THQ's president, Brian Farrell, has recently said "the last thing I think the industry needs now is new hardware."  http://wii.ign.com/articles/113/1130867p1.html

What has interested me the most is not so much what he said but the widespread number of comments by gamers who say that they agree with him. We are already 5 years into this gaming generation, and for all the amount of ridicule that the Wii has received for having "last gen tech", I am a bit surprised to see how many would-be consumers are rejecting the idea of moving past where we are currently to something potentially greater.

Now, if Nintendo's ambitions for next gen are conservative, where the system falls in the technological range of the 360, then much of this speculation is moot.

However, if Nintendo COULD release a Wii successor by holiday 2012, have it be notably more powerful than the PS3 (let's say for starters, 2GB of RAM, DX 11 capable GPU, etc.) and still be able to sell it at a price within their profit goals, then why shouldn't they?

As both Sony and Microsoft are now beginning to profit on their hardware, it makes perfect sense why the two companies would want to extend this generation as long as possible. Nintendo, on the other hand, has more reason to be motivated. They have seen large significant drops in system sales YoY coupled with a looming drought of third party support that looks to rival, if not exceed, the fifth years of both the N64 and Gamecube. Iwata himself has also expressed concerns should this holiday season not provide a satisfactory boost sales. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=268778

Wouldn't it be exciting to see Nintendo kick off a new generation for once, instead of showing up last/near last?

Maybe it is because I've become so accustomed to 5-6 year gaming cycles over the past 30 years, but quite frankly, I've never been more hungry for some next-gen news.

Christ no.  Nintendo are dead to me till the 3DS which looks amazing.

No. I want this generation to continue for as long as it can, and that includes the Wii. I am quite fond of it.

This gen has had the longest lead in time for games that finally take advantage of the hardware and now some people have started clamoring for new systems?  R- E-T-A-R-D-E-D.

I personally could not buy it, even if I did have the money I'm not sure I'd pay out for it, and when so many core gamers are rejecting the idea of new hardware how are casual gamers going to react when Nintendo turn around and say "Now you need this shinier, more expensive thing to play all of the games we release"? Casual gamers make up the large majority of the Wii fanbase and they're not hung up on whether their games are running in true 720p or how many clock cycles their CPU can execute in a second, they just want something that provides games that are accessible to them. I also think that a lack of hardware that is in-line with that of Sony and Microsoft's is just one issue, I think the Wii's other major issue is the quality of the games. I know there are real gems for the console, I've played some of them myself, but I still don't think there are as many decent games for the Wii as there are for the 360 and PS3 and upgrading the hardware isn't going to stop all those publishers out there putting out their low-budget waggle-fests.
 
A hardware upgrade is not going to be beneficial for Nintendo, the majority of the Wii fanbase nor a large number of developers and publishers for the console. What's more most serious core console gamers already have a PS3 or 360 in their homes, if the Wii upgrades its hardware now it's not as if core games are going to go out and buy it for all the 360/PS3 ports released on it, they already have the hardware they need for that.

No, please.

let's say for starters, 2GB of RAM, DX 11 capable GPU, etc.  

" @Villainess said:

let's say for starters, 2GB of RAM, DX 11 capable GPU, etc.  

2GB of RAM is waaaay overkill for a Nintendo console.  They're always very conservative with RAM.  I'd expect 1GB max on the next system unless they're really trying to blow the other systems out of the water with tech. "

" @Villainess said:

let's say for starters, 2GB of RAM, DX 11 capable GPU, etc.  

2GB of RAM is waaaay overkill for a Nintendo console.  They're always very conservative with RAM.  I'd expect 1GB max on the next system unless they're really trying to blow the other systems out of the water with tech. "

Nintendo already said their next console would add a whole new element to gaming (much like the addition of motion control).  So it seems they've already ruled out a simple hardware improvement release.

I could go another 5 years with the same hardware.

I probably can't afford a new system right now. Not responsibly anyway. And I have too much crap plugged in by my TV as it is. 

That all depends on whether or not it primarily relies upon motion controls, especially if the third-party games continue to be so gimmicky in their implementation of said controls. In that case, it could be twice as fast as a 360 and twice as powerful as a PS3 and I would still pass on it.

I personally don't care that much considering I can run most Wii games off of Dolphin at higher image quality settings than Nintendo can even dream of for their next console (and before anyone screams pirate, I buy the physical copies from Amazon or retail like everyone else).  
 
Will the market in general care? It's Nintendo hardware, it will sell like hotcakes regardless of how good/bad it is. As a side note, Wii sales are diminishing but they're still in line/exceeding 360 sales last I checked so Nintendo isn't necessarily motivated to release a console sooner than either MS or Sony. If MS and Sony are profiting off their hardware now, Nintendo is making even more of a profit; they've been profiting off of the Wii's hardware since day one and the price is only $50 lower now than it was at launch.  

It could be a gift wrapped turd, as long as it has the word Nintendo on it people will buy it. I think they'll wait

I certainly would think about it for a VERY long time before investing in any Nintendo hardware in the future. The Wii..well..I wish I'd just put the money into upgrading my PC. I've been a gamefly member (the only console I have is the Wii) for about a year now, and I've only kept 3 or 4 games longer than a day.  
 
My kids (3 & 4) however LOVE Mariokart...

Long console cycles force devs to learn how to program efficiently and economize. A new console comes out people get lazy again and think "oh man all this extra ram and cpu, well I'll just clone more of my shit on the screen at once". Games don't get better from that.

No. I'm not rich. new consoles cost a lot. when they launched the wii and xbox 360 combo broke me and had crap games. finally I'm getting great games from all the current generation consoles I own. I hope we get another 5 years.

Nope,  not yet
I also supsect the 3DS to be some sort of experiment for the upcoming Nintendo console, I think the DS was for WII

" Christ no.  Nintendo are dead to me till the 3DS which looks amazing. "