Topic: Please allow Wii U settings to be changed without a gamepad!

Please! If you can explain a really good reason to require a gamepad then let me know, but I can't think of it.

That's just how it is. Nintendo thought the Gamepad was the big feature of WiiU so they made it mandatory to do anything in the home menu, settings and so on. Just how Sony forced touchscreen controls on Vita's menus. Also, don't think of this reply as a defense of Nintendo's practices in regards to the Gamepad. I hate that thing as much as the next guy.

Me being the next guy, that would mean you don't hate it at all. But yes that's how it is.

Yup, when the Wii U started tanking Nintendo should have made the gamepad completely optional and slashed the price. They could have marketed the gamepad as a controller neccessary for certain games that enhances many others and really marketed as the low cost HD family wii console. Selling this thing for $300 is what killed it mostly and the gamepad is the reason the system cost so much.

Absolutely no reason to require the gamepad to use any part of the system.

Still the best controller I've ever used.

Super Mario Maker. There is no greater reason available, though Nintendo could have made a game that used all the features of the Wii U and the gamepad.

@pandabear88 What's the point of this thread exactly? You can change the Wii U settings with any controller (Wiimote, Classic Controller, Classic Controller Pro, Pro Controller) you like, so the title of this thread makes no sense whatsoever...

No, that would've only made things worse. The best Wii U games relied on the Gamepad and without those games, the Wii U would've tanked even more.
The commercial failure of the Wii U wasn't due to its price (it didn't stay at 300€ either) or the Gamepad, it came down to poor/nonexistent marketing and unfortunate branding. Either call it 'Wii 2' - even the dumbest potential buyer understands enumeration, see Playstation - or something without 'Wii' in the title. - because that lead to a lot of confusion.
To this day most people don't know what a Wii U is (due to lack of marketing and advertisement) and if they hear of it for the first time, they think it's some kind of accessory for the Wii.

Couldn't agree more!

@Yellowtails What makes you say that? No it doesn't. You can boot the Wii U with a Wiimote or a Pro Controller.

Then you just need to switch the view on your TV's screen from the Miiverse plaza to the main menu (where all your games, apps and settings are).

You can do that with the 'X' button on the Pro Controller (or the Classic Controller or the Classic Controller Pro).
If you're using a Wiimote, just point at the switch-symbol on the bottom right corner of the screen and hit the 'A' button:

The Wii U might be a lot of things (or have its downsides), but being poorly designed (regarding the UI) isn't one of them. If anything, this is the console with the most thought-out UI design I've ever seen. Just open Youtube in the browser and you'll know what I mean.

the only way to update, manage data such as deleting it, and other tasks is to use the gamepad.
thats what the op is saying.
and i agree. i hate that factor myself. i wish i was able to fully use the classic controller pros for options like this. i see some people are taking this thread personal. lol
this message has been brought to you by ogo79

@subpopz It might be funny but it was true. Sony and MS especially quickly replace their previous offerings in big box stores so when you are looking for a playstation or an xbox the only thing available is the newest one. The wii did have some overlap and slapping a letter on the end doesn't really suggest an iteration (I'm pointing at the xbonex as well with this) so much as an update or hardware revision. Playstation was always the smartest as the kept a brand name and use simple numeric designations that can't be confused. Xbox makes no sense but 360 was easier to separate out from the OG xbox...the one...well I don't have much to say about that...its stupid but it had enough lead in that most people could tell the difference. Also many consumers use hype goggles to judge graphics (that's why you get people saying skyward sword looked like an n64 game...which my n64 looked like that growing up) so you had people saying WiiU games looked like wii games...which is nuts...I'm literally half blind and I can't fudge my vision like that. However for better or worse the naming convention along with the size of the gamepad (as it dwarfed the system) mad it hard for people to tell the difference at first glance.

@Yellowtails Obviously you don't know what you're talking about or you're just trolling. Do you even have a Wii U?
You can open the settings and apps without using the Gamepad just fine (see above), I just tried it myself.

Having to use the Gamepad for settings is annoying, but at least, unlike the Wii, other controller options work on the main menu. With the Wii, there was a bit of time where after that really thin wire for the TV sensor for the Wii Remote broke I couldn't do anything on the menu and thus couldn't play any games even if the games did not require it. =/

I feel like overall the controller options were handled better with the Wii U. I hope they're handled well for the Switch. I'm all about Pro Controller.

@shani I believe he mainly means that you need to use the gamepad if you want to go to and change the settings. (Internet connection, display, sound, etc. Which does require the gamepad since the information is all on the screen)

@shani
ill buy you any brand new car you want if you can show me how you managed to toggle your saved game data with a classic controller.

@Yellowtails @ogo79 Ah now I understand! I thought it was just about using any other controller to open system settings or apps (before switching to the Gamepad).
Of course with a powered-on Gamepad, why would you not have the Gamepad powered on? That's just mind-boggling for me, because the Gamepad is always automatically powered on when the Wii U is powered on.
It's like asking 'why can't I change the settings or watch Youtube on my PS4 without a TV?'. The only difference is: the TV doesn't come with the console, but the Gamepad does.

@yokokazuo Yeah that seems to be what he meant, I just didn't get it.

@shani
looks like i dont have to buy you a car after all

@ogo79 I don't have a driver's license anyway (passionate cyclist and Metro/train passenger).

@shani The Wii U launced at $300 for the most basic set (8GB) and when that was discontinued the most basic set available was still $300. It never had a real price cut even if they did offer more for the price eventually.

The failure to sell the gamepad as a feature people want was one of the main reasons the Wii U failed.

A consoles success has always been determined by price and games. That is how this industry works. Being too expensive while having drastically less power than it's rivals was bad. The Wii was cheap at $250 going against $600 PS3 in 2006. Wii U would have done better if it was cheaper and it had more games. The console itself is pretty cheap with out the gamepad and you can play and use the Wii U plenty well without the gamepad.

And I guess you did realize you need a gamepad to access system settings....they made it so you could mostly use the eshop with out it.

Imagine a $249 Wii U with a bundled game at launch without the Gamepad.

That controller was such a colossal blunder from Nintendo.

I don't see the point