The Wii U gamepad identity crises

[archbrix]

Well, clearly the Gamepad is not a portable system; playing a game on it instead of the TV is meant to appeal to people who need to free up the TV or people like my girlfriend who use their tablet/phone with other stuff going on or people like my mom who play their DS while watching TV programs. Now you can play a full-fledged console game in this way on a nice 6 inch screen.

What I can't "grasp" (pun intended) is how you think that the Gamepad is inferior in your hands to a Vita or a 3DS. Having enough plastic to comfortably get a grip on the D-pad feels far superior to me over a standard 3DS, and the hand cramping I've experienced using Vita's shoulder buttons is also alleviated with the Gamepad. These kinds of problems are the price you pay for portability with such small devices, and the WiiU Gamepad doesn't suffer from these problems. Having to let go of the controller with one hand in order to fully utilize the touch screen isn't a problem for me, unless you were required to use all of the buttons at the same time, which, as someone else said in your other thread, is bad game design.

Finally, the existence of the Pro isn't because Nintendo agrees that the Gamepad can't compete, but rather, is there to accommodate those who prefer traditional controllers (choices are good) and for full-button multiplayer, which is a no-brainer.