Fils-Aime: Nintendo won’t sell separate Wii U GamePads at launch
James Archer September 14, 2012 - 9:52 amNews: Nintendo won’t make separate Wii U GamePad controllers available upon the console’s launch, instead waiting until more games that support multiple GamePads are released.
You won’t be able to pick up a spare GamePad controller for the Wii U when it launches this November, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has revealed in an interview with GamesIndustry. According to Fils-Aime, since the Wii U’s launch lineup won’t support multiple GamePads (the appropriate tech wasn’t ready until after development on the games had already begun), Ninty will wait until more titles that can use two of the touchscreen controllers are ready before manufacturing and releasing them as standalone.
“You’ll see those two GamePad experiences at a later date; when those games are coming, that’s when we’ll make a separate GamePad available.
“Look at it this way: when we’re preparing for launch, I need to make consoles and I need to make GamePads, and I need to put them together in a box to sell at retail. And if I’m using my inventory assembling GamePads that don’t support any games in the marketplace, all I’m doing is reducing my available inventory to sell on launch day.”
Not an arbitrary decision, then, but one which arguably ignores valid reasons for buying extra controllers other than for multiplayer – what if my GamePad breaks? Would I have to buy another Wii U to replace it?
Stay tuned for more Wii U news here on BeefJack.
Comments (1)
Or what if Black Ops 2 comes out 5 days later and has 2nd player Gamepad support? Hm…