Topic: Does the Kinect-less Xbox One mean anything for the Wii U?

A big problem I see would be compatibility issues and angry consumers who buy games and then can't play them because they lack the needed accessory...in this case a gamepad.

However, if they managed to produce a gamepad-free SKU, no one would ever make a retail game that uses the pad for anything but off-screen play ever again because the already small user base being divided.

With the current trend of NFC figures making tons of cash for Activision and Disney, and Nintendo about to take the full plunge...it seems like the absolute worst time to remove a major hardware feature like the game pad with it's built-in NFC capability.

I know you can make a new portal to replace the game pad for NFC inclusion...but why? It's like selling a motorcycle with no engine, and then offering a bicycle accessory - if that makes any sense!

Which Wii U owners don't have a GamePad?

oops, my bad

All your arguments are invalid, I posted a song that said "thou shalt find oneself perturbed by less verbose calamities" and then gave the solution to this thread

I still don't follow this logic at all. I see the cost of the current SKU is $300. I see from parts tear downs that the gamepad is about 1/3 of the materials cost of that SKU. I conclude they can reduce the cost by 1/3 if they don't include the gamepad.

If there is a "$30" part in the console that is dedicated only to streaming the second screen to the gamepad I do not see how it matters. There is no hardware revision here. The console with that part is still 2/3 of the current SKU and you can charge 2/3 of the price for it and it doesn't matter if a person who buys a budget SKU never ever connects a gamepad to their console. They still paid for it. They still saved 33% on the cost of the console when they purchased it.

............................

And how many times do I have to repeat that I Iove the gamepad. I am not anti-gamepad. Offering a budget SKU would not "kill" the gamepad in my opinion and if it did it would simply validate the budget SKU as a smart and necessary move in the consoles life. I simply think the state of the consoles business, the state of the software that is most enticing and how it uses the gamepad, and how much the console can still do with out the gamepad and realize that selling to people who like the gamepad and people who hate it is better than only selling to people who like it.

@blaisedinsd
Dude, you like can't read or something. I'm done trying to explain this to you.

Fine. I will just assume what you mean by "$20-30 being voided" is simply saying there is a part in the console that is superfluous or not necessary. That is the only way what you are saying makes sense to me.

The reality, I plainly laid out for you, is that your point actually doesn't mean anything. So there is a part in the console that costs money that the consumer is paying for that they don't need/want/use....so what. Nintendo makes money when they sell it and the consumer saves money by not getting the gamepad...neither one cares about the "$20-30 part" being in the console and not being used (unless a gamepad is later added/borrowed). That is just like BC which often costs money to implement but is not used by everyone. Consoles are often built with things that end up not being needed such as parallel port on the PS1 or the accessory dock on the gamepad that is unused by anything (attach your game pad to a wii zapper in the future possibly?)

@blaisedinsd
Assuming is probably why you don't understand, so be my guest. If you care so much, call Nintendo and ask them. Maybe you can get a job there and they can go into detail for you.

@scar392

What does Nintendo have to do with this? I am trying to understand your point, which in my view makes no logical sense.

@everyone else

Is what scar392 saying making sense to any of you?

Yes

Yes even though a lot of it is guess work.

Can you explain how selling a Wii U with no gamepad voids or burns $20-30 out of Nintendos pocket as he is claiming? How does the sale of a gamepad then recoup that money?

What he is saying is guess work or it takes guess work to understand his point?

I see no logical way that it makes sense to say if they sold the console with out a gamepad that they would be burning $30 that would only be recouped if they sold that person a gamepad. The console is 2/3 of the cost. The gamepad is 1/3 of the cost. If they sell the console for 2/3 of the price and the gamepad for 1/3 of the price than what he is saying makes no sense. How does selling the console for 2/3 of the cost burn $30?

Because the part costs $30 and is not being used? That is not burning $30. That is selling a console for the same profit margin you were before. Whether or not that part is actually used affects nothing.

Are you really still going on about this?

There is hardware in the Wii U that its only purpose is to have the GamePad work. If the GamePad is removed then that hardware is pointless and is extra costs Nintendo is just throwing away. By someone buying the GamePad separately the hardware now has purpose again and is not money just thrown away. I believe that is the idea.

@blaisedinsd
How is Nintendo dropping the GamePad going to show strength in Nintendo's hardware line-up for the next system? If the GamePad is dropped should any and all unique/different input devices be dropped? Should companies release a product and not support it? (Yes you have said Nintendo can continue to make games that use the GamePad but what would be the point if people without a GamePad can't play those games? And as you have said people would only be interested in Nintendo games so why would they buy a SKU that doesn't play Nintendo games? Sure there are some where GamePad functionallity is optional but Nintendo has stated they are focusing on unique GamePad games making a GamePad-less SKU absolutely pointless.) If you cannot answer how dropping the GamePad will help Nintendo in more ways than 1 for the next 3-4 years and beyond then I don't think you have a argument. Sales of Wii U hardware might go up, even if the last price drop didn't help as much as people wish it had, but their software department is working on using the GamePad more which means you cannot make Software money off of GamePad-less people. Removing the GamePad adds more problems for the company that keeping it.

Microsoft dropped the Kinect because they weren't going to focus on it. Nintendo is focusing on the GamePad. If people really have a problem with the GamePad then that sucks for them but you enjoy the GamePad, so why complain about it.

As someone who was a big proponent of getting rid of the gamepad wouldn't that be problematic since Iwata has stated the company will double down on titles using the gamepad screen as well as games that use NFC figures this E3.

I'm pretty sure I've said this twice already.

That is how I was understanding it as well. I don't think the point is valid because even though the console still has certain hardware to support the gamepad and that hardware might be pointless with out a gamepad and Nintendo could make the console even cheaper if they dropped it (a Wii U mini type of model) it doesn't matter because Nintendo would still be charging a price that is based on the hardware being sold even if it is not being used. It would be like if they added a worthless part for $5 and they raised the price $5...no difference in profit margin. I am talking about reducing the cost of parts by 1/3 and reducing the price by 1/3. Whether or not the part is used or dead weight makes no difference except to PFTMEUOEP (People for the most efficient use of electrical components.....a ficitional orgainization that doesn't exist but illustrates why I find this argument to be baseless).

This is mostly the subjective part of the idea.

In my opinion the software that has come out for the system to this point is just as big of sin as offering a budget no gamepad SKU. We have already seen them try to make compelling gamepad software (Nintendoland, Game and Wario, Wii U panaroma view, Google street view) and the results overall have been dissapointing. We have also seen software move away from using the gamepad more and more over time (How many games have asymmetric game play?). Now we have a promise that they are going to try again (try harder?) to get some compelling applications of the gamepad. I will believe it when I see it.

In my opinion current Wii U owners would not care (even though they think they might) if this SKU was offered. They may think why in the hell would anyone buy that SKU but then they simply won't buy it and they will move on with their lives.

In my opinion creating more content that uses the gamepad creatively is a good thing whether or not they offer a budget SKU. The examples of software being made that can only be used if you have a certain peripheral, that can only be used by a segment of your install base, are too numerous to list. The real question, from my point of view, is why does anyone think it's a problem for them to release software that is only usable by a segment of the install base? The person who got the budget SKU is now envious of those who have a gamepad if they do a good job creating this imaginary software, that is something Nintendo would want because that person probably goes out and buys a gamepad in order to use that software.

The ways that a budget SKU would help
1. You can now sell to people who like the gamepad and people who hate the gamepad instead of just one of those groups.
2. You lower the cost of entry to Wii U software.
3. You improve the systems usability (it works still if your gamepad dies and give you more options and convenience to use other controllers instead of making you pick the gamepad up when it's inconvenient)
4. I believe you clarify some of the consumer confusion about what the gamepad and the Wii U are. (Oh it's an add on for the new Nintendo console that is needed for some games and lets you play with out the TV etc. etc.)
5. We don't have superfluous gamepad features shoe horned in to games that don't need them

LOL.

We don't have superfluous gamepad features shoe horned in to games that don't need them

Not sure what that means. Any use is good use. Having a map on the game pad is not superfluous. Sometimes it changes the entire dynamics of the game (Mass Effect 3). Inventory on the screen is helpful. Off-Tv is not superfluous... so not sure what you're getting at.

I mean something like having to blow on your controller to move a platform in 3D world. I don't enjoy getting spit all over my controller. If it were not for those elements captain toad levels would be completely playable on a pro controller. Isn't it too bad they didn't let you blow on your controller to make your boat move in Wind Waker?

The things you mention I agree are enhancements. Enhancements that will help define the gamepads appeal.

I think defining the appeal of the gamepad separately from the appeal of the entire console would be a good thing for the Wii U.

What he is saying is mostly guess work.