Posted Thu, 09 Aug 2012 | 12:12 BST by Damien McFerran
Could the GamePad's biggest selling point prove to be its biggest weakness?
Early hands-on reports suggest so
One of the most impressive aspects of the Wii U's GamePad controller is its ability to stream gameplay directly from the console so you can play on it even when someone else is hogging your television. This facet of the controller could be a massive selling point in homes that boast large families and subsequently experience plenty of competition for dominance in the living room, and is sure to form a large part of Nintendo's promotional campaign for the upcoming system.
However, ShackNews has made a worrying claim regarding the performance of gameplay streaming on the GamePad. The site recently previewed Mass Effect 3, and reported "a tiny bit" of latency.
"I actually preferred playing exclusively on the GamePad, as it was less confusing than the TV hybrid play. However, I felt as though there was a tiny bit of latency. My response time felt slightly slower than when playing on the TV — makes sense, given the Wii U GamePad is receiving a wireless video feed."
While it's worth remembering that until the console is out on store shelves, any preview should be taken with a pinch of salt — it could be that the version of the game ShackNews tested was at fault for the delay, or perhaps Nintendo will make improvements to the way GamePad streaming works before the hardware is put into full production. However, the existence of any kind of latency whatsoever could potentially ruin the experience — and rob the console of one of its most appealing selling points.
Source [via shacknews.com]
