Topic: Wii games on wii U

The Pro controller in Wii mode is a far more likely possibility than the Gamepad as the Pro controller works off the Bluetooth already utilized by that mode. As I said already, the Wii mode output to the Gamepad is not handled by Wii mode, but by the Wii U OS. It's far easier to grab data from a known exit point than it is to create a new entry point for input (which is what would be required for Gamepad input to become usable in Wii mode). Is it possible? Maybe, but it could end up screwing up Wii mode in the process since this is an entirely new piece of hardware it would have to deal with.

It would all come down to whether or not the Gamepad could also emulate a remote+CC and I'd rather doubt they'd have made that a priority. For that reason I rather doubt the Pro Controller could work in Wii Mode either. If Wii Mode was software emulation, then I'd agree it shouldn't be a problem, but it's not: there's basically a Wii system on a chip inside the case - at least that's my understanding. That means for the hardware to work with Wii Mode it needs to be a known input method for the Wii. I guess a new IOS is possible, but the biggest reason for not doing that is to encourage people to buy VC content from the eShop instead of the Wii Shop.

Frankly I think they should bin the Wii channel completely and have Wii channels display in the main Wii U menu and then just launch Wii Mode in the background when you kick off a game there. Load times would be greater, but it would appear more transparent to users. I can't imagine they aren't working on something like this because what they have now is a bit clunky. It's a real shame they didn't allow for a larger share of internal flash for Wii stuff as well - at least some kind of emulated SD card of maximum size to avoid having to do the fridge cleaning stuff - my internal Wii U memory is just sitting there unused!

Technically, you can. The Gamepad has its own built-in sensor bar (it surrounds the camera) so you can take the Gamepad into another room and continue to enjoy playing Wii games if the TV is in use for lesser purposes; however, you will still need the appropriate controller(s) in order to play, and the Gamepad cannot be used as a substitute for a Classic Controller. While this isn't the most convenient option for action-heavy Wii games, I have found that games that utilise sideways Wii Remote controls to be the best for off-TV play (such as Pokémon Battle Revolution, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, New Super Mario Bros. Wii etc.).

The Gamepad off-TV thing just makes it into a little monitor and given the built-in sensor bar around the Gamepad camera it's pretty clear they designed it with a notion to have off-TV play for Wii as well. I've only used it once, but I definitely appreciate the flexibility and it worked great.

Considering most Wii games require some kind of pointer input the only real benefit of using Gamepad controls would be Virtual Console and I'm pretty sure Nintendo wants people buying the eShop content rather than running Wii Mode for that. Consequently I think it's not going to happen. Of course no one would be asking for it if they'd speed up the re-release cycle!