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.
