Wii U Gamepad is the best home console controller this gen

@aigis: Mass Effect 3 i think. There was something recent i think i tried, but i cant remember it.

Lead zelda guy in the new zelda said he thinks the gamepad hurts the immersion with the player and the game ... Having to look down while playing breaks gameplay and that is a huge knock for a controller

@snapcracklenpop: I can agree with that

@snapcracklenpop: That would be for them and how they were implementing it. For instance the Gamepad is highly immersive with Splatoon. Its all about how you use it. But yeah, trying to use two screens at once would hurt immersion.

I wouldn't call it the best, but I never had any discomfort or issues using it

I don't have to make the Wii U gamepad look bad, it speaks for itself.

-it has off screen play (While a kinda neat feature the range is kinda limited.)

-gyro controls (Ewww)

-touch screen (Not even multi-touch like found in most tablets.)

-Netflix in 1080p at 32w (What does this have to do with the Gamepad?)

-dual screen coop (Feel bad for the person who is stuck with the Wii U screen for Coop.)

- 3-way mics (What's the use of mics when so many games don't even have voice chat?)

- 2-way camera (Doesn't have anything to do with gameplay.)

-NFC reader (DLC Gimmick)

-Remote play (What remote play?)

-TV control (What a game changer, not.)

There is nothing immersive about two screens, having to crank your neck to look a completely different screen breaks immersion. And theres nothing immersive about Splatoon having two screens when the only time I ever check the map is when im dead and am waiting to respawn, adding nothing of value to the experience...

@Collie_Lover: Unlike others my hands aren't baby hands. The muscles in them have 43+ years of use and strengthening so my hands never once cramped up from using the WiiU gamepad. It was surprisingly comfortable for being a tablet. But the fact that it was a tablet and the tablet was so rarely used in any meaningful way was a major fail imo. Plus I had to plug it in quite often because of it being a tablet.

In the end, it certainly didn't hurt or cramp my hands but I'll take the PS4 and X1 controllers over it.

connection is the worst of any wireless device i'd ever used

X1 elite, nuff said. :P

Not for me. Feels like you're trying to control the game using an etch-a-sketch!

Off screen play never gets enough praise.

It feels great to just plug the console in some random place and play on the gamepad. No need for TV, extra cables, IR bar, etc...

In fact, I have my Wii U in my office set up pretty much like this for quick Mario Maker sessions.

bonus pic

It might have been a financial mystake. But I'd be lying if I said I didnt love the damn Gamepad.

Nintendo's interfaces have been questionable for awhile, usually forgiven by the fact that their core franchises usually have tight controls (usually with something that compensates for the stupid controller), but this gen their stuff was extra unimpressive. Gimmick wise the control pad was useless all around, and the pro controller is a shittier version of what the Dual Shock and Xbox controllers are.

The quality of the screen is perfectly fine for the price. You are buying a system AND a controller with a screen. Expecting ipad like displays is dumb.

The touch technology it uses is archaic?

No.

Resistive screens are not archaic. Smartphones just made them unpopular. You get higher degrees of accuracy with resistive touch screens and avoid unintended touch inputs easier. A good showcase for accuracy would be to take two minutes to see what people can do in Art Academy with a cheap plastic stylus.

I draw. I can tell you its much easier to do it on the Gamepad than it is on my ipad. Shit, its more intuitive than my Bamboo Wacom tablet.

it is poorly and shoddily constructed

The best controller this generation is the Xbox One Elite, followed by the Wii U Pro, followed by the Xbox One Controller and the DualShock 4, which both tie for third place. The Gamepad is dead last.

How is it shoddily cosntructed? You placed the Wii U Pro in second.... and the Gamepad is built with the exact same materials.

Your avatar is a 2 screen using game. And its very good at it. Again, its all about how you implement it. For Splatoon i was talking about using the Gamepad for Gyro makes it immersive.

In addition to the fatigue aspect of this pad, the poor connection and range is really what does it in. When Nintendo first started talking about this peripheral I thought the potential of using it in another room was fantastic but then I saw how more than a few feet away would lead to a lack in connection. Hell, there are times when the pad is in front of the console and it still won't connect. Again, this was Nintendo trying to re-invent the wheel and it blew up in their face and rightfully so.

@Solaryellow: The Gampad has a range of 25feet. They couldnt use Blutooth cause blutooth sucks and would lag the stream. Nintendo always ahead of the times.

Twenty five feet where? On the moon?

@Collie_Lover: I hope so too i have a huge back catalogue thanks to never owning a Wii U, I just hope eshop purchases will transfer over to NX, I'm getting one either at the end of 2017 or in 2018

Connection seems like 3 feet max and that's IF the pad is facing directly at the console.

@Legend002: Thats an unsafe playing distance. Nintendo recommends playing in the 8-10ft+ range from your TV display.

@iandizion713: It doesn't work that well from that distance consistently.

@Legend002: You need to get yours checked out then, it might be broken. Something is interfering with its transmission. I can play mine through a cement wall on the opposite side of the TV, its pretty cool. Reduces my distance by a lot, but still works.

@iandizion713: Seems like a common issue. Everyone I know have the same problem but with NX out soon I won't even bothering checking what's up.

Um, yeah. No.

Don't make shit up, it makes you look special.

http://www.giantbomb.com/wii-u-gamepad-microphone-use/3015-7836/

-Super Smash Bros

-Mario Kart 8

-Super Mario 3D World

-Dues Ex: Human revolution Director's Cut

-Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist

-Wii Karaoke U by Joysound

-Ninja Gaiden 3 razor's Edge

-Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

-Trine 2

Take a video of you playing with a cement wall in between the console and the pad. I'd love to see it. I really would.

Ya but the screens are together so you just move your eyes not your neck and they never really have a moment when you need to be looking at both screens simultaneously like splatoon. Also gyro controls are bad and dont add any more immersion than a analog stick does

So it was pretty much not used? I can say with confidence that I never used it once for SSB or MK8

I can't knock it till I tried it. I haven't tried it so I cannot confirm or deny. It doesn't look very ergonomic though.

I know. Its his opinion and that's alright.

-Off Screen Play: It seems people have varying degrees of range on a case-by-case basis. Mine works best within 12 feet of the console which is fine. I didn't get the Wii U to use it like a 3DS anyway. But that would be cool if it could be used that way.

-Gyro Controls: I just beat New Super Mario Bros U and there were some levels in the game that you needed the gyro controls to tilt a platform you were riding on while also directing your Mario to dodge things or pick them up and throw them. It is hard to think about how you would do this without gyro controls, but it was neat the way it was implemented in the game. Lol, Watching the video gives me flashbacks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af69SXqp1nQ

-Touch Screen: You don't need to pinch or expand your fingers to zoom. You just use buttons or thumb sticks. The single touch uses like in Splatoon or Kirby with the stylus are used effectively for those respective games. I have an android tablet and I am not sure why multi-touch would usefule except that the tablet doesn't have physical buttons and you would need multi touch to do normal activities that you can do with physical buttons like on the Wii U Gamepad. That is to say that the touch screen is intended or serves as a complement to physical buttons, but not a replacement. That should be welcomed by console gamers, and not be seen as a true limitation.

-The Gamepad allows you to watch Netflix movies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56vvBmOhpNE

-Dual Screen Coop: Star Fox Zero

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxaofGDv964

- 3-way mics

http://www.giantbomb.com/wii-u-gamepad-microphone-use/3015-7836/

- 2-way camera

Games that use it:

Wii Fit U

Nintendoland

Tank! Tank!, Tank!

Zombi U

Nano Assault Neo

-NFC Reader: Amiibo, Yay!

-Remote Play (repeat of off TV play)

-TV Control (a convenience feature does not need to be a game changer to be worthwhile)