Yesterday Nintendo held an investor's meeting, where president Saturo Iwata spoke about their upcoming hardware project, the NX. The meeting was reported live via Twitter account NStyles (and then translated by Cheesemeister). He revealed that the company won't discuss the NX, because then their competitors might steal their ideas:
"We can't talk about the NX. If we do, competitors may take our ideas and customers won't be surprised, this would not be beneficial for the company or its shareholders. The NX is new hardware, and will start from 0. However, the 3DS and Wii U have install bases. Immediately cutting off software for previous hardware upon the release of a new machine is inefficient.
"We will continue making 3DS and Wii software while preparing for the NX. We are prioritizing satisfying customers who purchased the Wii U."
It seems that Nintendo are keeping their cards close to their collective chest, but now that Nintendo already has confirmed its existence, maybe the secrecy is counterproductive?
Thanks, IGN.