I poked around here and was surprised I have not seen this discussed.
I personally love the gamepad, love Nintendolands asymetrical gameplay, love off TV play, and even love inventory management/map display on it. I also like Nintendo wanting to try something different.
I still think they should drop it as a requirement.
I would still like to be able to pick up my pro controller, turn on the system, enter my password, and start my game and play with out needing to pick up the gamepad. The amount of games that absolutely require it are not that many and the majority of those could be patched to be perfectly functional with out it.
1. I think there are people who stay away from the Wii U simply because they don't like or understand the gamepad.
2. I think they can significantly reduce the cost of the system with a basic/no-gamepad bundle and that price cut is sorely needed to grow the user base.
3. I think dropping it will not mean the gamepad is dead because there will still be a massive install base that has it and is conditioned to think of it as part of the console and has games that require it.
I think they will drop it as a requirement.
1. We saw them unexpectedly drop 3D from the 3DS in order to lower the cost of entry (the 2DS). They did this even with 3DS performing well, they have even more incentive to do this for the Wii U since it is in need of a boost. Also, 3DS (and later DS titles too)games barely use the touchscreen compared to the early DS library and we saw wii games that progressively had less motion contorol elements....we have seen features sort of become increasingly irrelevant over time on previous consoles.
2. They have talked about multi-gamepad support and of selling gamepads individually. They can continue to develop the gamepad and it's features because doing so will still help the Wii U be more appealing and they can still sell gamepads to those who bought a "basic" set. In a way this is an extra oppurtunity for hardware sales.
3. A hugely popular game is coming soon, basically their most popular/best-selling franchise, and I have heard no talk of exclusive gamepad features. Can anyone say Mk8 bundle with a pro-controller for $175? Would that do well? Smash is also a game where the gamepad likely will not be integral or neccessary. We seen 3D world require it and yet barely use it and we have seen NSMBU be patched to allow non-motion enabled controllers to be used by mapping it to buttons instead (which is used in I believe one level in the entire game)
I personally love the gamepad, love Nintendolands asymetrical gameplay, love off TV play, and even love inventory management/map display on it. I also like Nintendo wanting to try something different.
I still think they should drop it as a requirement.
I would still like to be able to pick up my pro controller, turn on the system, enter my password, and start my game and play with out needing to pick up the gamepad. The amount of games that absolutely require it are not that many and the majority of those could be patched to be perfectly functional with out it.
1. I think there are people who stay away from the Wii U simply because they don't like or understand the gamepad.
2. I think they can significantly reduce the cost of the system with a basic/no-gamepad bundle and that price cut is sorely needed to grow the user base.
3. I think dropping it will not mean the gamepad is dead because there will still be a massive install base that has it and is conditioned to think of it as part of the console and has games that require it.
I think they will drop it as a requirement.
1. We saw them unexpectedly drop 3D from the 3DS in order to lower the cost of entry (the 2DS). They did this even with 3DS performing well, they have even more incentive to do this for the Wii U since it is in need of a boost. Also, 3DS (and later DS titles too)games barely use the touchscreen compared to the early DS library and we saw wii games that progressively had less motion contorol elements....we have seen features sort of become increasingly irrelevant over time on previous consoles.
2. They have talked about multi-gamepad support and of selling gamepads individually. They can continue to develop the gamepad and it's features because doing so will still help the Wii U be more appealing and they can still sell gamepads to those who bought a "basic" set. In a way this is an extra oppurtunity for hardware sales.
3. A hugely popular game is coming soon, basically their most popular/best-selling franchise, and I have heard no talk of exclusive gamepad features. Can anyone say Mk8 bundle with a pro-controller for $175? Would that do well? Smash is also a game where the gamepad likely will not be integral or neccessary. We seen 3D world require it and yet barely use it and we have seen NSMBU be patched to allow non-motion enabled controllers to be used by mapping it to buttons instead (which is used in I believe one level in the entire game)
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