Topic: Wii U gamepad, Pros and Cons

Oh no...
...Someone said it again. You should get out of this thread while you still can.

Well Im just saying it can be optional. Whats done is done the gamepad is here to stay but i think what fans want is more games. I assume thats why the wii u sales have been pretty bad.

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

@ferthepoet
Well, it really depends on how your house/apartment is built and where your Wii U is for off-TV play's "usefulness". In my house (parents'), if the Wii U is in the living room, basically the central point to the house, I can go in any of the adjacent rooms and play comfortably (including the restroom). In my room, I can't go too far away, but I can still leave my room.

I mainly use off-TV play to just relax and play something in bed. I don't have to crane my neck to look at the TV or adjust my body so I'm laying on my bed the wrong way or sit up in bed... I can just lie there and play Wind Waker HD while laying on my pillow. Sometimes, I'll play a game (when hooked up in the living room) on the Game Pad while my brother plays on the TV (really fun when we're playing similar games) or while my parents are watching TV.

We're not going to turn this into another Wii U Should Drop the Game Pad thread.

I do the same, with my 3DS. If someone is using the tv the living room I can just wait or ask to use it, heck even invite grandma to play wii bowling..

I understand that, but I can't play Wind Waker, Batman, Mass Effect, or Assassin's Creed on my 3DS. Off-TV play is great.

@kyuubikid213 which is true, off tv play is great. But my question is , is that what the Wii was lacking? When the wii came out it was amazing the controller was simple even parents and non gamers could play. In my opinion the only thing the Wii was lacking was on graphics and games support outside nintendo.

I can't understand the complaints for switching to the Game Pad in menu based apps...

The Game Pad makes it so much easier to navigate menus than even the Wii Remote could. And it makes typing a hell of a lot easier, too.

While I agree with the above, for me the issue is that the gamepad is rather bulky. If I'm watching Netflix, it's much nicer to be able to grab something remote-like like the Wii remote, rather than the gamepad. And accidentally dropping the gamepad while fumbling around the couch in the dark would definitely ruin my day.

Was it the thing everyone was begging them to add? No. From memory of the early pre-announcement threads people weren't asking for off-TV play. User requests are the most boring things. People were asking for stuffs like a Unified account system, IDs rather than friend codes, HDMI output, voice chat and so on. I don't think anyone was saying "I want to be able to play games while the TV is in use". But nobody asked for WiiMotes or Dual Screen handhelds either.

But they did add that functionality and IMO it's the biggest feature of the console. Given it's such a great feature that all who own a Wii U rant about at length.... what's the issue? That sales aren't that great? I'll throw the same argument at this thing right here as I have in the 100s of other threads that went down this road. Content is king. Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. From the week before Kart launched...

24th May: 31k Wii U's sold
31st May: 133k Wii U's sold
7th Jun: 110k Wii U's sold
14th Jun: 68k Wii U's sold
21st Jun: 53k Wii U's sold

Content.... /discussion for the 100th time

People weren't asking for it because it wasn't an issue. When someone buys a system they know is going to use up the TV and nobody had a problem with that. When someone wanted something portable they buy a DS. A wise man once said "if something is not broken, why fix it?"

1. Battery life- the game pad is often tethered to a power source
2. Having to switch controllers for no reason is an annoyance

If you are going to play a game with a wiimote or classic or pro it is most convenient not to have to switch controllers unneccesarily. This is most annoying to me because I have enabled a password on my log in.

Just because the touchscreen may be the most convenient way to handle some menus and text entry doesn't mean it should be the only way. Even when forced to use the gamepad it still allows you to use the gamepad buttons for input instead of the touch screen so why not allow button controllers or pointer functions as well?

Good to know these technicalities- i though it was going through the IR deal up front.... (or maybe it still is?) Anyway, to be more specific, it would be nice if we could some how hook it up to our WiFi and play it throughout the house.

I don't even have mine hooked up to my TV.

Pros: It has a sweet touchscreen that can have some pretty uses, for both single-player and multiplayer.
Off-screen TV can be occasionally useful.
Cons: Outside of the touchscreen, it's not a good controller. The buttons aren't that great, the triggers aren't good, it doesn't for as well in you hand. Compared to Dualshock 4 if you take the touchscreen out, it's a horrible controller. Don't get me wrong, because if he touchscreen I think it's a good controller, and the buttons still work good, but otherwise it has nothing goin for it.

The two cons for me are low battery power and second you can't tun off the gamepad if you want to use another controller. You can turn off the screen but it's still on and waste battery life. But either way is a great controller cause of the touchscreen.

I think the Gamepad is almost all positives. Sure the factory battery only gives you 3.5 hours (I've long had an extended life battery that gives me 10.5 hours, and that's tested!), and the touchscreen is the same kind you use at grocery checkouts and at the ATM, but in the end, the Gamepad is comfortable, has both sticks placed vertically above your wrists making any games that make use of both sticks FAR more comfortable than any DualShock or XBox controller, and the off-TV play is surprisingly useful and comfortable when you just want to lay down or lay sideways on the couch.

To me, the Gamepad is basically entirely one big "pro".

Plugging it in while I'm using it isn't always convenient. I have it docked next to my TV so in order to do so, I have to remove the cord from the dock and the wall outlet and bring it back over to my chair. I also may have any combination of my Macbook, iPad or 3DS plugged in so I have to unplug one of those as well. I'd be happy with 10hr battery life. If my iPad can pull it off, my much larger Wii U Gamepad should be able as well.

Solution idea:
Users who love the gamepad can use the gamepad, those who don't see much use can get an update where they can access all the wii U menus and channels like netflix via wiimote. What do you guys think?