Current efforts suggest not surely? There isn't much notable that uses Gamepad and I see a lot of people claiming it's useless.

@ THE1 - Yeah lets see if they announce some really integrel gamepad stuff!

Microsoft made the right choice by creating a Kinect-less SKU. As for Nintendo, there really isn't much they can do to significantly boost Wii U sales. Dropping the price hasn't and won't have much effect on sales. A touchpad-less gamepad would cause too many compatibility issues with previously released games. The only thing they could really do at this point to create some new must-have IPs, or secure some exclusive must-have third party games.

Well, the issue is always the fact that when you get rid of a component of a console, it will split the userbase into those that have the component and those that don't so the developers can't always make games around it with a peace of mind that every user will be able to what the developer intended with that component. Of course if no one uses the thing very much, its always best to get rid of it and lower the price of the console rather than force it up on users

With that being said... I think getting rid of the Kinect is much easier than getting rid of the gamepad cause a lot more things require the gamepad than the Kinect... For example, the miiverse, settings, web brower, games and many more things require the gamepad so if they were to remove it, they would have to spend a lot to redo a lot of things vs removing the Kinect, they would have to redesign a lot less compared to the gamepad when removing it

Also I think the pricing makes sense... The wiiU had a price cut of $50 without removing the gamepad and its a weaker console, the X1 was $500 and it was a weaker console than the ps4 so the price of $399 is a much better deal but with the cost of Kinect so I think both companies are making right decisions

They aren't simply getting rid of the kinect though.  People who buy a kinectless sku are people who probably wouldn't have bought the xb1 otherwise, and even if they did they very well may not bought any kinect games regardless. 

for now, i think MS is right.

althoug i love gamepad too much, i cant imagine my wii U without gamepad.
But not everybody thinks like me.. They would appeal who doesnt bought the gamepad idea.
I hope NFP and new games that will be shown at E3 prove that gamepad is a must...

Microsoft have realized through waves the initial product they had was not what their audience wanted. They know they lost some sales and despite numbers that could be sold as quite good they have now in essence re-launched the X1 this June as a console that can aggressively fight for market share. If they can focus their marketing and image better then they have done everything in their power to undo the damage they did.

We're not talking about removing something entirely even, it is choice. I will bet the $399 X1 will easily double the $499 with Kinect X1 from June to end of the year. If Nintendo looks at that and sticks with the pad and no major price drop then not sure how they expect to be relevant.

Also just a side note: I don't think even if Nintendo dropped the tablet controller it would make much of a difference. They waited to long and now have to rely only on games to sell the console.

That's not necessarily nintendo's problem as I see it.  Without the gamepad there's nothing unique about the wii u that sets it apart from ps4 and xb1, in fact it just makes the difference in specs that much more apparent. 

Sticking by your principles when everybody else disagrees......there is some old-school-Japanese-honor in that, but little else.

Nintendo 1st party sets them apart. At the end of the day that is why they've sold 6 million units, not because of the gamepad. The gamepad is to lure casuals in and it isn't working clearly. Nintendo fans would be on board with or without gamepad as long as Zelda ect are there.