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The Wii U Debacle: Should Nintendo Abandon the Wii U Game Pad?

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Metallix87

Metallix87

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Unfortunately for Nintendo, the Wii U continues to struggle worldwide, despite some higher profile releases out now and out in the near future. I blame this primarily on the leadership at the company, and their inability to manage the system's first year on the market properly. That being said, desperate times call for desperate measures.

The NPD thread is quickly devolving into a debate on the future of the system and, more specifically, the Game Pad. Currently, it seems like four games absolutely require the controller: Nintendo Land, Game & Wario, Zombi U, and Lego City Undercover.

The question: Should Nintendo drop the controller and make it an optional peripheral in favor of a cheaper bundle with the Pro Controller, as well as possibly a Wiimote Plus and Nunchuk, at $200 - $220? Would adding in Wii Sports Club as the free pack in help? Or is it doomed and hopeless? If so, does Nintendo ride it out a few more years, or abandon the Wii U ship early?
 
Might as well abandon the entire console if they're going to drop the GamePad.

They need to ride this storm out. Abandoning the GamePad will kill the WiiU, and abandoning the WiiU will kill consumer confidence.
 
There's games that make use of the GamePad, not exactly a good idea to abandon it. Plus, the GamePad is not only a great feature to many owners, but it's also the core of the system.
 
shaki123 said:
please stop these duplicate "Nintendoomed" threads.
Click to expand...
This isn't intended to be a doom thread. Facts are facts, and the system is struggling worse than even the Gamecube, so it's worth discussing if dropping the Game Pad, as Nintendo dropped 3D on their handheld, could help.
 
Lots of threads like this chap.

No they should keep it until next gen, the WiiU is the only one that's a bit different from the others. As nice as PS4 or even Xbone is they are the same thing as before but with better graphics and larger games.

PS4 will be great to own and its a shame the WiiU has struggled so much as its a nice idea.
 
It's pretty much my favorite controller.

I wouldn't really care if they released some stripped "2DS" version of the Wii U for people who don't know any better.

It would be their loss though. The gamepad is really fantastic, and it makes the whole system. I don't ever want to go back. If I could buy a gamepad for PS4 I would. I'll be using Vita a lot if it's actually fast enough.
 
Green Slime said:
This isn't intended to be a doom thread. Facts are facts, and the system is struggling worse than even the Gamecube, so it's worth discussing if dropping the Game Pad, as Nintendo dropped 3D on their handheld, could help.
Click to expand...

But they didn't do that.
 
Removing it would make a good portion of the library unplayable without significant updates and would just add more confusion with another SKU out there, so it honestly seems like an awful idea.
 
and turn it into a ps3 with more ram and less games? and no mii verse or art academy? there is no reason for a gamepad less wii U to exist imo
 
No, of course not.

Without the Gamepad, it has nothing to distinguish itself from it's competitors hardware-wise. It would just be a Gamecube 2--only worse, because it sure as hell isn't nestled between the Xone and the PS4 in terms of power.

Not to mention how it'd be the second time in a row they spit in the faces of early adopters on price. And the price still wouldn't be competetive with current-gen consoles, as you can easily find PS3s and 360s in the $200 range with a much bigger library to boot.

They have to make the WiiU work as is, Gamepad and all.
 
Green Slime said:
Unfortunately for Nintendo, the Wii U continues to struggle worldwide, despite some higher profile releases out now and out in the near future. I blame this primarily on the leadership at the company, and their inability to manage the system's first year on the market properly. That being said, desperate times call for desperate measures.

The NPD thread is quickly devolving into a debate on the future of the system and, more specifically, the Game Pad. Currently, it seems like four games absolutely require the controller: Nintendo Land, Game & Wario, Zombi U, and Lego City Undercover.

The question: Should Nintendo drop the controller and make it an optional peripheral in favor of a cheaper bundle with the Pro Controller, as well as possibly a Wiimote Plus and Nunchuk, at $200 - $220? Would adding in Wii Sports Club as the free pack in help? Or is it doomed and hopeless? If so, does Nintendo ride it out a few more years, or abandon the Wii U ship early?
Click to expand...

Totally, and they should release a bundle with a wiimote without pointer and a pro controller without triggers, since so little games seem to use these features.

Oh, and since fragmenting your userbase always seems like the smart thing to do, they should also release a version of the Wii U without disc drive, and another without Wifi !
 
There's no turning back for the Wii U. Nintendo needs to do the bare minimum to live it out and start working on their next-gen system, a $99 ARM-based box.
 
Notto disu shittu again.

As already said, no, because splitting your userbase is never a good idea.

I'm not happy with the lack of gamepad usage, but this is the road they've chosen.
 
Soka said:
Might as well abandon the entire console if they're going to drop the GamePad.

They need to ride this storm out. Abandoning the GamePad will kill the WiiU, and abandoning the WiiU will kill consumer confidence.
Click to expand...
Exactly. Also, the GamePad is only going to get cheaper. Though I guess Nintendo should switch to a smaller screen to lower the BoM and increase battery life.
 
Green Slime said:
This isn't intended to be a doom thread. Facts are facts, and the system is struggling worse than even the Gamecube, so it's worth discussing if dropping the Game Pad, as Nintendo dropped 3D on their handheld, could help.
Click to expand...

3D can already be dropped anytime by the user, the GamePad no. And 3DS wasn't discontinued, it's just another SKU. It literally reads the same games, including those already done. How can you play ZombiU without the GamePad, sir?
 
I don't know what sort of answers you're expecting on here.

I'd say the answer is quite obviously yes, if a) sales continue to stagnate and b) it means a much more palatable price point for families/parents.

Of course, people will disagree and talk about how amazing and essential the tablet controller is, while ignoring the weekly and monthly sales data that the consumer public doesn't give a shit about it.
 
The gamepad is legit. I see second screen taking off on tablet's and vita.

If anything, it's awesome for local co-op with people who suck at gaming. See ZombiU and the Zombie placement tool.
 
No, they can't, but it doesn't mean the Wii U is doomed.

All Nintendo need to do is drop the price and rebrand the thing, seriously the casuals are so confused of it being a Wii add due to the prominence of the controller in all media!

The console design itself is a mess, and should have been a little bit more different to the Wii so that confusion is not caused, but most people don't even know what the console looks like! Even I find it hard to find where the damn thing is in screenshots at times.

Make the thing sleeker, price it at £129.99 and watch the casuals come in and the Next Gen (still in the UK here) owners have their 'second console'.
 
I can't even see the advantage in dropping it, honestly...
what would be better in having a console with the same (low) power, the same (barren) library and the same controller compared to the others?
I'm not saying that the GamePad will save the Wii U (LOL), but...if they have to drop something, is the Wii U entirely, eventually, and they'll probably due that in 2015 if everything continues this (horrible) way.
But not the Gamepad alone..that doesn't make any sense imho.
 
Green Slime said:
This isn't intended to be a doom thread. Facts are facts, and the system is struggling worse than even the Gamecube, so it's worth discussing if dropping the Game Pad, as Nintendo dropped 3D on their handheld, could help.
Click to expand...

Not really, because if they dump the gamepad they might as well dump the entire package and that would be terrible for their reputation. Nintendo is a resiliant company, after the GC debacle they were able to bounce back. The WiiU might not be able to but that doesn't mean they can't pull it together next time.
 
Green Slime said:
Should Nintendo drop the controller? Or is it doomed and hopeless?
Click to expand...
Surely that's the two only scenarios. Jesus...

As I said in the other thread, focus should be put on releasing system sellers. That's what Nintendo is usually good at, and why people buy Nintendo consoles.

Then if needed they should take the loss on them, drop the console price and stop trying to make profits for a while.
 
It is far too late for that. They need to stick with it and focus on getting a large quantity of varied software out whilst improving their marketing efforts. Ultimately, it is the available software that matters, not the various gimmicks of the console.
 
Huh?! Of course not.

And Nintendo didn't make the 2DS because the 3DS was struggling, they made it because they didn't get the kids addicted young enough and Pokemon came out
 
Nope.

Smash Bros, MK8, Donkey Kong, Zelda, and hopefully some Metroid
and Starfox
will stabilize it. It will be fine. And by fine I mean Gamecube.
 
this is like the xbox and kinect threads!

NO! If you don't want to use it, don't use it. otherwise enjoy and have fun with it.

RANT OVER!
 
This is hardly a debate. Nintendo should fully focus on the GamePad and streaming -- and by extension, portable gaming. They should release a Wii U compatible portable for the next generation and no separate home console; said portable should be able to stream to a TV (or be connected to a big screen via HDMI and have the player use a controller) and have the full library of Nintendo's offerings for the whole generation -- both, say, "big" Zeldas and "portable" Pokémons.

I can't think of a reason anyone would not buy this. If it were on a comparable price to 3DS and had the whole range of Nintendo games for the generation, both portable-based and home-based, as well as 3rd party support like 3DS's, it would be insane for anyone to not get it. Nintendo in all of its unified glory.
 
DrZeus said:
Nope.

Smash Bros, MK8, Donkey Kong, Zelda, and hopefully some Metroid
and Starfox
will stabilize it. It will be fine. And by fine I mean Gamecube.
Click to expand...
It will be very hard for it to hit Gamecube numbers at this rate. Dreamcast numbers are more likely.
 
shinra-bansho said:
I don't know what sort of answers you're expecting on here.

I'd say the answer is quite obviously yes, if a) sales continue to stagnate and b) it means a much more palatable price point for families/parents.

Of course, people will disagree and talk about how amazing and essential the tablet controller is, while ignoring the weekly and monthly sales data that the consumer public doesn't give a shit about it.
Click to expand...

Bingo.

People continue to cling to the idea of the Wii U "needing" the Gamepad to be its differentiator, but it seems to be doing a very poor job of that from where I'm sitting. Nintendo should rely on its first party software to be the distinct factor of its hardware.

The gamepad isn't a differentiator. It's an albatross.
 
However pathetic you might think they look right now, how pathetic would they look if they then abandoned the core concept of the console they've been pushing for two years, leaving you with a mangled, incomplete, standard controlled console that has even less motivation for third parties support, simultaneously pissing off current Wii U owners as Gamepad focus they may have enjoyed takes a big old backseat. So alienating or making new consumers indifferent whilst also making the console worse for people who've supported it thus far.

Never, ever consider a career in marketing. You have no clue. Either they'll continue supporting the Wii U, or they won't (and the latter won't happen for a while regardless of anything, games are too far into R&D). What they won't do is leave the Wii U as some mangled, boring system on the off-chance it maybe, just perhaps might drag in some mystery crowd who would buy such a mess.
 
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