Me and KylieDog was talking about this yesterday and I thought it was a really interesting topic.

My fondest memories of Nintendo consoles were always local multiplayer. I always remembered when I went to another kid's house the N64, Game Cube, or Wii would be taken out and everyone would play on it. Super Smash Bro's, Mario Party, Wii Sports, etc.

In fact, I think this is probably the biggest strength Nintendo has in terms of brands. It's a differentiating benefit that a lot of people appreciate, whether or not they're conscious of it (making people conscious about it is a matter of marketing). It's also a strength in that it really tanscends all notions of age and "coreness". It doesn't matter how old you are or how skilled you are at Mario Party, Smash Bro's, etc. The game itself is really just acting as fascilitator for everyone to do something together.

Which is why I want to ask the people who do have a WiiU (but feel free to chime in if you don't). Do you think that the Gamepad hindered this aspect? Please consider 2 dimensions:

1) Functionality (does it ACTUALLY hinder local multiplayer gameplay)?

2) Marketing

By marketing, I mean does the Gamepad make it more difficult for consumers to associate the Wii U with local multiplayer and the memories they have of the old consoles?

Some points and facts I'll just throw out there:

1) You can't buy the Gamepad as far as I'm aware.

2) Theoretically you can only have 2 gamepads per WiiU?

3) Local multiplayer consists of the Gamepad + Wii motes.

In my opinion, it's just confusing. I mean, when I try to imagine a Nintendo console in my head, I just see the N64, Gamecube, and Wii with a bunch of controllers in front of them. Everyone gets and plays on the same controller. When you buy a Nintendo console, you want to buy some extra controllers for people that come over.

With the Wii U, the Gamepad sort of reinforces the notion that you're supposed to play the Wii U alone. And when you do have people playing with the Wii Motes, it creates a sense of seperation. One person has this new, big, bulky (and expensive controller), while everyone else is playing with the old controller.

Asymmetrical Multiplayer?

Multiplayer doesn't have to be people doing the same things. The most fun minigames from Mario Parties are the 1v3 ones.

No way, it adds an extra element. The local multiplayer is my favourite thing about the Wii U.

I think this is a problem for the Wii U generally. What you saw was what you got with the Wii, but having different types of controllers is bound to confuse potential customers. I wonder how many people even know that the Wiimote works with the Wii U. Probably not many, and that's going to pretty much kill the chances for games like Just Dance to continue their success on the Wii U.

Mario chase,Luigis ghost mansion, play them and you can see the benefits of the gamepad and what it brings to local multiplayer.

Functionality: It's the next step, it doesn't really put a damper on multiplayer. :)

Marketability: Right now, it's a problem. And if Nintendo can't address this on their own. Then it can hurt the WiiU in it's entirety! -_-'

No, I think local multiplayer could be the Wii U's biggest strength. When dual gamepad support comes out, you could have two people on gamepad, and 4 on the tv. Imagine 6 friends all playing mario kart in the same room at the same time. If anything, local multiplayer could be the Wii U's biggest strength.