Should Nintendo have ditched the gamepad...?

[Farhaan Raja]

The most defining feature of the Wii U was it's gamepad, but unfortunately this was also it's biggest drawback. Not only was it expensive, but few games actually used it well and developers had to sacrifice processing power for it (also it was hard developing for both the Gamepad and TV)

So here's the thing: The Pro controller still existed, so what if Nintendo had issued an update that allowed the console (and some games) to be completely usable without the gamepad and started selling certain bundles without it. Could this have saved the console (especially if they'd done it early on)?

 

[TribstyAnn]

The Gamepad WAS the Wii U. Without it it was just a Wii. I've never owned one, but from everyone I've heard from that has, they love it. And in some games, albeit very few of them, used it very well. Nintendo should've just marketed it much better, so people knew what the gamepad was, and made it easier for developers to create games for.

 

[Hayleia]

The Gamepad WAS the Wii U. Without it it was just a Wii.

Not really. It's still more powerful than a Wii. Just compare Brawl's graphics with Smash 4's, and the resolutions at which they run. Plus the fact there is a vWii inside the Wii U, proving that the most part of the Wii U isn't a Wii.

But I see what you mean. What's left when we don't use the gamepad on a Wii U? Well yeah, a more powerful Wii but nothing more, nothing particular.

And indeed, I love my Wii U, but it's not thanks to the gamepad. Apart from Gamecube games, I almost only play Splatoon, which is a shooter, better played with a mouse and keyboard. If it's not mouse and keyboard, a controller or a gamepad makes 0 difference. Then I boot Smash 4 sometimes and I play it with a GC controller. And that's all really. So from my point of view yeah, if the Wii U could work without a gamepad, I wouldn't bother not having one.

 

[Eric Cartman]

I agree that game can be expensive and is barely used though I feel that the Wii U wouldn't be what it was intended to be without it. I feel it would be weird if a Wii U didn't have a gamepad with it because even though it rarely programed functions in games made by third party developers the Wii U gamepad has done what it was intended to do, to allow people play without the TV in the house. I know many people find it flawed since the Wii U console needs to be for the gamepad to actually function. Though I found the gamepad very useful because of it off- TV capability.

 

[Farhaan Raja]

But let's say the gamepad still worked, but was entirely optional for games (or necessary for a couple). The gamepad was the wii u's biggest flaw and feature. As I mentioned before, games had to sacrifice processing power in order to let it function, plus it added to the price of the wii u.

Although one thing I'll give it credit for, the games look really good. Mario Kart 8 runs at 480p on the gamepad but still looks highly detailed, and a lot of wii u games were 720p 60fps, proving Nintendo knew how to utilise what they had. But would it have been easier to attract third party developers by ditching the gamepad, since the lack of third party devs is what ultimately led to it's downfall...