If a Multiplatform Game Features Wii U Gamepad Only, I'm Buying It

Anthony Accinelli writes, "There. I said it. I don't just like the Wii U, it's my preferred console. The reason? Simple really, the option to play on the Gamepad only."

[GraveLord]

I heard Power Rangers: Samurai Cross Force Xtreme is only playable with the Wii U gamepad. I guess you already have it pre-ordered huh?

[SilentNegotiator]

I can play Power Rangers on my SD screen when Daddy comes to watch baseball. Yipee!
Best feature EVER.

[PopRocks359]

I'm perfectly content with buying multiplats on the Wii U even if their only unique feature is off-TV play. I love that feature and as long as it plays well, I wouldn't have much of a reason to complain.

[guitarded77]

I refuse to until they add a trophy/achievement system. Until then, it's just Wii U exclusives on Wii U for me. I love the gamepad, but I love trophies/achievements for replay value more.

[PopRocks359]

That's a fair point if you care for achievements. Thing is I personally care not for them. My achievement score was reasonably large before I sold my 360 (which was at one point my primary console), but it was mostly because I just played a lot of games. I almost never completed any of the achievement lists in any of my games.

Let's agree to disagree; It really is all a matter of preference. You favor achievements and I favor off-TV play.

[DA_SHREDDER]

I would agree with that, if we weren't still in this gen.

[360ICE]

Well gee, mr. Obvious. Of course it's a matter of preference. But 10 internets to who ever thinks additional features are a matter of objective fact.

[guitarded77]

@ PopRocks359
I wasn't disagreeing with you, just saying why I'm sticking with other consoles or PC for multi-platform titles right now. I'd like to have the off screen play feature, and would use it, but Nintendo isn't really pressing the feature at the moment. There are a few reasons I won't use my Wii U for multiplatform titles right now.

1. Trophies/achievements (obviously)
2. Price (Higher on Wii U for ports right now)
3. Small Online community right now (For co-op and competitive MP, Wii U just doesn't have the install base right now)
4. Some half-assed ports (not all of them, but clearly some games like Madden didn't get very good ports... developers faults, not Nintendo)

If Wii U/3DS (Nintendo Network) had an overarching trophy system, I would even re-buy some games for Wii U, just because I enjoy re earning achievements in games like Mass Effect. I'm totally down with the off-screen play, but it's not worth sacrificing content for me. And trophies/achievements/over-all gamer profile is content to me. But I can certainly understand your preference too. Just offering my input on why I choose to not migrate to Wii U for multi-platform games. Now back to playing Chasing Aurora and Little Inferno on Wii U.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

"If Wii U/3DS (Nintendo Network) had an overarching trophy system..."
THIS.

[felidae]

i'm so happy that there is no achievement system. now i don't have to do stupid missions to get sum stupid points :)

[Neonridr]

While some achievements have merit and are fun earning. Some are clearly put in so that the developer knows you're going to have to play the game for a long time to achieve it, thus the game stays relevant to the developer for a long time. Ever seen some of the Gears of War achievements? Clearly they are just milking the game.

[solidt12]

I wish all WiiU games had that option but unfortunately some games the game pad only displays menus or maps. :)

[ape007]

i got my hands on the WIIU game pad and it is....Awesome, it feels very slick and very high quality

[firelogic]

Except for the fact that it's a cheap piece of plastic with a low res, low quality screen that doesn't even have multi-touch.

[lilbroRx]

The screen is high-res and the retail cost is over $100.

Learn the meaning of words before you use them, and learn the difference between facts and what you would like to be true.

[PirateThom]

It's 6.2" display, 854×480 with 158 ppi and no multitouch.

This is not high res. It's SD, 480p display.

In fact, the ppi isn't high either. A 1st gen Kindle has a higher PPI. It's about the same as a Nokia N95 or 1st gen iPhone.

It only costs that much because that's what Nintendo want to charge for it.

[360ICE]

In all fairness, the PPI is neither bad nor particularly good. Comparing it to phones doesn't quite work, nor does comparing it to TVs. You're generally closer to the screen on smaller devices, therefore the PPI should be higher on smaller screens, and they usually are.

Example: iPhone 5 = 326ppi, 1080p 42" screen = 52ppi

With a 6.2" display the Wii U is perhaps best compared to an iPad mini, which with 163 ppi on its 7.9" display has both better ppi, and a bigger screen. I'm not sure if I'd expect all that much more from the Wii U controller. The controller does its job. It looks fairly good, though it's never impressive.

But, yeah. I also kind of miss multi-touch.

[solidt12]

I have zero complaints about the resolution. to be honest with you when I do a AB comparison with my tv and the game pad I choose the game pad and don't see much a difference.

[MasterCratosKong66]

you're trying to hard buddy. this thing has been pretty durable, the screen looks great, and i honestly can't say i miss multitouch on it when i have two control sticks and ten buttons that perform functions just as well. This works especially well for me cuz i have giant hands and when i surf or play games on mobile devices i block half of the game of content just just by touching the screen.

[mamotte]

...wich no other controller have. You realize the PS3 controller hasn't changed since PS1, right?

[Firebird360]

@piratethom. Wiiu gamepad is not standard definition it's enhanced definition 480p and at 6.2 inches it looks very good. The wiiu is great, the gamepad is great and it's got some awesome games on it. Everybody not interested in it needs to stop wasting their time bashing it, it's kinda pointless dont you think?

[deadfrag]

I like it too!

[evilbart]

People are disagreing with you cause you like the gamepad really? the hate for nintendo on n4g boggles the mind the gamepad ia amazing

[ElectricKaibutsu]

They don't hate Nintendo. They just hate happiness. All happiness must be disagreed.

[GreenRanger]

Don't have a Wii U yet.
Maybe Santa will bring me one.

[guitarded77]

Only if you're a good green ranger.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

You stay away from Rita, you hear? She's a bad egg.

[MEsoJD]

I don't like that the pad is so integrated. I would preferred it to be more optional and have the pro controller, but I guess it's one of the many reasons why I haven't made the jump. :/

[shadowfox6]

The gamepad is really unique if integrated right, I'd love to play more games to try it more.

[Root]

I wouldn't buy it, come on your supposed to offer differn't ways to play if your forcing people to use a way they don't like then why buy it.

It's the whole point of the Wii U Pro Controler.

I hate the new controler, tried it in HMV sitting down in one of their gamer corner things, it's big and feel uncomfertable. Playing so much on the Xbox 360 and PS3 I like to rest my fingers on the L1/R1 but you can't do it aswell on the Wii U Pad

[Fasttrack76]

It's awesome,no regrets

[IIC0mPLeXII]

Only if the Wii U version offers more. I am personally looking to pick up Ninja Gaiden because simply it just plays better. Other than that Bayonetta 2 looks promising although its exclusive.

[PirateThom]

I still don't get the point of this feature... you buy an HD console to play on a tiny low res screen?

Interesting.

[lilbroRx]

Offscreen play is an option, as opposed to being force to do things the same way over and over again, and having to interrupt game play when others want to use the TV.

Also, the screen is high-res, not low res. Learn the difference.

[PirateThom]

It's 854×480 pixels (158 ppi).

My phone is 720x1280 pixels (306 ppi)

Yeah, going to say it's low res, especially when SD TV is the same resolution (854×480)

[ElectricKaibutsu]

SD TVs tend to be a bit bigger than 6 inches. I really couldn't imagine complaining about the Wii U GamePad res. You could easily complain about the 3DS XL if you want, but the GamePad looks fine. I'm guessing you haven't really given it a shot, Thom?

[ChickeyCantor]

Regardless off the "resolution". Games look fabulous on that controller.

[millzy102]

sd is 640x480i and 640x480p is enhanced definition anything higher is high res untill you get to 1280x720 thats where hd resolutions start. learn resolutions if you want to argue,

also phone screens have ridiculous resolution that isn't needed, our eyes cant notice the difference on a resolution higher than 1280x720 on a 10 inch screen any higher than that is just bragging rights to sell a product unless you hold it right infront of your eyes about half a cm away. the rest are wasted pixels, you need bigger screens to determine the difference. all mobile screens are designed to be held 10 to 15 inches from the eyes and if you cant determine the lines between the pixels the screen has done its job, my tv has a dpi of 52 sitting approximately 12 feet away where as gamepad has a dpi 158 from 10inces away, you can notice a bit of difference but not much and its mainly colour as hdtv's have a higher colour pallet and higher contrast ratio than the gamepad but thats to be expected.

and as of for multi touch the gamepad does not require it, multi touch was invented to eradicate physical imputs, as the gamepad has physical imputs it does not need it, what has multi touch ever added to games apart from acting as thumb sticks and buttons, have you seen games run on gamepad, i think not so your comments are void.

[ChickeyCantor]

@millzy

Why are you yelling at me for? lol

[PopRocks359]

It's a smaller screen. 480p resolution is not ineffective on a smaller screen. By virtue it's more clear than a Vita screen, which already looks quite good.

I've played Black Ops 2 and Assassin's Creed 3 on this screen and they both looked quite good. That's more than enough for me.

Also I choose not to play at night on my HDTV because looking at it while laying down in my bed hurts my neck. Off-TV play fixes that issue for me.

[FanMan]

vita: 960×544 @ 220 ppi
wii u:854×480 @ 158 ppi

I would say the vita is slightly more clear.

[PopRocks359]

*Shrug* I don't know what to tell you. The Wii U screen seemed sharper to me.

EDIT: Specifically speaking, I played the Uncharted game on the Vita and it didn't look quite as good as the PS3 iterations (for obvious reasons). Playing Black Ops 2, AC3 and Darksiders II on the gamepad looks just as good as it does on my TV.

Maybe it's just me? Like I said, don't know what to tell you.

[Man-E-Faces]

@PopRocks359

You do realize that Uncharted GA is running off Vita's hardware and not from a PS3, If Sony allowed remote play for Killzone 2, Uncharted etc. you would be amazed at how good these games would look on that oled screen. It's obvious a Wii U game would look better on the gamepad "polygon wise" when Wii U a console has better specs than Vita a handheld(I would hope so). So please don't compare a superior oled screen to a cheap run of the mill Wii U screen. When people see a Vita for the first time they immediately say how beautiful that oled screen is, on the other hand who says that about Wii U's screen when they first see it?

[FanMan]

ya. the wii u is essentially streaming the info to the gamepad. the gamepad is not doing any work. its just displaying the feed. while the vita is doing all the work when it plays vita games. of course its not going to compare. in theory if you could stream a wii u to a vita, it would probably look slightly better on the vita.

[Qrphe]

>By virtue it's more clear than a Vita screen
>480 lines
>not 544

That doesn't make sense.

[Zhipp]

According to Digital Foundry, Uncharted on the Vita runs at a native 720x408. That's probably why the Wii U controller looked sharper to you.

[BitbyDeath]

You should listen to Yahtzees review.
Hilarious.

[lilbroRx]

All resolutions that are 640x480 and beyond are high res/HQ.

You seems to me mistaking high res for high def like most people who like to complain/boast about graphics but don't actually know anything about them. Learn the meaning of words before you use them.

The fact that it achieves that on a 6 inch screen makes the quality even more precise.

The Wii U gamepad has an HQ screen and that is more than perfectly fine for the majority of the people on the planet Earth.

[PirateThom]

My phone and Vita have smaller screen sizes than the Wii U... the quality between the S3s and the Vitas screen is noticable, and both are higher res and have a greater ppi screen than the Wii U screen.

Controller functionality aside, this should never be used as a main display for a game in 2012. It's not up for debate that it's not a high resolution screen in 2012.

[Hicken]

Sorry, Thom. Even if you're right, doesn't look like you'll win the agree/disagree battle on this one.

[MasterCratosKong66]

you clearly dont have anyone you have to share the tv with

[AlucardFury]

Do the people who praise the gamepad for this feature only have a single TV in their house? I have a 40" inch for gaming and Blu-Rays alone. Why on earth would I play on a 6.2 screen?

[r21]

Probably one of the reasons why I havent bought one is that I got one HDTV for watching shows and one other HDTV for gaming. I see no point in that feature. That and also I have no more cash to spend on a new console when I'd rather buy games.

[millzy102]

some people have families, i have a 42 inch hd 3d tv for gaming and blurays, 21 inch hdtv for pc, 27 inch hd tv in bedroom for dvd and use to be secondry gaming tv if mrs was playing games or watching shitty vampire diaries now instead of moving a console into the other room and being anti social i can sit next to her why she does what ever and still play mario and cod. when she's done i just turn over the tv with my gamepad and carry on playing straight away or put zombiu in as it doesn't support off tv play. no more moving consoles around the house to a free tv. havn't played my vita or 3ds in ages because of this feature.

[MNGamer-N]

You are misunderstanding the awesomeness of playing on the gamepad.

[TheDivine]

Some of us just like handhelds. I cant really tell you why but somethings awesome about them to me and many others. Laying around gaming on a device like a 3ds and vita rocks. I dont have a wii-u yet but i imagine playing full hd games like archam city would make my mind explde and then implode from the awesomeness.

I love my big screen and new dope games but lately im a 3ds Paper Mario Sticker Star binge. Def lives up to TTYD although more of an adventure/puzzle game. I also love ipad gaming. Its awesome and intamate to game on a handheld/tablet and have the screen so close. I love it but can understand those who dont (no, not really i cant but i respect you opinion either way). Play Kid Icarus, TWEWY, Paper Mario, Gravity Rush, Persona 4 and then say small screens suck.

[Sarobi]

I love the gamepad.. I know many find it odd that you'd want to play games on the gamepad instead of on a 1080p HDTV.. I guess its just the flexibility of it.. being able to play games without having to turn the TV on or be able to play them while someone is either watching tv, movies, or even playing another game on a different console.. its flexibility that makes the feature unique

[browngamer41]

A lot of trolls seem confused.."duh, umm Nintendo do good? Me not like that, me play on six year old console and can't wrap my limited brain around new concept" Get over it, the gamepad rocks and off tv play is the future...

[AlucardFury]

If off tv play is the future, gaming will suck...

[SkullBlade169]

May as well buy a Vita...

[metroidfusion2]

Exactly lol

[PirateThom]

Yes, let's buy a console that is "better than current gen consoles" and run it through that tiny, low resolution screen.

Can you not see why this is confusing to me?

[wiiulee]

wiiu is a great system...let the crybabies keep hating...wiiu just feels like nintendo has a real winner on their hands...and multi platform game with the gamepad will always be better on wiiu

[hobohunterz]

Yeah we will see how long those multiplats keep coming for the wii u

[MNGamer-N]

The gamepad is amazing. I can't put the thing down. Some of you guys should just save your mama's chump change and go buy one. Nobody has buyers remorse. Everyone is liking it. So take a deep breath and walk into Toys R' Us and buy yourself one for Christmas.

[Spookshow]

I love my WiiU. I don't understand at which point in history people started bashing on Nintendo like Microsoft or Sony were members of their families and the only way to help them succeed would be my having no competition.

For me it'll be 2 consoles this gen, like it's always been.

[mochachino]

This is all moot, Wii U doesn't/won't have the majority of multiplatforms.