E3 2012: Wii U Supports Two GamePads

YES!!!

I had money on the idea only one would be used. I was completely convinced. Nicest surprise I've had in awhile.

Frame rate halved?

Eugh, I don't know if it's worth it.

I don't care. This is GREAT!

Amongst the best news in the whole dang conference! Had to be done.

I was teaching a programming class and silently watching the news unroll while the class worked on labs. When I saw this news I mimed a two fisted cheer without thinking. I looked around the room fast. No one was looking. lol.

Best part of the conference, IMO.

Halving the frame rate was probably the only feasible way of doing it without making last minute hardware adjustments that could have delayed the whole thing. It's clear they've done it in response to the initial outcry that came after the Wii U's announcement, which makes me wonder if any first party titles will even make use of two GamePads.

very nice

When you think about it though, the Wii U should run at LEAST 60fps. Half of 60 is 30 and 30fps isn't slow...

Fair enough, and GREAT, cause on average I have one other person I game with anyway.

A remote itself will be about $50-$100. If i had the money, i would buy a second one, but the Wii U console and a Gamepad will be about $400... siiigh

That is pretty good - I don't really notice the difference between 60 fps and 30 fps. If you have to go from 30 to 15 though, that would probably be icky. I'm sure updates and later games will improve though - this may not be a permanent limitation.

they probably mean half fps on the controllers, not on tv... just a hypothessis as I've been trying to find the first half of the presentation I've missed online.

Yeah I think they mean on the controllers, since the WiiU has to essentially stream the video data to the controller, wirelessly. Doing that to two at once is taxing.
But halved framerate is nothing too noticable. If you want a good example of this, play Dead or Alive Dimensions on the 3DS. In 2D mode the framerate is 60fps, (I think?) but in 3D it's halved.

Well most games now can't even get to 60FPS so what's the big deal?

Eh, I'm more concerned with how much this GamePad is going to cost... has there been any word on pricing yet? This can't be too cheap. LCD screens don't grow on trees.

@SmaMan Same here man, if that console is between $200 and $300 i might consider it. But if its more than $300 then it a no go. Also, it depends on how many games will support it, and if there are people constantly want to play with you lol!

I'm sure the majority of games will be designed with one Gamepad and remote+nunchuk in mind, so I'm not getting a second Gamepad unless there's some compelling reason to do so. In short, supporting two Gamepads means nothing to me.

There's no point buying a second pad until somebody produces a game that can use a second pad.

Unless I've missed something, every game shown so far is either single-player (eg Takamaru's Ninja Castle), asymmetric (eg Luigi's Ghost Mansion) or turn-based (presumably the golf - if it progresses beyond a tech demo).

Even if somebody does produce a 2-pad game it would have to be a really good one to justify the extra expense.

I'm just glad the option is there. Personally, almost all of my friends aren't into Video Games, so this doesn't effect me much.

Good to hear that it supports it, but won't buy a second until I see some games where it will be essential.

If they keep adding great features Nintendo mad a great E3 debut!

Comparison videos of 60fps vs 30fps are moot on youtube. Youtube automatically converts 60fps videos to 30fps anyway, so nobody will notice any difference at all, or your eyes are deceiving you. Our eyes normally can't differentiate the difference anyway, although strobing light at less than 50Hz can cause headaches, and an 18Hz strobe is pretty much the golden ratio for epileptic seizures, but flat panels don't strobe light, and older CRT displays strobe at either 50 or 60Hz. The difference in frame rate is only noticeable when there is very rapid movement onscreen. Most movies are mastered in 24 fps, and I can see the jitter effect during scenes of extremely fast movement if I sit too close to the screen at movie theaters, but if you are used to the effect of 24fps Hollywood movies, then 30Hz shouldn't be that noticeable on a tiny screen. I am grateful for the ability to use two Wii-U pads, and if the 30Hz frame rate during multiplayer combat bothers you that much, then by all means don't buy an extra Wii-U pad. You and your buddies will miss out on some neat gaming experiences, though. I mostly play video games as a loner, so I probably won't buy a spare pad anytime soon.

If the halved framerate only effects the controller screen, then it shouldn't matter. The resolution on the controller isn't going to be 1080p anyway. I wouldn't like hurting the fps of the tv screen, but I could care less how many fps the controllers are running, especially if they are used for maps, items, and other periphial functions. This is great news, and a terrific surprise considering the amount of bellyaching and speculation after the initial nintendo direct feed.

I'm so happy it supports 2 gamepads...beautiful asymetrical gaming, beautiful symetrical gaming!!

@15 thanks for the comparison videos. 30 fps doesn't look bad at all.

Now if they could get it to four gamepads... : )

I'd really love to see it support two Balance Boards too!

Framerate Halved? Me no likey. To get a feel of what that's like play Mario Kart Wii Single Player - Two Player 60 FPS Three - Four Player is 30 FPS. I will refuse playing with more then two other peoples. It sucks that bad. But hey I'm really picky. The flickering just get's way too noticeable. But I can notice it at 60 while most can't so...

That will come in handy at some point I'm sure.

It's perfect. I never have more than 2 players anyway