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Forums - Nintendo - What are your thought's on this Gamepad thing for the Nintendo Wii U?

Arius Dion on 09 February 2014
JGarret said:
Arius Dion said:
JGarret said:
I don´t like it...off tv play is useless to me, the battery life is pretty bad and I think it´s annoying to keep looking up and down between the TV screen and the Gamepad in, for example, those situations in TW101 that demand it.

I prefer the Pro controller far more.Great design and excellent battery life, now that´s an awesome controller.

The mandatory use of the Gamepad in Mario 3D World diminishes my enjoyment with the game.I´m perfectly fine playing with the Pro controller, and all of a sudden the game demands that I use the thing, and for what?..just to touch some frickin platforms and blow into the mic...get outta here.And those Toad levels, why oh why do I have to use it?...just to tilt the controller in order to move the camera....oh wait, but you can also just use the right analog stick, which is actually the preferred method.

I´m so glad DKC has no mandatory use of the pad.


Wow. That sounds beyond gimmicky. As a Wii U owner, You think they should just drop the Gamepad at this point?

Well, it´s been a little over a year since the system launched and they still can´t figure out anything that truly justifies the controller...the biggest IPs don´t even do anything clever or interesting with it...DKC doesn´t even display anything on the Gamepad screen if you play it on your TV.

If it´s gonna be like that, then by all means they should drop it.Iwata has recently said that justifying the Gamepad is their top priority this year.We´ll see..personally, I´m not hopeful they´ll manage to pull it off in a way that causes the system to suddenly do a 180 and turn around its fortunes.

And about Mario 3D World..yeah, it´s that gimmicky.Let me tell you, it´s very annoying that the game makes you switch controllers just to do that..if you don´t, you can´t proceed.That´s the extension of the Gamepad´s usefulness in the game.It´s like the developers just said "fuck it, we can´t think of anything interesting, but we have to justify some use of the Gamepad, so here it is anyway"

You can play 3DWorld with the Pro Controller? But it has lame mandatory uses like the ones you've listed? That's awful. I'm actually glad DKC doesn't use the Gamepad. I'm baffled as to whose idea it was in the first place. Especially how last gen Nintendo was all about accessiblity now I don't know what they are about.



Bet between Slimbeast and Arius Dion about Wii sales 2009:


If the Wii sells less than 20 million in 2009 (as defined by VGC sales between week ending 3d Jan 2009 to week ending 4th Jan 2010) Slimebeast wins and get to control Arius Dion's sig for 1 month.

If the Wii sells more than 20 million in 2009 (as defined above) Arius Dion wins and gets to control Slimebeast's sig for 1 month.

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JGarret on 09 February 2014
Arius Dion said:
JGarret said:
Arius Dion said:
JGarret said:
I don´t like it...off tv play is useless to me, the battery life is pretty bad and I think it´s annoying to keep looking up and down between the TV screen and the Gamepad in, for example, those situations in TW101 that demand it.

I prefer the Pro controller far more.Great design and excellent battery life, now that´s an awesome controller.

The mandatory use of the Gamepad in Mario 3D World diminishes my enjoyment with the game.I´m perfectly fine playing with the Pro controller, and all of a sudden the game demands that I use the thing, and for what?..just to touch some frickin platforms and blow into the mic...get outta here.And those Toad levels, why oh why do I have to use it?...just to tilt the controller in order to move the camera....oh wait, but you can also just use the right analog stick, which is actually the preferred method.

I´m so glad DKC has no mandatory use of the pad.


Wow. That sounds beyond gimmicky. As a Wii U owner, You think they should just drop the Gamepad at this point?

Well, it´s been a little over a year since the system launched and they still can´t figure out anything that truly justifies the controller...the biggest IPs don´t even do anything clever or interesting with it...DKC doesn´t even display anything on the Gamepad screen if you play it on your TV.

If it´s gonna be like that, then by all means they should drop it.Iwata has recently said that justifying the Gamepad is their top priority this year.We´ll see..personally, I´m not hopeful they´ll manage to pull it off in a way that causes the system to suddenly do a 180 and turn around its fortunes.

And about Mario 3D World..yeah, it´s that gimmicky.Let me tell you, it´s very annoying that the game makes you switch controllers just to do that..if you don´t, you can´t proceed.That´s the extension of the Gamepad´s usefulness in the game.It´s like the developers just said "fuck it, we can´t think of anything interesting, but we have to justify some use of the Gamepad, so here it is anyway"

You can play 3DWorld with the Pro Controller? But it has lame mandatory uses like the ones you've listed? That's awful. I'm actually glad DKC doesn't use the Gamepad. I'm baffled as to whose idea it was in the first place. Especially how last gen Nintendo was all about accessiblity now I don't know what they are about.


Yes, you can play with the Pro controller, but in some levels you´re told you have to use the Gamepad just for those situations I told you.Nintendo is a completely different company than in the last gen, and they´re paying for it.



JGarret on 09 February 2014
Arius Dion said:
JGarret said:
Arius Dion said:
JGarret said:
I don´t like it...off tv play is useless to me, the battery life is pretty bad and I think it´s annoying to keep looking up and down between the TV screen and the Gamepad in, for example, those situations in TW101 that demand it.

I prefer the Pro controller far more.Great design and excellent battery life, now that´s an awesome controller.

The mandatory use of the Gamepad in Mario 3D World diminishes my enjoyment with the game.I´m perfectly fine playing with the Pro controller, and all of a sudden the game demands that I use the thing, and for what?..just to touch some frickin platforms and blow into the mic...get outta here.And those Toad levels, why oh why do I have to use it?...just to tilt the controller in order to move the camera....oh wait, but you can also just use the right analog stick, which is actually the preferred method.

I´m so glad DKC has no mandatory use of the pad.


Wow. That sounds beyond gimmicky. As a Wii U owner, You think they should just drop the Gamepad at this point?

Well, it´s been a little over a year since the system launched and they still can´t figure out anything that truly justifies the controller...the biggest IPs don´t even do anything clever or interesting with it...DKC doesn´t even display anything on the Gamepad screen if you play it on your TV.

If it´s gonna be like that, then by all means they should drop it.Iwata has recently said that justifying the Gamepad is their top priority this year.We´ll see..personally, I´m not hopeful they´ll manage to pull it off in a way that causes the system to suddenly do a 180 and turn around its fortunes.

And about Mario 3D World..yeah, it´s that gimmicky.Let me tell you, it´s very annoying that the game makes you switch controllers just to do that..if you don´t, you can´t proceed.That´s the extension of the Gamepad´s usefulness in the game.It´s like the developers just said "fuck it, we can´t think of anything interesting, but we have to justify some use of the Gamepad, so here it is anyway"

You can play 3DWorld with the Pro Controller? But it has lame mandatory uses like the ones you've listed? That's awful. I'm actually glad DKC doesn't use the Gamepad. I'm baffled as to whose idea it was in the first place. Especially how last gen Nintendo was all about accessiblity now I don't know what they are about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Bn6Y9SZpIw

The first level that requires that you use of the Gamepad.See those platforms with the Gamepad and a hand icon above them?...that´s what I mean, touch them on the Gamepad screen to move them...the game makes me ditch the Pro controller for that..



Arius Dion on 10 February 2014
JGarret said:
Arius Dion said:
JGarret said:
Arius Dion said:
JGarret said:
I don´t like it...off tv play is useless to me, the battery life is pretty bad and I think it´s annoying to keep looking up and down between the TV screen and the Gamepad in, for example, those situations in TW101 that demand it.

I prefer the Pro controller far more.Great design and excellent battery life, now that´s an awesome controller.

The mandatory use of the Gamepad in Mario 3D World diminishes my enjoyment with the game.I´m perfectly fine playing with the Pro controller, and all of a sudden the game demands that I use the thing, and for what?..just to touch some frickin platforms and blow into the mic...get outta here.And those Toad levels, why oh why do I have to use it?...just to tilt the controller in order to move the camera....oh wait, but you can also just use the right analog stick, which is actually the preferred method.

I´m so glad DKC has no mandatory use of the pad.


Wow. That sounds beyond gimmicky. As a Wii U owner, You think they should just drop the Gamepad at this point?

Well, it´s been a little over a year since the system launched and they still can´t figure out anything that truly justifies the controller...the biggest IPs don´t even do anything clever or interesting with it...DKC doesn´t even display anything on the Gamepad screen if you play it on your TV.

If it´s gonna be like that, then by all means they should drop it.Iwata has recently said that justifying the Gamepad is their top priority this year.We´ll see..personally, I´m not hopeful they´ll manage to pull it off in a way that causes the system to suddenly do a 180 and turn around its fortunes.

And about Mario 3D World..yeah, it´s that gimmicky.Let me tell you, it´s very annoying that the game makes you switch controllers just to do that..if you don´t, you can´t proceed.That´s the extension of the Gamepad´s usefulness in the game.It´s like the developers just said "fuck it, we can´t think of anything interesting, but we have to justify some use of the Gamepad, so here it is anyway"

You can play 3DWorld with the Pro Controller? But it has lame mandatory uses like the ones you've listed? That's awful. I'm actually glad DKC doesn't use the Gamepad. I'm baffled as to whose idea it was in the first place. Especially how last gen Nintendo was all about accessiblity now I don't know what they are about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Bn6Y9SZpIw

The first level that requires that you use of the Gamepad.See those platforms with the Gamepad and a hand icon above them?...that´s what I mean, touch them on the Gamepad screen to move them...the game makes me ditch the Pro controller for that..

That's actually laughable..laughably bad. I hope Nintendo learns the lessons it needs this gen.



Bet between Slimbeast and Arius Dion about Wii sales 2009:


If the Wii sells less than 20 million in 2009 (as defined by VGC sales between week ending 3d Jan 2009 to week ending 4th Jan 2010) Slimebeast wins and get to control Arius Dion's sig for 1 month.

If the Wii sells more than 20 million in 2009 (as defined above) Arius Dion wins and gets to control Slimebeast's sig for 1 month.

d21lewis on 10 February 2014
JGarret said:
Arius Dion said:
JGarret said:
Arius Dion said:
JGarret said:
I don´t like it...off tv play is useless to me, the battery life is pretty bad and I think it´s annoying to keep looking up and down between the TV screen and the Gamepad in, for example, those situations in TW101 that demand it.

I prefer the Pro controller far more.Great design and excellent battery life, now that´s an awesome controller.

The mandatory use of the Gamepad in Mario 3D World diminishes my enjoyment with the game.I´m perfectly fine playing with the Pro controller, and all of a sudden the game demands that I use the thing, and for what?..just to touch some frickin platforms and blow into the mic...get outta here.And those Toad levels, why oh why do I have to use it?...just to tilt the controller in order to move the camera....oh wait, but you can also just use the right analog stick, which is actually the preferred method.

I´m so glad DKC has no mandatory use of the pad.


Wow. That sounds beyond gimmicky. As a Wii U owner, You think they should just drop the Gamepad at this point?

Well, it´s been a little over a year since the system launched and they still can´t figure out anything that truly justifies the controller...the biggest IPs don´t even do anything clever or interesting with it...DKC doesn´t even display anything on the Gamepad screen if you play it on your TV.

If it´s gonna be like that, then by all means they should drop it.Iwata has recently said that justifying the Gamepad is their top priority this year.We´ll see..personally, I´m not hopeful they´ll manage to pull it off in a way that causes the system to suddenly do a 180 and turn around its fortunes.

And about Mario 3D World..yeah, it´s that gimmicky.Let me tell you, it´s very annoying that the game makes you switch controllers just to do that..if you don´t, you can´t proceed.That´s the extension of the Gamepad´s usefulness in the game.It´s like the developers just said "fuck it, we can´t think of anything interesting, but we have to justify some use of the Gamepad, so here it is anyway"

You can play 3DWorld with the Pro Controller? But it has lame mandatory uses like the ones you've listed? That's awful. I'm actually glad DKC doesn't use the Gamepad. I'm baffled as to whose idea it was in the first place. Especially how last gen Nintendo was all about accessiblity now I don't know what they are about.


Yes, you can play with the Pro controller, but in some levels you´re told you have to use the Gamepad just for those situations I told you.Nintendo is a completely different company than in the last gen, and they´re paying for it.

Well, you couldn't play Super Mario Galaxy with nothing but the Wii Remote and Nunchuck last gen.  At least this time you have options instead of using the controller Nintendo intended for you to use.  At least you can skip those "mandatory Gamepad" stages and still beat the game.

You didn't find the ability to tap enemies and stun them, break blocks, reveal secrets, instantly warp on the map, etc. useful?  It's okay if you didn't....I just remember wishing I had traditional support in a lot of Wii games last gen.  Now they seem to be meeting us half way and saying "hey, you can play it old school if you want" and it's still seen as a negative to some people.



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fleischr on 10 February 2014

Most who slam the Gamepad are those who've hardly used it. Most of whom probably have never even played a Wii U at all.

Gamepad -- It's not perfect, but it's pretty cool.

Even though it seems large, it's perfectly useable controller even for games that don't use the gamepad extensively.

Trigger buttons on rare occasion seem to get stuck though....



I predict NX launches in 2017 - not 2016

TravenousMaximus on 10 February 2014

Love the gamepad, yet there's still lots of untapped potential in its features.



Vicuna on 10 February 2014

The game pad thingy will surprise us all. Just wait when the right kind of games appear. ( Zelda, Pokemon, etc)



TheLastStarFighter on 10 February 2014

I like it. I really like it with Zelda WWHD. It's outstanding for non-gaming uses like eshop, netflix and youtube. It actually really wows people when I have a party and we control the youtube music playing on my sound system with it. Girls can search for tunes on the touchscreen and giggle. It's great.

I think the drawbacks so far are that it has been forced into games that don't need it (Mario3DWorld) and not used in some cool ways that have potential yet (like how Zombi U used it). Part of the problem is that 3rd parties aren't taking advantage of it and Nintendo can only make so many games.

I would improve the gamepad by making it slightly smaller. The screen could be a little smaller and the device itself more streamlined and ergonomic. That would make it look cooler. I think Nintendo had some doubts as to weather they wanted to make a tablet or a true dual analogue controller, and the hesitation damaged the end result a little. They should have made it a full-on controller, just with a touchscreen.

They also need more developer support making unique adventure and puzzle titles that exploit its uses, and they need to ignore it when not needed for traditional platformers and action titles.



cusman on 10 February 2014

I think the Gamepad is a versatile controller with poor battery life.

That said, aside from Nintendo Land where Asymmetric Gameplay became both possible and fun OR Miiverse where drawing or typing out messages to fellow gamers in various communities is a cool system level feature, the Gamepad really isn't essential to enjoy vast majority of game designs that work perfectly well without it.

Bottom line the Dual-Analog controller without any touch-screen is extra ordinarily good. Even the Wii Motion+ and Nunchuk combo is sufficiently good. So that leaves the Gamepad basically being an expensive accessory that isn't really necessary when "gamers" are more interested in "games".

As Nintendo has themselves stated, they haven't proven that the Gamepad is needed to improve any of the single player games yet.