Topic: 8 players on one Wii U?

Would it be possible to see 8 player games in the future? I think the closest thing we've had to 8 players on a Nintendo console (besides LAN/online) was Mario Party 7, where two people would share one controller. However, since the Wii U uses bluetooth, it could theoretically support up to seven Wii remotes/pro controllers at the same time, and the gamepad as the eighth controller. I know there would probably be very few games that support 8 players, but it would still be an interesting feature to have anyway. I bet if there was a Nintendo Land sequel, it could make very good use of the extra controllers. Even the PS3 supports up to 7 players, and I've played a few of those games.

It'd be possible, I could imagine an 8 player Smash Bros. happening. I don't think they'll be going that route though.

There would also be no practical need for it

No one wants to hook up 8 remotes. I barely want to hook up 5-Player Nintendo Land.

Too much splitting of the screen. Too many people to crowd onto one screen. I can see a 6 player game with 4 way split and 2 gamepads though...

Heh, I have heard of a bomberman game on the Wii VC that supports 5 or i think 8 players.

There's a pretty large margin of error you got there.

Which error?

I think it would be cool if the WiiU's successor allowed for more players to use a gamepad. Just think of something like golden eye with split screen where there's 4 players using a gamepad and four players using split screen on the tv. I think that would revolutionize local competitive multiplayer.

No, not an error, a margin of error. As in there's a pretty big difference in your estimates.

No one would want to share that tiny screen with three other people.

For a game like bomberman 8 on 1 tv would work, sadly right now the Wii U only supports 4 controllers. A possible software update could possibly change that but there is so much focus in online gaming that same couch gaming is dying off

Oh ok, .heh sometimes my errors margin can be a bit high.

My bad I meant 4 people using 4 individual gamepads and 4 people on the tv.

Even less feasible because then you'd be rendering a 1080p screen and four separate 480p screens. Even ignoring the limits on the wireless streaming tech, which would probably rule this out anyway, you'd end up with the Wii U having to render full 2k. Unless it's a very simple game I don't see how that could happen.

As for the topic.... I think we should probably be happy with the fact that it supports five player multi out of the box. Even better it's five player multi without having to split the screen five times.