Nintendo made the WiiU gamepad because they didnt have a better idea - opinion

[Gamerace]

I and others have suggested this long ago. In fact Nintendo already come up with this idea in 2004 for the Wii but discarded it because
A) They wanted to get away from the dual analog controller because they felt (correctly) it seperated them from a large part of the marketplace
B) It would make their home console too much like the handheld
C) They got their hands on the wiimote technology.

So it wasn't even a new idea. It was a reused, rejected idea.

I think they would have been better going with a modified and improved wiimote that was more like a 1/2 dual analog but still familiar enough for the Wii crowd and still allowed full motion gaming. A small touch screen or pad could have been incorporated.
or
Even a pro controller. This would put them back to GC status but they could have made a much more powerful (truly next-gen) system. As is, the cost of the gamepad is inflating the price causing them to have to keep the tech low. And the price is still too high.