I don't think there is going to be a new Nintendo console.

(dramatic pause)

I think the 3ds is the future for Nintendo. The fight for the TV room has gotten too fierce, the combatants too big, and Nintendo knows better than to fight a fight it won't win. It will do what SEGA did long ago, but instead of just doing software it will instead focus on the handheld market. They're good at it after all.

Instead of putting another watered down console on the market, they could churn a beefier handheld out and focus the production of their big titles towards that device. Want to play Zelda or Mario? Gotta buy a 3DS. Want to play Metroid or Donkey Kong? Same thing.

Maybe they will go back to the big console market one day. But for now, and for a while yet to come, I think they will focus on a fight they can win.