The Wii U is already the quietest console. It's crazy quiet. 

I'm not sure why so many are pushing the hard drive thing so much. It's far cheaper to buy your own external USB HD and get a lot more in return. If anything they should maybe just offer a bundle with an external USB HD. That would be the cheapest solution because there would be less manufacturing costs.

The Gamepad in an integral part of the Wii U, it's not going anywhere. The system it'self and many games cannot function without it. 

Every system has a power brick, some are inside some are outside...

Blu-ray? Why? A blu-ray costs about $50, it's unnecessary. Let it do what it is good at, playing games.

I'm guessing you haven't used a Wii U recently. Just with the system updates, the OS has become quite sleek, quick and responsive. Loading times aren't much of an issue as they used to be. It likely won't change much with games because the ones with long load times are unoptimized. The newer games that are optimized have very little load times for the most part. When the processors and eDRAM are being utilized the system is quite sufficient. The whole power game between the consoles is starting to fade as the X1 is catching up and games are starting to sell systems more than "power" and hype. 

The cost is under $250 right now, you can get the system for around $300 with two games depending on the bundle. 

I wouldn't be surprised if we see a few extra colours of Wii U's but it probably won't be till most of the ones out are sold now. 

I'm sorry, but much of what you think would make it better really won't. The only thing that MIGHT is the CPU and RAM, but thirds still probably won't support it... just because. 

WiiU without a gamepad makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

/thread.

It's too late with the Wii U. Nearly everyone has Internet today and the people believe what they see on the Internet. A lot of people are saying the Wii U is shit, so the people believe that. Nintendo needs a hype train and that's only possible with a new console. But for that it's too early.

So... I'm not sure of your living situation, but one of the biggest benefits to me is having the gamepad with the system. Here's why. I'm playing Smash Bros on my 50 inch, my wife gets home from work and wants to watch a christmas movie. Do I have to turn off the game? No. I just keep playing on my gamepad. Same goes for pretty much every game with the exception of a couple indies (odd). It's far from a failure. 

i think the biggest thing it needs is a larger hard drive. Considering you can't even play a game like watchdogs without the 32 gb deluxe version (watch dogs is 17gb). No wonder 3rd parties won't support it

I think we all wanted the same thing when we heard about Off screen play. Playing from the confort of our bed or while on the Loo.

My biggest problem with the gamepad is battery life especially when watching Netflix or while playing Xenoblade. Nintendo claim 3-5 hours but it's actually at most 3 hours. I'm not sure if it's because i'm playing long session but the thing just keeps dying on me. Might has well make it wired ....

Main issue with game pad:

Battery life
Gamepad Range.... How cool would it be too be able to leave the room and play anywhere in the house. Very sad when the range was only about 25ft. 
Size... It's light and well design but can't compare to regular controller (Dual shock, Xbox one controller, WiiU's controller Pro).
Touch sensitivity... I forgot which game I was playing ... but when your usingthe touch screen unless it's a big button tap you need the stylus.

I think people asking for a WiiU without a gamepad doesn't own the system. We keep hearing this non sense on a constant basis.

Get rid of the gamepad. Do a slight spec upgrade. Call it the wii 2. And price it at 199 with zelda or smash. That should turn things around pretty quickly.

The gamepad is an expensive gimmick, and more to the point is substandard in its primary function, ie controlling games. It needs to go.

I created the thread!!! I got a launch WiiU .... The WiiU has lost all 3rd Party support which it had a launch. Consumers and developer have not embrace the gamepad.  E3 2014, Nintendo still trying to prove the value of the gamepad and how it can be used to enhance game experience. 

Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U title Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze could be a sign of things to come on the console.

As noted by NintendoWorldReport, when playing the game on a TV screen the screen on the Wii U GamePad is left completely blank.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/donkey-kong-country-tropical-freeze-shuns-wii-u-gamepad-display/0127385

You have three options of what you can do with the GamePad in Mario Kart 8. To make it easy, let’s just list them below:

1. Horn: Just like E3 2013, you have a horn that you can honk.
2. Map: Akin to the 3DS/DS entries in the series, the second screen turns into a map.
3. TV Screen: It shows exactly what is on the TV screen. So if you’re playing split-screen, it’ll show exactly what the TV shows.

So any dream of the five-player racing that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed did at launch is gone. Any thought about how cool it would be to race your friend on the GamePad screen while he used the TV screen is gone. Something that could have made this safe, iterative entry in a racing series unique will not be happening. It’s a severe bummer.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/37037/mario-kart-8s-use-of-the-gamepad-is-disappointing

You just don't understand the power of the gamepad.