Glad to see a nintendo fan that understands the problem.

i love the gamepad. for netflix, for web browsing, and to control the tv, and the off-play is awesome.
for gaming, only on rayman legends.

But i agree that could be optional.
sings on games like
-better with gamepad
-gamepad required

but i think that is not more possible to take off the gamepad from wii U.

I love it. I don't get why you wrote "thing" in the title though. That would be something to write when it was first announced, not 1 year after release.

the functionality is excellent. i use it a lot offTv.they just need a sleeker redesign and volia

I think its a really really cool idea but it is not where it should be when it comes to execution. While I don't want to see games with the gamepad tacked in meaninglessly, I do want to see more "This can only be done on Wii U" stuff, like ZombiU, some of Rayman Legends and parts of W101...

EDIT: I would also like to speak about the difference between a controller as a secondary control scheme vs as a primary control scheme. This is a topic that was debated a lot with the Wii and it has continued just as much (if not more) with the Wii U. Many people say that the gamepad should become the secondary control scheme as opposed to the primary control scheme (aka, not bundled with the console) BUT this presents a huge problem and essentially nullifies the point of having a unique primary control scheme in the first place.

Developing games specifically for secondary control schemes. That is the problem. Think about it...why should any developer or publisher develop a game that makes use of a secondary control scheme in a meaningful way when the majority of potential consumers wouldn't even own that controller? Making the WIi U gamepad the secondary control scheme limits the one thing that makes the Wii U stand out and essentially prevents almost all future games from doing interesting things with the gamepad. 

As I said above, Nintendo hasn't really proved the worth of the gamepad but I can see there is plenty of potential and so can many other people. Destroying all of that potential and admitting defeat is not the way to go. They need to take the initiative and demonstrate the potential of the gamepad which I really hope to see them doing in the future, with things like the NFC game that will be announced at E3 and other announced/unannounced games coming late this year and in 2015 (and beyond)

Also, the Wii U is already pretty darn cheap at $300 and that includes a game too. That in and of itself is a pretty good deal when compared to other current gen consoles. The problem isn't the price, it is the fact that Nintendo has been having problems communicating to consumers why they should want the console (and the gamepad). While "mainstream/casual" appeal will likely never come in the way it did with the Wii U, that doesn't mean Nintendo can't turn things around and make the Wii U into another Gamecube. A lot of people think of the Gamecube as a failure but it actually made Nintendo money because they made some smart decisions and made some great games. Demonting the Gamepad to secondary control scheme would not be a smart decision because it would limit creativity and eliminate the main unique feature of the Wii U.

Agreed, 100%.

I really like the Gamepad and I think there's a lot of potential for unique games, but I can't believe that Nintendo would sacrifice having an affordable and profitable console to include a device that they have yet to showcase with a hit game.  It's like they brought it to the market before having the ideas that warranted it in the first place.

For me, it basically comes down to E3 this year.  This is Nintendo's last chance to unveil a Gamepad-centric game that, coupled with a $249 price, is going to move consoles en masse.

I hate to say it but if they fail to do that then dropping the Gamepad may be their only option, even with the hurdles it would present.  A $199 Gamepad-less WiiU bundled with a Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros or Wii Sports 3 game may just be too good to pass up.

I don't know. Off TV sure is nice, but an accessory would be good enough for that. Like Vita + PS4. I think it's a bad idea to bundle it with every console. Some people like that thing. Most people do not. Same problem as with kinect.

I tried it in the shop while i tried demos for Mario 3D and Sonic LW. At first you look at it and it looks weird, but when i started playing i got used to it in two minutes. It feels incredibly light and natural. It surprised me.

The best thing I've found about the gamepad is the Youtube video support, it's fun to be able to browse videos and share them with friends on the big screen TV. Got a lot of laughs this way. Also being able to use it as a TV remote control is OK, but it's missing some functionality (like the ability to jump back to the last channel you were on).

As for 'off-TV' play ... for me it's a bit of a bust.

The best thing about the Wii U overall I find is simply put experiencing Nintendo franchises in HD resolution. It's such a breath of fresh air and the colors of Nintendo games look great even in just 720p.

Playing the games on the gamepad is just like taking an ugly step backwards into SD resolution. The screen isn't very high quality in image quality. Also there seems to be compression artifacts going on with the image, when you look at the Mario character in NSMB or Mario 3DW for example, there seems to be a "blurry fuzz" around him.

Nope to off-TV play for me. I waited 6 years for Nintendo to go HD, and now that it's here, I ain't going back to fugly SD res when I get a much, muuuuuch better picture quality on my TV that's always in the same room as the Wii U.

-heavy
-gamepads analog sticks are short and the tension is way too high, which makes games like need for speed difficult to control
-horrible battery
-SD screen, at minimum, Nintendo should of put 720p on it.
-Resistive touch screen, makes using the screen with both thumbs at the same time impossible, waste.
-sound volume on the gamepad is EXTREMELY low.
-dpad placement is horrible

-edit cannot turn off screen while streaming movies without a wiimote, wierd.  Does not auto turn off.

-Gamepad mode- sometimes you'll have major lag.  Probably due to interference but Nintendo should of took this into account.