Literally eveyone I know either owns an Android or Apple device in their household. If you're a gamer there's no reason why you shouldn't have a smartphone/tablet at the very least. So why not just do what Microsoft and Sony are doing for second screen experiences? The Wii U tablet is contributing a LARGE cost to the console, I mean without it the Wii U would be around $200 - $250 and even I would buy one in a heartbeat.
It's kinda like how Microsoft includes Kinect in every box, to ensure that every game or at least most will utilize it, but a LOT of gamer's don't find the worth in Kinect nor the Gamepad. I would rather play games the conveintenal way if it means I have to spend an additional $50 - $100 to play it more immersively or whatever. I have yet to see anything on the Gamepad or Kinect 2 o PSEYE that makes me want one, UNTIL something blows me away I'll never use them, at all.
But honestly the Gamepad could've been optional because not a lot of people will use it. The Wii U would be in a much better situation if you ask me. The Playstation App and Smartglass APP have all the capabilities the Gamepad has except it doesn't have physical analogs and there might be worse lag and a couple of other gimmick features.
The Wii U should've been a Wii with HD Graphics, better motion gaming, and some other innovation cause honestly, the gamepad thing was TOO easy for it's competitors to copy. Also, the reason why the Wii took off like it did because Motion gaming was COMPLETELY new when it came out, something that was mindblowing to even casuals and non-gamers. The Gamepad is just a tablet and tons of people have Tablets and smartphones and whatnot, in my opinion the Gamepad hurts the system just as much as the Wii U looking EXACTLY like the Wii. Like really....that was just a terrible idea.
