Never say never! I guess it all comes down to your own living conditions. As Shad mentioned it's a handy feature for him whereas for you it's a bit superfluous. Me, I'm in a similar situation where it doesn't matter which screen I use. While I prefer to use the main screen, sometimes I focus on the small just because it's there. What I find annoying though is how the screen is playing the same as the TV is, so it's incredibly distracting. Unless anyone knows of a way to turn it off?

while i like the idea of not requiring the tv to play games... it is not a deal breaker for me if a game does not support that feature..the cave is a interesting game yet i see posts on miiverse saying they wont buy it because it does not support the ability to play with just the gamepad, which i find is just saxd..

To be fair the choice on Wii U isn't necessarily whether to get The Cave or not it's more likely whether to get The Cave or Trine 2. Remote Play is definitely one of the reasons why you'd get the latter especially given how trivial the use of the GamePad features of The Cave are. I really don't see what the problem is.

It depends on the title and again I don't see what the big deal is. For games like Balloon Trip and Nano Assault Neo I've probably spent about 80-90% of my playtime on the GamePad, for New SMB U it's probably ~50%, for Assassin's Creed it's prob <5%. If a retro title especially didn't let me do this I would be pretty annoyed, if the VC had lacked the feature I wouldn't be at all interested in rebuying and expanding my Wii VC collection.

This shouldn't be really surprising either because most of my portable gaming has in the past been done at home when I don't feel like playing a game on the TV. You ask why would I want to use and even demand this feature before purchasing a title? Why wouldn't I? People like playing short portable games on the couch while there's a break in the sport or when someone's watching a chick flick.... and now we have something 4x larger than a 3DS XL on our coffee tables with full console controls and visuals. Why wouldn't it be part of the purchasing decision?

you definatly was not seeing the posts i was seeing.. i actually seen a post that literally says "Cave does not support the ability to play without the tv, thats a no buy to me"

and? That's a problem why? You expect people to not take it into account when deciding whether or not to get a game? How is this different from people not wanting to get a game because it lacked online play, local co-op, support for specific controllers, decent 3D on the 3DS? How is it different from someone being finally convinced to grab a game they were on the fence about because of a cool character or something as trivial as streetpass support on the 3DS?

Speaking as someone who hasn't got The Cave but was interested enough to play the demo I can tell you now that the lack of that feature was one of the reasons I haven't got it already. A strong third to the existence of Trine 2 (which isn't out yet here) and the $20AU asking price which is a little steep but a reason none the less. Why shouldn't I take into account the omission of such a cool feature when considering whether to buy it or not?

I think I've been misinterpreted as criticizing. I don't care how people use the console, and I totally get why someone would find off-TV play important. I just got the impression that some people ONLY want Wii U so they can play games — particularly VC games — off the TV. I've read that multiple times. And I was wondering why. ... not criticizing, but wondering why.

For the people saying they wouldn't buy something that lacks off-TV mode. If you do a lot of that, then I think it's totally reasonable to pass on a title without off-TV-mode. And while we're on the topic, I think it should be almost mandatory unless it's like a Wii Sports bowling game or something that is basically designed to be played in that manner. I hope we don't see a replay of the Wii in terms of lazy developers not utilizing the technology.

I appreciate the innovation the gamepad can bring to the industry. That ninja game in Nintendo Land is fun, asynchronous multiplayer is fun, and Zombi U used very creative ideas to keep me on the edge of my seat.

That being said, off-TV play is a feature I'm interested enough in that I do like to know whether a game supports it, and unless the controller screen is already being utilized for more than a backlit logo then I think there's no excuse for it not to support off-TV play. Is that a deal breaker? Not really, but it definitely can affect my decision to purchase a title. This is especially true for VC simply because "I've seen it all before". I have played many of the classics on the TV already, whether on their original consoles or the previous VC service. However, I have not had them on a handheld. I have not been able to casually play Super Metroid while I watch a movie. I have not had the luxury of bringing Wind Waker into the bathroom with me. The flexibility of off-TV play is an appealing feature to me, especially given my current living situation. On VC, this is doubly true. I encourage developers to find clever uses of the gamepad. Give me a reason to jump on any chance I can use the TV WITH my gamepad. But I also like having the ability to continue my games even without the TV.

Whilst anything that uses the gamepad is great and adds to the experience, I can honestly say I'd rather have a "lazy" port. that doesn't utilise it but is on a par with the other versions of games on other platforms in every other way, than not see that game released on the Wii U at all.

Off-tv play is a big deal for me.
I have a family and the tvs in my house are in regular use, when I do get the chance I can't really play 18 games on the tv because young kids around. I usually have to wait until late. For me off-tv play has increased my play time dramatically.
Some people are saying 'why would you play it on a small screen, etc'. What they don't get is that it's play it on the gamepad or don't play it at all.
I bought countless games for the xbox over the last few years and have not been able to fully play half of them. The gamepad is the perfect solution in my case.
I am also happy for the off tv play being mainly only for 3rd party multiplat games. These titles aren't going to use the pad for anything but maps and off tv play because they have to fit on other systems so they should have this option. I still bought ZombiU and Nintendoland and they are great, but I play BLOPS2 daily for an hour or two thanks to off-tv play.

On the Cave, I havent' bought it yet because the no off tv play in a game like this seems lazy. The same reason i didn't buy Fifa 13 when they left out Ultimate team.

The off-TV functionality didn't even factor into my decision of whether to buy a Wii U. I remember reading about how cool it is that the Wii U will let you instantly shift the gameplay from the big TV to the GamePad (and vice versa) and I remember thinking to myself "Meh. Who cares? Why would I even want to do that?" Now that I actually have my Wii U, though, I find I am using off-TV feature ALL THE TIME. I have a wife and a 3-year-old daughter which means the TV in the living room (where all my consoles are connected) is usually in use until pretty late in the evening. I used to only get 1-2 hours a day to play any games, but with the Wii U, I have been able to play tons of New Super Mario Bros U on the couch with my daughter while she watches Dora the Explorer or something. It's the best feature I never knew I wanted.

I find the off screen play is something nice that developers can tack on without much thought. If they were developing a game they felt didn't need a second screen with touch and motion controls they can tack on off screen play and still have people impressed. If a developer wants to make something that uses all of the functions the GamePad offers they can. It is just another step for the WiiU to be the only console you play.

From a business perspective, the off-TV play is brilliant and is definitely one of the distinguishing features that will be in the Wii U's corner once of the other two big consoles launch. As a supporter of Nintendo who does NOT want to see this company go down, I see it as a necessary move to help their console shine in an area where the other two will not be following.

However, I can see the OP's argument, and as a gamer I do not want to see this as "the beginning of the end" for fixed TV gaming.

But, when you weigh the two side by side... I want to see Nintendo thrive, and if the Wii U didn't have this feature and the gamepad was just a fancy interfacing tablet that showed maps... maybe we wouldn't even have a Nintendo company to be debating over. It's a stretch and I'm exaggerating, but I hope you can see my point. I guess I"m trying to say- as a gamer, I respect the OP's fear, but as a selling feature for millions of people, it makes business sense.

dont get me wrong it is a cool feature, but it shouldnt be a deal breaker if it doesnt have that feature,,i honestly think its sad to turn away from a game for not having such a minor feature

It's idiotic for Nintendo to advertise playing on the GamePad only as one of the big things on the Wii U,yet they fail not to have all games have that ability.

I am glad not all games have this ability.

I completely agree with OP.
It's great to have off-screen play for when others want to use the TV, and it can be a deciding factor for me at times too, but I fear it may mean developers not using it for much more than maps or stat screens or logos.
Personally, I hope not.
I do love playing Mario in my bowl chair, but it would be an absolute shame to see the GamePad features not really shine like they could. I expect something like the Wii though, unfortunately...

very good statement

I personally love the option to play only on the game pad as my game TV cuts off the screen, where as the pad has the whole display in view. In addition, it has a headphone jack, so I can fully appreciate the sounds of the games I'm getting rather than have background noise hinder that side of the experience. I also have found more value in handheld experiences than console, so overall I am finding more enjoyment treating it as a handheld.

GamePad only play is a wonderful option when you are in the middle of a boss fight and your wife wants to watch The Bachelor at 8:00.

Why not? Why should anyone care what other people think are important features when spending their own money to buy a game? It's my $20AU and I can choose to not buy The Cave partially because of the lack of off TV play if I want to. Some games just work better in that more portable format.

I can tell you now that the games where not having it is one of the reasons I don't get it are the same games I would not have got on Wii/PS3/360 either. So, and I think I can speak for most fans of remote play, it's not a case of not getting games because they lack it. It's more that I'm more interested in games I otherwise would not have got when they do have it.

........... there's a reason why I have beaten pretty much all of my DS/3DS collection but only half of my Wii collection. And that's with the vast, vast majority of my portable gaming time being at home where I could just as easily have been playing the Wii.