The WiiU may have been under fire lately, namely with regards to power and dev support, but overall, I found myself asking the question: Can the WiiU remain relevant later in its life, unlike the Wii?

It's almost a guarantee that the WiiU will start off slower than the Wii, because it doesn't have that same pick up and play appeal of the Wiimote. But it does, for me, have a lot more potential. Take a look at this video, for example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYSuu0C25-M

(Note that anyone who can embed that, I would be very grateful!)

I know that this is a long time ago now, but there's a lot of info. here that we haven't seen since. The off-screen play? The Wiimote/Gamepad connectivity? The small games, like apps, on the Gamepad? The Internet browsing? And, of course, the features in NintendoLand? Why have we heard so little about these features? Because of that, I feel as though Nintendo have much more to tell, and they'll be telling it in a few weeks.

But these are all Nintendo's ideas. Other devs (like Ubisoft) are using the Gamepad in their own way. ZombiU's survival kit is a good example. And this is just the beginning. The Gamepad has much more to offer, but it may not offer it immediately (like the Wiimote). And that excites me. There's a lot of room to make improvements, and try new ideas, with the Gamepad. It could really change the way we game, even if only very slowly, and almost secretly (like the DS). 

So I ask you the question- do you see the Gamepad offering more interesting game mechanics, and more potential, in the long run than the WiiMote? Vote in the poll and comment below!

I will say that the gamepad blends in better with existing game mechanics and genres than Wii's motion controls did. But on the flipside, Wii created (or vastly expanded) genres - party games, fitness, dance.

I'm still not sold that it adds much truly meaningful. Is what WiiU adds something that I'll miss if I get a PS4 instead? Hmm... right now, I have to say 'no'. It's up to Nintendo to convince me otherwise.

I think WiiU will be more consistant - people won't bore of it like Wii, and hopefully it'll keep major 3rd party games better (not confident on that though) but it's also not nearly as interesting as Wii was. How relevant it remains long term will depend largely on what MS/Sony/Apple/Android do.

Potential in what sense?

From a practical gameplay POV maybe.

From a sales/hook/gimmick POV? Not a chance in hell.

The Wiimote was a massive shift in the way people looked at gaming (for better or worse) and basically created a new sub-industry in the gaming market. It was a marketing slam dunk that fuelled the Wii to record sales in its first three years. 

Wii U controller is basically just returning to the traditional controller with a touchscreen added onto it. In a lot of ways I think it's more limited than the DS too, because really you can only pay attention to one screen at once (the DS has both screens in close proximity). People have already said this in hands on with things like Batman: AC, it can be jarring sometimes to have to keep switching back and forth from looking down at the controller and back at the TV. 

Yea no one really utilized the Wii mote to its fullest to me though I don't really like full motion controls. With the game pad it seems like well get more unique ideas on how to play and what not so i'm hopeful. Graphical power is important, but gameplay is the most important and it seems like that gamepad can enhance it without feeling gimmicky so I think it will be utilized way better than the wii mote was.

if you want to talk says: no. far less potential imo.

if you want to talk games: yes.

this is going to sound backhanded and i guess that's because it is...wii games felt shallow, boring after a short time, and overall not worth the $50 price tag. wiiU's gamepad, imo, is actually a far greater interface. as i watch more and more videos it can really do everything a traditional gamepad can do, basically anything the wiimote can do, and a few new tricks no one other system can currently do.

while i'm not going to buy a wiiU until at least MS and Sony show their next gen hand, i think those that do will find themselves with a far better system with far more longevity than the wii ever was.

The Wiimote actually had far more potential than Nintendo could even get close to using.

The Wiimote really is the first (baby step) towards virtual reality and stuff that's probably 20-30 years down the line.

A lot of things people want to do with this tech ... we're just not there yet so basically what you ended up with was a console full of dumbed-down shovelware concepts (arm flailing party/fitness/dance games with dubious accuracy).

Please...

All Wii___ games, party/mini games, sandbox games (Godfather, etc), FPS (IR/motion), all sports (still mad there was no WM+ baseball - WTF), Punch Out!, dance, fitness, all racing games, horror (flashlight), great subtle but totally intuitively uses in games like Mario Strikers, Pinball Hall of Fame, Tomb Raider, Guitar Hero, Pandora's Tower etc. Tilt games (Kororinpa, Monkey Ball, etc), Metroid Prime Trilogy, Red Steel 2, Endless Ocean, etc., etc.   

For games it has more potential, because rather than replacing controls like the Wii did it's adding to the controls if that makes sense. It's taking the basic control scheme of the average modern controller and instead of mimicking it it's adding significantly to it. But it doesn't have the appeal to casual gamers or non-gamers like the Wiimote did, so it won't sell nearly as much. I do think it'll sell more consistently, meaning good sales throughout a long lifecycle, rather than crazy sales and then a huge slow down while the competition is still going strong.

edit: and to answer the question in the poll, no. But that's not neccesarily a bad thing because change isn't always good. The Wii changed gaming, not completely but still substantially and in my opinion the change has been negative for core gamers.

Yeah the question was deliberately ambiguous, so it could be approached in many different ways. Personally, I meant from a gameplay perspective, though there's far more to it than that...

Skyward Sword is weird. Real weird. Half the public love it (IGN, ONM call it the best game of all time), yet some call it the worst...

Agree with the rest though.