii is more powerful than the PS2 and Xbox.

Somone desearevs award for gettin it right when nintendo has its next console
Also according too many people wii would do better in 2010 than 2009. So wii is actually going to speed up not slowdown.Source-http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=96962

OT:It'll be much poweful than the PS3. The wii is more powerful than all consoles last generation. So the next one should too

I think 2012 is more likely than 2011, but anything is possible.

Even more than that, I say it's likely to be more powerful than the PS3. (Well, assuming there is no Wii 1.5 that is essentially a wii with minor changes like more flash memory).

The successor to the Wii will probably come in 3  years. The Wii would be the strongest console if it would be released last gen. The Wii 2 would be the strongest console if it would be released this gen.

At this time the hardware costs for a console with double the PS3s power will be so low.

The Wii could have 2Gb DDR3Ram and a quadcore CPU Plus an Graphics card on the level of an Nvidia 220 GT in 3 years for 250 Dollar.

it will crush the PS3 and Xbox with ease in terms of power. The progress in Computer tehnology is quick. A Wii2 at Xbox360 Level in 3 years could be released for 100 Dollar At the time the 360 will be just 100 Dollar.

The Wii would of failed last gen because it would of been too expensive.

I expect the next Nintendo console to be announced in 2012 and released in 2013. I think it will actually be technologically close to its competitors. Nintendo is making buttloads of money with both DS and Wii breaking records. I believe it was Iwata not too long ago talking about the flaws in the Wii even though it is successful. Ninty almost always corrects their past mistakes so I'm expecting something amazing for the next console (and DS successor too :P)

lol, lets look at the past to try and predict the future ok.

When the gamecube came out, it was outpaced in certain areas by the original xbox, now with the Wii it basically matches the original xbox almost 1:1, the wii does have certain areas it can outpace the original xbox though.

So if we look at what happened in the past as well as the outcomes, we can see that technology isn't something Nintendo is going to push, seeing as the weaker Wii has these hudge sales, while the gamecube failed when trying to compete in with the power of it's competition.

So, we can only hope that the Wii is AS powerful as the 360/PS3, but I wouldn't say that it'll crush them as you suggest, remember Nintendo is profit driven.