Yeah, it doesn't matter if Nintendo can make a game that uses the Game Pad. It's the matter of if Nintendo can make a game that uses the Game Pad in the way that MOST consumers WANT.

But I feel Nintendo is too stubborn to abandon the Game Pad for some reason and they also said they wanted to release titles that make use of the NFC reader. Maybe they true killer app for Wii U was taking a freakishly large time to develop, which is ridiculous and should never happen again because this momentum Wii U has is absolutely disastrous.

Right now the only people who see value in the Game Pad are the few people who bothered to buy and play with it, whether from a friend who has the game systems, or was willing enough to stop by the Wii U play booth and felt confident in buying it after playing it. Again, looking at the numbers, most people aren't impressed about their friend's Wii U or the Wii U play booth. Or worse, most people don't know anyone with a Wii U. This isn't a good thing.

You definitely understand where I'm coming from.  I want nothing more than for Ninty to prove the naysayers wrong with the Gamepad and magically show off the industry's next big hit at E3 that the mainstream media won't stop talking about.  Unfortunately, I've been wanting this for a while now while the system continues to perform poorly.  Even now it's not like I don't want everyone to be able to experience the way that it enhances games like Pikmin and Wind Waker, it's just impossible without adding that extra cost to the console.

The NFC potential is intriguing to me, though.  If they somehow incorporate something clever with the Gamepad for a Pokemon game, that could be huge.  I still think that menu driven RPGs would go over extremely well in Japan as would an online Animal Crossing game that involved typing messages and inventory management.  The ideas are there, no doubt.  They're just seeming more and more like afterthoughts with each passing month. 

I sincerely hope that Nintendo surprises me at E3 in a way that would make me never again consider separating the Gamepad from the package.

my point is that people dont really care for the gamepad ANYWAY. sales backs that up. The previous gen specs doesnt help but that isnt even WIi Us biggest problem. Hell its at the bottom of the pole in terms fo problems.

Totally agree with you. And even though Iwata has repeated multiples times that they are going not to do that, I think in the end they're gonna have to swallow their pride and do it.  

To this day I'm still trying to understand how they managed to launch a console several times weaker than the competition and almost at the same price. I just don't get it.

I don't know if the sales are conclusive of the GamePad being extraneous.

Dropping the Gamepad would be detrimental as it would further the misconception that its a peripheral for the Wii. Sure it lowers price for the consumer, but considering the PS4 sales, price isn't whats holding the Wii U back.

IMO its simply marketting. 

Casual popularity is difficult, but it becomes impossible if the casuals don't know about it.

And we expect Nintendo to make money with their current offerings until...when? Reducing the Gamepads' manufacturing costs could allow a reduction of the SKU prices, and they have already been offering full retail games bundled with the system. How long until they can sell each console for profit with their current setup? No idea, but if they're gonna keep their current SKU at LEAST make the console a more appealing deal, because it's obvious that at $299.99 (AKA, the most expensive Nintendo console hardware going back from their start with the FamiCom / NES) it isn't moving much. I was simply offering an idea for reducing the consoles' price, while having Nintendo remain in the same spot and potentially reach a point quickly where Wii U would begin selling at profit. In other words, doing this will allow them to reach that "point of profit per hardware sale" at a fairly close spot as if they kept their current SKU, and they would also have a reduction in price. They're NOT going to drop the gamepad, so either they stay how they are right now, or they do something else....like reducing manufacturing costs of the Gamepad, because the console itself is fine the way it is, I don't think it can get any smaller anyway. One of the big reasons for even suggesting dropping the Gamepad would be because of the price, but Iwata made it fairly clear that they're NOT dropping the Gamepad. 

Archbrix.......six months ago I was adamantly against this idea but I'm beginning to think it might be worth trying. It would need to result in a 100 dollar price drop and the gamepad would need to be available for purchase for exactly the difference in price between the SKU, so that if people realise the error of their ways i.e. that the Gamepad is awesome, they can pick one up, without financial penalty.

The user interface could be resigned with a little thought, so I don't think that's a deal breaker.

I think the biggest risks are still, user confusion, trying to convince developers to use the Gamepad if they no longer have to and how to handle legacy games already sitting in shops that require the gamepad i.e. you don't want people picking up a new gamepad-less Wii U with a copy of Zombie U.

I see what you are saying but that didnt really help the Gamecube

Dont argue with him anymore. You're both getting way off topic i already reported him

So you are saying sales are bad because it wasnt marketed? it was marketed all holiday and it still got trounced. Im saying its not selling because people dont care about it. YOu think people dont know what it is? Sure they do. The system has been in Gamestops, Targets, Best Buys, Wal marts, just about every major retailer from day one. But people dont care. I think its main problem is is nobody takes it seriously. Not as a gaming machine anyway.