Maybe it just me but the pad definitely enhances the experience and is worth every penny of the cost to the unit. It gets in the way about as much as a traditional controller only with the benefit of the screen. Glance down, make your changes, look back up. Much faster than constantly having to pause. After a little while glancing down becomes 2nd nature.

I'm hoping they do a slimmer controller. I'm really enjoying Pikmin 3, but the pad is a bit too big and bulky for my liking. Something more like a Vita (with the shoulder grips) would be fantastic.

I don't think Nintendo were ready for what HD development required (look how off guard a lot of Japanese devs were in the early 360/PS3 days) and I think also then diverting resources to boost the 3DS library in 2011 meant that a lot of Wii U titles got far less resources than were needed for when the Wii U was due to launch.

I'm sure the software will be fantastic next year. I just wish I could say the same for the pad.

Game Pad is no good of use in a party game imo. It's nothing like a Wii mote. In any case Nintendo Land wasn't enough, they should've had a plan B/C and they didn't. Game and Wario released 8 months after release!! Ridiculous. 

It seems to me the Wii U touch screen Gamepad is not really about improving Nintendo First Party games a great deal. But to improve other non gaming features: Miiverse, eShop & Internet Browser or making other feature actual possible in the first place: Off-TV Play, Nintendo TVii, Wii U Chat.

I would much preferred if they had just improved on Wii Remote+Nunchuk and made a controller which was closer to standard game-pad with added motion controls. But I can fully understand why they went with the Wii U current design even with how poorly it currently doing. The Wii U may not turn out to massive hit for Nintendo but with the growth of tablet market and their invertible push into more serious gaming in the future. The Wii U could be very useful step stone for Nintendo in the long run.

If the Game Pad is not good for party games, then what good is it for?  People are saying party games are where the difference is made.  But if you say not that, then what?

1. If my mind was closed, why would I of bothered to try the WiiU again at the event?  I tried it, hoping to see NintendoLand be something, because it had my interest.  I had a non-compelling experience with it, so I posted asking what I was missing.  I did NOT have this experience with the Wii remote.  And I have a 3DS and the 3D on it is not really relevant to me, but doesn't stop me from using it and playing, and the issue I had with cramping of hand someone did propose a solution which I implemented.

2. What kind of posts do you expect on forums?  Issues get discussed.  I discuss issues here as do other people. And I love to have things change and fit.  Maybe you don't, but I do.

3. Well, how about spending money on gas so I can then travel to social events in hopes of networking to find paid employment?  You know, stuff about having a life.

Sorry I struck a nerve with you. Sorry someone asking what they are missing about the WiiU offends you so much, and my thoughts and issues are hindering the WiiU from being a sales juggernaut that would cause everyone to like it feel secure in knowing it has sufficient support.  You seek to dismiss issues I have with the WiiU, for whatever reason you choose.  Rather then provide an alternative, you dismiss me and my posting by framing me as some sort of closed minded whiner, whi has nothing better to do but live in the past.  So, I get it.  The problem is me alone, and NOTHING is an issue with the Wii U.  I just hate Nintendo, and have an axe to grind.  I want them to fail or something.  I didn't hop on the 240 million lifetime sold for the Wii U bandwagon, and don't support this bit of partisanship in the console realm, so I OBVIOUSLY must be an enemy or something.  Feel free to keep thinking that.  When I have seen here, by you is a clear case of the use of textbook defense mechanisms.

Because the gamepad allows for more types of games to be made on consoles.

The device can be used to streamline video game interface too, the WiiMotion+ & GamePad combo works wonders for precision,

Infact its also perfect for multiplayer, anything that requires strategy and team management is made leauges better by the gamepad.

Its application in local co-op and online Vs can be very fun, its a tool that has a lot of utility, like all tools they only matter in the best hands and requires a steady hand to be used correctly. .

I had thought two screens and each with teams would work well as a possibility.  Just not seeing it now.  I keep seeing theoretical uses for the U pad that could work.  But I just haven't tried anything yet.  It is like a disconnect between potential and reality for me.

The Wii U isn't resonating with the market at all. That is fact, sales numbers are as close to facts as we can get right now. The reasons are numerous, variables that are controllable and not, but the one thing that is funny to see is the consumers being blamed for not buying a 'luxury' product, or not seeing the value in it. I've found that hardcore Nintendo fans are no different than any other hardcore fan; If you don't like something a company does or how its operating, you are just a hater and not a true fan.

After nearly a year, the Gamepad is still being spoken of as if it is full of 'potential' but there is no concrete game that resonates with the market to illustrate this potential. All games upcoming play better with the Remote Nunchuck combo, or Pro Controller. WSC requires M+. The Gamepad is an albatross, the sooner this is seen, the better off Nintendo will be. This whole system has been a clusterfuck of bad decision making, at the worst possible time as the economy is really struggling.

Amazing how much praise Gamecube receives on forums, meanwhile it was a huge market failure. The problem here isn't gamers like Richard, the problem lies with Nintendo. They've managed to create a system that repulses the majority of gamers to appease a loud minority. So be it, they will enjoy lackluster sales, and become a joke in the market they saved..just like the Gamecube days.

the only fact is that it wasn't selling because it didn't have the games.