Nintendo Selling Gamepad Separately in Japan

An IGN article says Nintendo will start selling Gamepads separately for $104 in Japan. Sounds like big news to me! I wonder what the implications are?

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/11/24/nintendo-to-sell-wii-u-gamepad-on-its-own-in-japan?utm_source=IGN%20hub%20page&utm_medium=IGN%20(front%20page)&utm_content=1&utm_campaign=Blogroll

Edit: GameSpot has the story too.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-gamepads-will-finally-be-sold-standalone-but/1100-6432555/

Looks like they're clearing out everything for the Wii U so they can hit the ground running with new hardware next year.

NX BC with Gamepad confirmed. Im guessing it will sell for $99 in NA.

i'm looking forward to getting the new hardware next year.

This is good news (sort of) when the Wii U launched the price of a replacement Wii U gamepad tablet controller was $172.00 So now Nintendo is selling a gamepad for $104.00 means a $68.00 drop in the cost of a Gamepad. The Gamepad for the Wii U is Nintendo's most expensive controller ever. One of the reasons Nintendo could never drop the price of the Wii U console, Which debuted at $350.00 and still sells at $299.99 three years later.

It may be worthwhile to buy a extra Gamepad controller if you own a Wii U console. Since once the Nintendo NX arrives Nintendo Will dump the Wii U instantly

But if you like the Wii U then having a spare Gamepad will be worth it in case it is broken. The Wii U is destined to be swept under the rug, So having a working Gamepad is important if you want to use the console after the 4 year lifespan

Should have happened long ago. Heck Nintendo never should have made the gamepad. The price for it was just too ridiculous to begin with. While its a good controller, it is just too much to spend on a controller that has questionable usage outside of off TV play. If a gamer can't go to a store to buy it and have to deal with Nintendo directly to repair it, then its too expensive.

If Nintendo releases the Gamepad for North America retail, I will pick one up at least for a backup. Maybe releasing the Gamepad for sale at retail is a sign that Nintendo intends to support the Wii U for awhile after the NX launches. NX BC with Wii U sounds good to me. Maybe the NX will be able to dock to the Wii U. I wonder if making the Gamepad available at retail would cause more people to buy the Wii U? Anyway, the Wii Remotes have been around for 9 years, and Nintendo is releasing character controllers now.

Too little too late, as mesome stated could be NX will also have support for Wii U Gamepad....this also could mean hopefully NX primary controller is not a Wii U gamepad & a more traditional controller..Yay!. :P

Pretty random. Basically the only use of this is to act as a replacement right? No games support it. So meh.

I could use another one, for Splatoon purposes.