Wii U dual-GamePad titles to come 'well after launch'

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says that games using two GamePad controllers will come "well after launch."

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Nintendo corrected one common criticism of the Wii U at this year's E3 press briefing, with the announcement that the system will support two GamePad tablet controllers at once. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime was a little hazy on the details, and didn't show off any gameplay demonstrations to prove the concept. He said they're currently in development, but apparently they're a long way off.

"Games need to be built that can take advantage of the two GamePad controllers," Fils-Aime told Gamasutra. "It's going to be well after launch for those game experiences to come to life. Asymmetric gameplay is going to be the next major step forward, just like active play was when we launched the Wii. We think that's where developers will focus first, then there will be multiple experiences that have two GamePads."

Using two GamePads also comes with technical considerations as well, which is probably why the company was hesitant to offer the functionality in the first place. A tweet from company president Satoru Iwata (via Kotaku) revealed that a second controller cuts the frame rate in half due to the extra work needed to display on both screens. It's possible that Nintendo will find ways to overcome this limitation, but that may not be true for the first generation of dual GamePad titles.

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  • reply
    June 13, 2012 8:15 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Wii U dual-GamePad titles to come 'well after launch'.

    Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says that games using two GamePad controllers will come "well after launch."

    • reply
      June 13, 2012 8:33 AM

      My guess is they'll sell it with a pack-in minigame collection ala wii play, wii fit, links crossbow training, ect.

    • reply
      June 13, 2012 8:36 AM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:03 AM

        Quite.

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        June 13, 2012 9:06 AM

        People with small kids are probably going to grab this thing up quick. Your typical gamer? Probably not so much.

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:09 AM

        Really don't expect this thing to do well either.

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:22 AM

        I am.

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:22 AM

        I am! Pikmin 3, Lego City, Rayman, and ZombiU look awesome as hell.

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:24 AM

        MOTHERFUCKER, ALL OF THEM!

      • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
        reply
        June 13, 2012 9:27 AM

        It seems like they're trying to reach a compromise between casual appeal and gamer appeal and screwing up on both fronts. Conceptually the thing is much weirder and more complicated than the Wii and seems like a hard sell for casual players compared to an iPad. And most of the stuff they showed for traditional games are pure gimmicks that don't change anything meaningful. Pikmin is their flagship franchise this time and it's actually played with the wiimote/nunchuck? Really? After the Wii they have a lot to prove to their gamer demographic and they're just failing at it spectacularly.

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:27 AM

        I'm sure people will still buy it. I don't think it will take off the way the original Wii did though.

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:29 AM

        Launch day -_-"

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        June 13, 2012 9:37 AM

        I am; I'm not sure it'll have third party support, but I know it'll have enough Nintendo games at the very least to justify the purchase.

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:52 AM

        [deleted]

    • reply
      June 13, 2012 8:41 AM

      This guy. They need to fire his ass and get someone with a fucking clue.

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 8:52 AM

        Total agree, he is killing Nintendo :(

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 8:54 AM

        to his credit, i doubt he has any control over these decisions. It's up to Nintendo of Japan to make the hardware decisions as well as developers to put in this sort of functionality.

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:26 AM

        so they'll have someone else saying it instead of him?

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 9:31 AM

        Reggie's got nothing to do with it, these are all NOJ issues through and through.

    • reply
      June 13, 2012 9:16 AM

      Not surprising. Nintendo doesn't want to have to sell $500 bundles with 2 sets of all the different controllers you need.

    • reply
      June 13, 2012 9:34 AM

      I'd like to get a Wii simply for the nostalgia titles and something that my kids can play with but would you guys recommend me waiting for the Wii U?

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        June 13, 2012 9:45 AM

        At this point yes, since the Wii U will be backwards compatible with Wii games and accessories, the Virtual Console should be the same as well (at least until new games that the Wii isn't powerful enough for show up).

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          June 13, 2012 9:57 AM

          when did they announce backwards compatibility?

          • reply
            June 13, 2012 11:34 AM

            Last E3 I believe, not a new announcement. Although I'm not sure if every Wii game will be compatible most of them should be. If you go http://e3.nintendo.com/wiiu/ you'll see under media it lists both Wii and Wii U optical disks.

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      June 13, 2012 10:56 AM

      Am I the only one who is completely confused by the various controller options for the WiiU? I mean I get the tablet controller, but are all thee other variants simply cheaper/slimmer versions w/o the screen, and if so which games will they be aimed at?

      • reply
        June 13, 2012 11:32 AM

        There are 2 Wii-U specific controller options, the Wii U tablet and the Controller Pro (the thingy that looks like an Xbox controller with the buttons and right control stick switched). The Wii U is also compatible with Wii peripherals, and in some cases is the designed method of control for their games e.g. NSMB:U and apparently Pikmin 3, though I believe at least the former will be playable with both the tablet and the Controller Pro as well and the latter maybe just with the tablet and wand+nunchuk.

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