Posted December 3, 2012 So what's your verdict on the Wii U pad, now that you actually have it? Mine is the following: +Good button layout. It took me no time at all to get used to the inversion between right stick and face buttons. It might even work better than the standard layout. +Quite perfect blance in weight. Has that Nintendo quality feel, while still not being too heavy. +Excellent screen -No analogue triggers: You know my oppinion on this -Too flat underside: I'd like the gripps to stand out even more. It's okay, but not as comfortable as let's say the middle grip on the N64 controller. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 Ive actually found it to be a great pad so far, the only thing that caught me out was the layout of the facebuttons, they seem to be lower than my fingers would like but ive just about adjusted to that. The Analogue sticks are nice and responsive, the screen itself is nice and bright and the d pad is great for fighters. Ive only played ZombiU, Tekken and Mario so far so i have no idea if its good for racers or twich shooters just yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 I felt comfortable with it straight away, And I love it, ZomiU works perfectly with it, I can reach the action button with ease when needed, and the scanning of the area with the pad is amazing. NintendoLand does it's job perfectly in demonstrating the use of the pad, Zelda for one for showing how aiming with the pad is easy, Luigi's Ghost house another for demonstrating the multiplayer fun that can be had. All the games are great on it. I've not got stuck into Mario Bro's yet, I'm enjoying NintendoLand too much. The Internet browser on the controller is perfect enough for me, the range of use is impressive too, I managed to use the controller to browse the internet at the top of my stairs, while the console was downstairs in the corner of the living room. I tried to use the control in bed to browse, but that was a bit too far away from the console unfortunately. I love it though, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 It's great! Much lighter than I expected (the weight distribution is perfect!) and the touch screen is amazingly responsive, even when using a finger. My only real complaints with it are the lack of analog triggers (making future GCN VC games troublesome) and that the L/R buttons are hard to press at the same time as the Zr/Zl buttons (this is normally uncomfortable on most controllers with 4 shoulder buttons, but it's extra uncomfortable here) Other than that, I'm chuffed to bits with it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 I love the pad. I'd already used it before, but I didn't really appreciate it fully until I sat down with it at home. I'll break it down into positives and negatives. + Beautiful screen. The screen is bright and has a great resolution. It actually looks so good I like gaming on it instead of on the TV! + Responsive screen. The screen is responsive and accurate - just what you want from the touchscreen. I dislike iPhone touch screens as I find they're inaccurate and fiddly, but this is actually spot on. + Because of the above browsing the internet is a breeze (so is playing balloon trip). Using the stylus allows you to click the most precise link or hot spot on a page! + The button layout is perfect. Everything just works. + Feels great. The design is perfect, it fits my hands and the extrusion on the back allows it to rest on my fingers so you barely have to grip it. + It's light - so coupled with the point above it's not tiring to hold and I've never felt like I'm going to drop it. + Looks lovely - the whole thing looks really nice and like a premium device. Now for the not so good things: - No analogue triggers. I don't really care about this, as I don't play racing simulations, but it needs to be said that for those who do it's a major omission. - Rattling face buttons. I noticed a strange rattle coming from my pad and went into panic mode. Thankfully it was the face buttons so nothing loose inside. However bearing in mind it feels and looks so nice, this cheapens it and is something I would never have expected from Nintendo. - The black one is a finger print magnet due to the glossy finish. Looks lovely, but attracts sweat, dead skin and finger prints like crazy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 You guys covered most of the reasons why I adore the GamePad, but there is one more. The Speakers! They're really good, the sound that comes from them are very well tuned and I don't notice any kind of distortion, I find that it also adds to the gaming experience by creating a virbrant & upbeat atmosphere. Having a mixture of audio from the GamePad and the TV is fantastic especially in NintendoLand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 You guys covered most of the reasons why I adore the GamePad, but there is one more.The Speakers! They're really good, the sound that comes from them are very well tuned and I don't notice any kind of distortion, I find that it also adds to the gaming experience by creating a virbrant & upbeat atmosphere. Having a mixture of audio from the GamePad and the TV is fantastic especially in NintendoLand. Yeah very true. Goes a long way towards helping with Nintendo Land's crappy 5.1 mix (since it doesn't use the back speakers at all, despite actually outputting 5.1!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 My Verdict is mostly as above; comfortable, light.. I don´t care THAT much about finger prints - things get dirty. Only weird situation I find is that I bought a nice big HD tv for the Wii U and I can see how richer the colours etc are on the tv from the gamepad, but yet I get this natural preference for gaming with the gamepad instead. I guess its natural to have the closest screen as the preferred video to look at? Its just not the conventional controller - although the button placements are of course memorable and easy to find, I just naturally look down at the pad as opposed to big TV in front - and I don´t know if I want to neglect my TV like that....(banter) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 (edited) I love it! Feels so natural to hold, sticks and buttons are nice and satisfying, excellent speakers, touch screen is responsive. With this the Wii U feels very much like the big brother to the 3DS - a very good thing in my book. A few key tweaks would make it perfect (at this price point): - Improve compression of stream. As time goes on I hope they manage to reduce the pixellation around saturated colours, which is very noticeable and at times makes the PPI seems lower than the 3DS XL, which of course it isn't. I know they did a lot of work on this aspect and I'm sure with time further optimisation will be possible. - Introduce colour controls in the settings to optionally compensate for the yellow tint to the lcd. Look at the Netfilx startup - vivid deep red on the TV, blood orange on the gamepad! The gamepad also doesn't seem to compensate for the reduced rgb range. - Analogue shoulder buttons, especially for Gamecube support. - More precise options for the home button light - eg set it to flash when you have a message or friend request but not every time a friend is online. Edited December 3, 2012 by Lens of Truth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 Nintendo are the masters of controllers, no surprise they've come up with another gem. Another few +'s: + BIG D-Pad, makes such a difference compared to the small one on the Wii remote + Buttons generally feel substantial - As said before, I wish they'd picked a different material Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 3, 2012 Love the pad , my only complaint is the battery it doesnt last all that long, i hope they oneday release a bigger battery, as there is room for a bettery nearly twice as big. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 Love the pad , my only complaint is the battery it doesnt last all that long, i hope they oneday release a bigger battery, as there is room for a bettery nearly twice as big. 3rd party accessory developer NKYO are now selling a larger battery for the Gamepad that is claimed to last 10 hours. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 I don't have a problem with the battery as there's an AC adapter that you can plug in at any time! It's hardly a game ruining thing to plug it in. People complain too much over trivial things. It's like the 1GB update. So what? When it's done, it's done. You don't have to go back and update it every time you turn it on. It's a one off. What's more, you don't have to sit watching the bar fill up like a moron, you can go and do other things at the same time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 I don't have a problem with the battery as there's an AC adapter that you can plug in at any time! It's hardly a game ruining thing to plug it in. People complain too much over trivial things. I guess it depends on the layout of the room you have the console set up in, for me its a very minor inconvience as the cable is long enough to stretch to the powerstrip under my pc and i can play plugged in. I can see problems for those with larger living rooms where the power supply is further away from the WiiU and/or TV and they have to sit at a strange angle to play. Its the one time having a smaller living room gives me an advantage ^_^ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 I guess it depends on the layout of the room you have the console set up in, for me its a very minor inconvience as the cable is long enough to stretch to the powerstrip under my pc and i can play plugged in. I can see problems for those with larger living rooms where the power supply is further away from the WiiU and/or TV and they have to sit at a strange angle to play. Its the one time having a smaller living room gives me an advantage ^_^ Yes and what if you want to sit outside or on the crapper? There's no sockets. 3 hours battery life is awful. Really bad. Bring on the 3rd party battery packs and the inevitable longer lasting gamepad with much improved battery life that comes with later SKU's as production costs go down. Some people just blindly defend nearly every Nintendo decision no matter what. I'm not referring to you shin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 This can be extended by lowering brightness, turning on power saving, turning off the display when it's not needed etc. My battery lasts more than 5 hours. But yeah, Nyko may have already released (NA) their battery packs or whatever they're called. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 The reason people defend Nintendo about poor battery performance is because there's nothing they can do about it. Battery technology simply doesn't advance as fast as computer chips. Almost every modern device has "poor" battery performance compared to how advanced the computing is. Yes, there are 3rd-party battery packs, but they stick out physically, which is not a problem but it's just a fact. Batteries = size. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 Only a minor issue, and one that will be fixed in time , selling an optional heavier battery Question can you turn off the screen while playing games like mario and still use the gamepad ? i know you can switch it off in the home menu but it comes back on as soon as you press anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 Question can you turn off the screen while playing games like mario and still use the gamepad ? i know you can switch it off in the home menu but it comes back on as soon as you press anything. As yet, no you can't. I hoped the option on the home menu would do it, but no, I think that's just for when you're making tea or watching Netflix or something. When I play Mario I turn the screen brightness right down and turn power saver on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 I don't think that better batteries will be the solution for a long time. It's more likely that the Wii U will receive an updated version of the pad, with internal components that consume less power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 4, 2012 I really like the pad, it fits perfectly in my hands. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 5, 2012 Yes and what if you want to sit outside or on the crapper? There's no sockets. 3 hours battery life is awful... Who the hell takes a 3 hour crap?!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 5, 2012 Who the hell takes a 3 hour crap?!!! Congratulations! You're the first person to pick up on that, I just knew somebody would make a smart arsed comment. It could take longer than 3 hours to pass some of the $h1t on Wii U. :wink: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 5, 2012 Congratulations! Thanks, I worked hard at it! ...the joke, not a 3 hour crap! :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 5, 2012 Ah that's a shame as I love the gamepad d pad over using the tiny wii mote one . Guess I will just turn it down and power save mode it while on Mario wahoo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
