Battery Life of Wii U Tablet Controller is....

About 3 -5 hours. Nintendo is doing a great job of making the Wii U less appealing each day LOL. Now it has yet to be determined if it has a built in battery or uses say AA. But either way that is just horrible.

http://www.examiner.com/article/wii-u-tablet-controller-s-battery-life-amazingly-short

Oh well, you can't have everything. In this case I hope it's rechargable.

Oh well, you can't have everything. In this case I hope it's rechargable.

thetravman

I assume that if you were to completely turn off rumble features, that you could squeeze a little more time out of it.

[QUOTE="thetravman"]

Oh well, you can't have everything. In this case I hope it's rechargable.

Nintendo_Ownes7

i dont see a problem with that. crap for a handheld but the wiiu controller is not a handheld. i hope it uses AA batteries though. get a set of rechargable batteries and a charger. if your having a mammoth gaming session switching batteries around and leaving 1 set on charge will take 2 seconds. i really hope the battery is not built in like the PS3 controller....leave that stuff to portable devices.osan0

Not a chance of AA's.

I heard this before, and it's very disappointing. Although if this is anything like with the 3DS's battery life (which was estimated for the same), if the game isn't utilizing the full extent of the console (ie playing a DS game on the 3DS can last much longer than 5 hours) then it should be able to get more. The Gamepad has tons of features, if all of those aren't being used, I can imagine that it will last a bit longer.

i hope nintendo provides a long charge cable. It should be long enough to reach all the way across the room like those old corded controllers. At the very least it should be able to plug into a wall socketGunSmith1_basic

Yes!!! Nowadays, 8 foot cables is what your given. Everything needs big ol Xbox mammoth cables to go anywhere.

Give'em a break. It streams 480p to a 6.2 inch screen. I didn't really expect much better and the system comes with a charging cradle, plus a cable. Just plug it in during play or drop it in the cradle.

If you can't do that it's your own fault that you can't take care of your electronics. It would be great if it was better but it's what we got.

People love to whine over the obvious, what did you expect it to be? And for those talking about AA batteries, do you sweat out batteries or something, because this thing would devour batteries in a manner not seen since the Game Gear lol. Sepewrath

youll only be playing at home so you can just leave it plugged in to the ac adaptor.

I'm aware of what it is. There are people saying they hope it takes batteries, they don't seem to realize that batteries would be a terrible design decision for the juice this controller must take. Sepewrath

About 3 -5 hours. Nintendo is doing a great job of making the Wii U less appealing each day LOL. Now it has yet to be determined if it has a built in battery or uses say AA. But either way that is just horrible.

http://www.examiner.com/article/wii-u-tablet-controller-s-battery-life-amazingly-short

ZamboniGamer

[QUOTE="Sepewrath"]I'm aware of what it is. There are people saying they hope it takes batteries, they don't seem to realize that batteries would be a terrible design decision for the juice this controller must take. nintendofreak_2

As expected for a controller with a 6.2 inch 480p touchscreen, rumble, speakers, a camera, gyroscope, and accelerometer.

And I'm glad that it does not use AA batteries. I've been using rechargeable AA batteries for my Wii remote and it's such a hassle to pause the game, take out the batteries, put in new ones, insert the dead batteries on the charging dock, and resume the game. That thing would devour AA batteries and I would rather charge the game pad as I play, like I do with my 3DS.

What we plan on doing is getting a second gamepad (assuming it does not come with 2) Having one charging while the other is being used, and once the other one is done charging taking it off charge, letting the first go down till its basically dead... Then put it on charge, as we grab the second gamepad. Repeat.

This ensures continous play, and prolonging the longevity of the overall battery life of the gamepads.

[QUOTE="Nintendo_Ownes7"]

[QUOTE="thetravman"]

Oh well, you can't have everything. In this case I hope it's rechargable.

ZamboniGamer

Expected with all the stuff that comes with it, most probably you can adjust the brightness for the screen on the gamepad.

I'm reading this AA vs rechargable debate. I like the 360 controller...use AA's or buy a rechargable battery if you like. With power tools all the way to gadgets...well, rechargables dont last. My lithium to NiCd batteries die after about a few years of casual to heavy use. If the handheld at least allowed AA as an option that would be good. Plus as mentioned you can buy rechargeable AA's.

I was hoping we'd get 6-10 hours out of the controller. I'm pretty disappointed, I have to say. Especially considering the controller is pretty much the selling point of the system.

I'm guessing the game streaming thing demands a lot of juice. Just hoping the wireless range of the controller is good so I can play games on the couch downstairs with my Wii U upstairs.

]It would give you the ability to have marathon runs without having to stop or worry about a cable reaching across the room. Some people don't have set ups that allow for cables to reach where they're sitting, and having a cable running across the room has other issues for people who are just walking through the room.

nintendofreak_2

[QUOTE="Nintendo_Ownes7"]

[QUOTE="thetravman"]

Oh well, you can't have everything. In this case I hope it's rechargable.

ZamboniGamer

Meh, it's not like game that long anyway.

Maybe if I was 12...

It's a gimmick, I'm sure that most games can be played with the 'pro' controller. Just pony up the extra $50 :)istuffedsunny

this is what bothers me...I hope they dont just release games for the plain controller and not use the new screen controller to an advantage.

It's a gimmick, I'm sure that most games can be played with the 'pro' controller. Just pony up the extra $50 :)istuffedsunny

Lame. The Dual Shock 3 already annoys me enough with its built in battery - forcing me to tether to play when it's dead completely defeats the point of a wireless controller. With the 360 and Wii controllers you just slap in a topped up pair of AAs and go (this also makes me question the sanity of people who use the play & charge kits). I realize with the WiiU tablet it would likely take four AAs to give us the same (or less) battery life than these 5 hours, but it's still disappointing. Whenever my WiiU tablet dies I guess I'll just go and play another console while it sits there for two and a half hours to charge back up again, because there's no goddamn way I'm playing it wired.DJ_Lae

PS3 batteries last like 20 hours of playtime though (some people say 30, maybe mind are starting to degrade a little).If you have 2 PS3 controllers, you can recharge one and play on the other. It's much smoother to do that than to actually have to swap out batteries!!!

Believe me. Recharbeable controllers are the way to go with the Wii-U as well. IF this thing goes with AA batteries, it might take 4 at a time to power the screen!! So that means you have to have 8 batteries dedicated to this thing ready to swap out at all times. That sounds easier to you then simplly having rechargeable built in? That actually sounds rediculous to me. What if I forget to charge the other set of batteries? Then I'm completely screwed with no option to charge and play! Sadly even if it is rechargeable, it probably does need to be tethered to a USB cable for extended gaming sessions (assuming it charges via USB), but so long as the cable is 10' long it's not a problem. Sony was stupid to bundle their controllers with a 3' cable, I replaced it with a 10' cable which made that literally a non-issue even if I am playing and charging at the same time. Hopefully Nintendo does the same, but with the 8GB drive and this short battery life, you have to question them a little in their line of thinking...

PS3 batteries last like 20 hours of playtime though (some people say 30, maybe mind are starting to degrade a little).If you have 2 PS3 controllers, you can recharge one and play on the other. It's much smoother to do that than to actually have to swap out batteries!!!

2Chalupas

[QUOTE="2Chalupas"]

PS3 batteries last like 20 hours of playtime though (some people say 30, maybe mind are starting to degrade a little).If you have 2 PS3 controllers, you can recharge one and play on the other. It's much smoother to do that than to actually have to swap out batteries!!!

DJ_Lae

There are plusses and minuses to both. But for me I think it would be insane to physically have to open the battery slot and change batteries every 3 hours. I can say with 100% certainty that at some point I would run into problems of not having spare AA batteries ready, forgetting to charge them or whatever, and that not having a battery ready would at some point kill my gameplay. It would just get old really fast.

Having a USB tether while it charges is not the greatest option either, but that's alot better than having to change batteries an insane amount of times. Literally on a daily basis and maybe multiple times in a day if you are caught between charges. The real problem is the battery life of only 3 hours. Also keep in mind that usually lithium ion battery lasts much longer than standard AA or niCD rechargable, so if it turns out that is the spec of their lithium ion battery it would have been MUCH WORSE with standard AA batteries. Likewise if the spec is for AA batteries, unless they are using like 4 or 8 batteries, then probably a lithium ion battery design could have given a massive improvement. Hell their are LAPTOPS that now can give like 10-12 hours between charges, so to me it's kind of bizarre a tablet controller can only do 3 hours. That tells me whatever the solution is, it was obviously a very cheap one. I know the laptop will have a much pricier battery, but still... the controller shouldn't be doing alot of heavy processing other than the screen.

Fine by me, I have no problem having the controller on a cord. I wouldn't have expected much else considering cost restraints and all of the controllers functions.

It'll have a dock or something that lets you charge it while you're not playing, same as the 3DS. I can't remember the last time I played a game for more than three hours straight.... Do some of you guys have three-hour sessions that often? I think I'd go crazy...

It uses a built-in rechargable battery. You're not swapping out six AA batteries like a GameGear, so I don't understand why you're complaining. If it starts to run out of juice, plug it in and keep playing. This is better suited for System Wars.

It'll have a dock or something that lets you charge it while you're not playing, same as the 3DS. I can't remember the last time I played a game for more than three hours straight.... Do some of you guys have three-hour sessions that often? I think I'd go crazy...

JordanElek

[QUOTE="JordanElek"]

It'll have a dock or something that lets you charge it while you're not playing, same as the 3DS. I can't remember the last time I played a game for more than three hours straight.... Do some of you guys have three-hour sessions that often? I think I'd go crazy...

wiifan001

I would rather it be wired, to be honest. I hate wireless controllers. Screw batteries, screw recharging, and screw input lag.famicommander

[QUOTE="wiifan001"][QUOTE="JordanElek"]

It'll have a dock or something that lets you charge it while you're not playing, same as the 3DS. I can't remember the last time I played a game for more than three hours straight.... Do some of you guys have three-hour sessions that often? I think I'd go crazy...

Toxic-Seahorse

Yep, 10-15 hours on Goldeneye, and even couple times had went through TWO sets of batteries a day, fully charged:P

In the first 3 months I stayed within the top 200 worldwide for highest Level and most Wins and at one point was even briefly in the top 50 for most eliminations of all time. Would've been higher if not for what was at the time, a few hackers :P

Then I played 10+ hours segments of Monster Hunter 3, one time a 17 hour session.