About the Gamepad:
Successful?: No
Failure?: No
Lackluster?: Perhaps
Underutilized?: Absolutely
Comfortable?: Yes

Underutilised in most games, that said I'm not sure if most games would benefit from it in any tangible form. The screens quality is good for gamepad specific features and the OS menus but I hate it for off screen play. The image feels "off", Im not sure if its the colors or the resolution but the image isn't sharp and is just ugly imo. I expect a scaled down 720p image to be sharp and crystal clear basically.

Besides watching porn on it, The GamePad is a true disappointment!

Oh and the digital triggers are terrible.

Love the console.
the gamepad is cool but really unnecessary
id rather just use a controller 99.9% of the time

I still want to know which group of people they tested with this product in their market research and what the response was. I really hope Nintendo didn't make the GamePad for the sake of innovation.

A bit of a disappointment, the resolution, contrast, and brightness are garbage compared to my TV, so I never use it to play. It is useful for maps and stuff, but I would rsather have a more balanced console than the gamepad.

That has to be a joke.

I really like the gamepad and find it very useful for certain games like Blacklist and Mass Effect 3 for example. It's easier for me to switch weapons and keep track of inventory in blacklist and being able to map your allies powers to touch screen buttons made it easier to use their powers mid battle. The map on the gamepad also shows a larger area than a mini map on screen.

But overall I am a bit disappointed that very few games outside the ones I mentioned have utilized the gamepad in a way that didn't make it feel useless or more complicated to execute certain moves like Wonderful 101. The pro controller is better for W101.

When games actually use the gamepad for more than just off screen play, it can be very useful and made it hard for me to use the pro controller while the gamepad charges. Resident Evil Revelations, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Mass Effect 3, Batman Arkham City, Deus Ex, Assassin's Creed 4 and Unepic are games that make the gamepad feel essential to the game and make great use of the gamepad. Sadly, Nintendo hasn't done anything special with the gamepad. Ubisoft has done a terrific job of making the gamepad more than just a screen for off tv play. Also, for games like call of duty I hate doing split screen multiplayer. The gamepad offers a great solution, one on the screen and second player uses gamepad.

Ubisoft IMO found a great formula for multiplayer in Zombiu but unfortunately only made it local mutliplayer. RTS vs FPS was a brilliant idea and is a lot of fun to play even though it's only local multiplayer. Doing the same thing or concept with two pro controllers wouldn't be the same for local multiplayer. The second screen feels essential for that multiplayer.

My biggest gripe about the gamepad is no analog triggers, that was a bad idea. I would have to say I like the gamepad and would rather Nintendo make better use of it than just get rid of it. I wouldn't exactly call it a success just yet, but it's not a complete disappointment either.

Dual analogs are standard on every gaming device that isnt a tablet or PC or 3DS.

Like the 3DS the U was suppossed to appeal to both the hardcore and the casual, Nintendo faithful and people who enjoy 3rd party games. In practice its only catering towards one market which has largely abandonned it. Its only targetted and (poorly) advertised towards that market.

Nintendo dropped the systems gamepad and specs on 3rd parties when everything was more or less final. It was their descision from day one, 3rd parties would have pushed for a lot of things the U doesnt have. The gamepad is Nintendos baby and they have to use it, considering how much it costs its shocking how they are largely ignoring it.