Topic: Should Nintendo bring back the Gamepad?

They should just stick with Pro Controller, maybe with buildt-in gyroscope motion.

A part of me wants to say yes, as an optional accessory, but the amount of power required for the streaming stuff means that it'd still make the base system way more expensive than it needs to be.

So no, unfortunately. Let the Wii U keep it.

With all the hand-wringing over Nintendo's E3 performance, I got myself a brand new Wii U. Firstly, I love the Gamepad. Secondly, backward compatibility with Wii U games would require that the NX supports the Gamepad. That said, I lean towards the NX NOT shipping with the Gamepad.

Last night I was sitting in the living room happily playing Earthbound on my Gamepad. My mother in law was in the same room watching TV. I'm also waiting anxiously for the release of Art Academy on the eShop. To put it simply, there are some things the Wii U can do that no other game console can. It occurred to me that this is the Nintendo way of late: each game system offers a unique experience that is different from the past. Think of the 2-screen touchscreen experience on the DS, the 3D on the 3DS, bowling with a wiimote on the Wii and our Wii U Gamepad experience. Each innovation is bold, different, and will not be repeated again. Almost no Wii U games today use the Wii remote. I'd bet that practically no NX game will use the Gamepad tomorrow.

Following Nintendo is an exhilirating ride. Nintendo takes huge risks with each iteration. Sometimes this pays off big (Wii). Sometimes this can be a near catastrophe (3DS). Sometimes it can be a complete failure. But the gaming world would be much poorer if we did not have Nintendo constantly strive to innovate, even if that means each gaming iteration is very different from the one before. If Nintendo stops making big changes, there would be little to differentiate them from the rest and there'd be no point in them making gaming hardware.

For now, I'm going to enjoy my Wii U experience while it lasts.

Keep it on the WiiU. I rather enjoy the gamepad but it hinders a couple games, like Kirby & Rainbow Curse where you never look at the TV and miss half the good graphics, or anything where Player 1 is gamepad only and P2 is on the TV but everything goes to SDTV because of the setbacks on the console itself, like Hyrule Warriors or Sonic All Stars Racing. I hope the NX just doesn't use it at all so we can move on and stop hating on it so hard, but also a touch of me hopes it can still be used on the NX as controller, but it seems like it would be pointless because chances are the NX will do it's own thing which won't be like the WiiU.

There is one thought I have in favor of keeping the Gamepad. The Wii U with Gamepad brings Nintendo's home consoles closer to their portables. The dual screens, the touch screen and stylus, the built-in mic, the dual analog sticks, dual shoulder buttons and button/dpad layout aligns closely with the current New 3DS hardware. That's why DS games are now viable on the Wii U virtual console. If Nintendo wants to make it easy to to build software for both platforms simultaneously, keeping the console and portable hardware in sync has some advantages. There's probably more 3rd party support from the 3DS side, since that is the more successful platform. But to ask those same developers — who are used to the 2 screen, touchscreen layout — to port their games to a home console would be harder without the Gamepad.

In any case, there's a good chance we can continue to use the Gamepad for a while. The Wii introduced brand new controllers, but you could still use Gamecube controllers on the Wii. The Wii U introduced a brand new controller but you could still use a Wii remote with the Wii U. If the pattern continues maybe we can continue to use the Gamepad on the NX, even if only for backward compatibility.

For me Wii U's gamepad played an important role in purchasing the console. The idea of off-tv is enough for me .The fact that it is integrated so well to the system and the games that are utilising it for things like inventory and maps are just fine idk what people expect Nintendo to do with the GamePad. I will say they should definately retain the compatibility of the gamepad and integrate it to the system but as an add on and on not a necessity. Too much of an added cost for something that not everyone wants.

I feel the GamePad is at its best when it is being used in passive ways, when it is there to display optional information. Game maps, inventory, mission objectives. This type of usage also allows for Off-TV play as that information can be put behind a menu. When a game tries to use the GamePad to much is when people find it gets on the way. The GamePad was a great way to enhance the way we play, not revolutionize the way we play. That is just my opinion. If the next Home Console doesn't have a GamePad type of controller, then I hope it supports it in some way.

I agree.

A second screen is a bless for RPG and Adventure games but they are rare on Wii U, aside from some 2nd party games like XCX and Zombi U or ports like MH3U and Deus Ex. Then there is a game that finally will give the gamepad a reason to exist (Fatal Frame) and another one which is excellent but just ignore it (DKCTF)... A funny mess, just like the console itself.

The thing is, for those utilities, there is no need to force the Gamepad into the package. I doubt that including off-TV play and moving the menus onto the gamepad is a significant amount of work, such that developers would be deterred from using it if every user didn't own one.

Maybe NX's big gimmick is a console that allows you to play/stream NX games with the NX portable, new 3ds, Wii U gamepad, and select mobile devices. The main controller could be a standard pad that combines the best of the GameCube and Wii U Pro controllers and includes, rumble, analog triggers, and a headphone jack. Oh and nfc for amiibo

@WebHead: So basically PS4+PS Vita remote play?

Yeah but a much broader range.

Here's the big issue with that. It's not a system selling point. People move to new generations because that new generation offers hardware that allows for new and better gameplay experiences. If the NX's only unique feature is an extension of something the PS4 and PSVita did, which, by the way has no application in gameplay, then it will struggle dearly.

No. For as much as a couple games (and I stress "couple") really did use it in cool ways, I still found myself playing with the Pro controller whenever possible. They did a great job of making the Gamepad light and easy to hold, but it's still much more comfortable to hold a traditional-style controller and really settle into a game, at least for me. I'll always say: there's a reason why certain things are deemed "classic" or "traditional," and it doesn't always have to be a bad thing to not change.

I would like it if Nintendo's next home console used it as an optional controller like the Wii U can use the Wii Remote and the old Wiis could use GameCube Controllers.

If it wasn't the main controller to the system, I wouldn't be upset, but I do love the GamePad very much. Off-TV play is excellent for lazy mornings, when other people are using the big TV, or dual screen multiplayer (which, admittedly, I've only used in Call of Duty). And I only found it useful as a map. Still don't know why that's such a bad thing. I can see collectibles and objectives much farther on that than the mini-map onscreen.

I'm resigned to the NX not having Gamepad bundled with it, but I think I'll really miss it. I've recently bought a PS4, and a lack of the gamepad has deeply affected me. It bothers me not having a screen to tap in my details or write on the internet. It bothers me I can't watch youtube on the telly and surf the forums with the gamepad. I miss not having access to miiverse which exists due to the gamepad- and allows me to draw pictures to post on miiverse and in games! I even miss the option to press a button and video chat my nephew.

Then I think about games. The gamepad MADE W101 for me. Both Splatoon uses the inbuilt motion controls that ARE (no debate) integral to that game. The screen allows you to leap to your team mates. I look at the future Super Mario Maker and without the gamepad it would be on the level of LBP. I think Arkham City on the Wii U is far more accessible than the Arkham Knight because I'm not constantly trying to remembering which 2 buttons I have to hold down to get the thing I want instead of just pressing the screen, or setting a map marker on it. Without a gamepad we can also write off backwards compatibility. Plus what is better than off screen play!

Whatever we get to replace the gamepad needs to give us something to deal with these problems. I really do think the idea of a N3DS connection to the console could solve it (or the next touchscreen handheld), if only as a complimentary interface. But I do think we lose a lot by not having something similar.