24 replies to this topic

[Sonic_B0000M]

When do you think these will be on the market. And would you buy one??

[MorbidGod]

A GamePad+ will be available in two years, it will have a larger battery, an HD screen, and an ARM processor to help the Wii U stream HD video. And i woukd buy one.

[bornsupercharged]

A GamePad+ will be available in two years, it will have a larger battery, an HD screen, and an ARM processor to help the Wii U stream HD video. And i woukd buy one.

Sorry but with all my years knowing Nintendo, this is not going to happen. Larger batteries/extended batteries have already been announced by at least one 3rd party manufacturer.
No HD screen because it's cost prohibitive on a console that is retailing at $200. Not only would the screen have a higher resolution and thus cost more to produce, but you get into unknown realm of potential app fragmentation - think Android OS. My Nexus 7 tablet can't run all the apps/games because the resolution isn't supported. So let's say CoD BO2, the way they did their menu system or whatever for the GamePad, let's say they made it to be the price resolution of the Gamepad because there was no reason to make it a higher resolution. If a Gamepad+ comes out with higher resolution, it's going to either have to downscale anyway OR stretch the image - one is pointless the other sucks. Nintendo also mentioned there's not any processing going on in the Wii U Gamepad itself.. sorry but they did this on purpose and it's because they want the Gamepad to be attached to the Wii U, they didn't intend for it to have its own processing capabilities or for it to be a standalone device. So these just aren't going to happen. Sorry.

[Gamejunkie]

Sorry but with all my years knowing Nintendo, this is not going to happen. Larger batteries/extended batteries have already been announced by at least one 3rd party manufacturer.
No HD screen because it's cost prohibitive on a console that is retailing at $200. Not only would the screen have a higher resolution and thus cost more to produce, but you get into unknown realm of potential app fragmentation - think Android OS. My Nexus 7 tablet can't run all the apps/games because the resolution isn't supported. So let's say CoD BO2, the way they did their menu system or whatever for the GamePad, let's say they made it to be the price resolution of the Gamepad because there was no reason to make it a higher resolution. If a Gamepad+ comes out with higher resolution, it's going to either have to downscale anyway OR stretch the image - one is pointless the other sucks. Nintendo also mentioned there's not any processing going on in the Wii U Gamepad itself.. sorry but they did this on purpose and it's because they want the Gamepad to be attached to the Wii U, they didn't intend for it to have its own processing capabilities or for it to be a standalone device. So these just aren't going to happen. Sorry.

Agreed. My sentiments exactly. There is no way it's going to happen.

[3Dude]

Hd gamepad will never happen

[MorbidGod]

Sorry but with all my years knowing Nintendo, this is not going to happen. Larger batteries/extended batteries have already been announced by at least one 3rd party manufacturer.
No HD screen because it's cost prohibitive on a console that is retailing at $200. Not only would the screen have a higher resolution and thus cost more to produce, but you get into unknown realm of potential app fragmentation - think Android OS. My Nexus 7 tablet can't run all the apps/games because the resolution isn't supported. So let's say CoD BO2, the way they did their menu system or whatever for the GamePad, let's say they made it to be the price resolution of the Gamepad because there was no reason to make it a higher resolution. If a Gamepad+ comes out with higher resolution, it's going to either have to downscale anyway OR stretch the image - one is pointless the other sucks. Nintendo also mentioned there's not any processing going on in the Wii U Gamepad itself.. sorry but they did this on purpose and it's because they want the Gamepad to be attached to the Wii U, they didn't intend for it to have its own processing capabilities or for it to be a standalone device. So these just aren't going to happen. Sorry.

:/ if you think Nintendo won't release some sort of GamePad+, then look at the past. Nintendo released The Wiimote, then Wiimote+. Nintendo released 3DS, then the 3DS XL. It may not have an HD screen, sure. But they will improve it.

And i didn't say the GsmePaf currently had aARM CPU in it, i said the new one would. Or it should, at least.

[Sargon]

You do realize that HD resolution is essentially pointless on that size screen, right? The Wii U GamePad screen looks damn good already and there is a point of diminishing returns where higher resolutions are virtually undetectable on small screens.

[Gamejunkie]

:/ if you think Nintendo won't release some sort of GamePad+, then look at the past. Nintendo released The Wiimote, then Wiimote+. Nintendo released 3DS, then the 3DS XL. It may not have an HD screen, sure. But they will improve it.
And i didn't say the GsmePaf currently had aARM CPU in it, i said the new one would. Or it should, at least.

Those examples have no bearing on whether Nintendo will replace the Gamepad with a new revised design. The motion plus was pretty much a necessity to improve the accuracy of the Wii remote. It also didn't add any significant cost to the controller. The 3DS XL was also an improvement needed as the original 3DS design was poor especially regards the buttons and hinge. The bigger screen size wasn't really needed but makes it better to play regular DS games. The Wii U Gamepad is just fine and doesn't need any neccessary improvements.

[MorbidGod]

Those examples have no bearing on whether Nintendo will replace the Gamepad with a new revised design. The motion plus was pretty much a necessity to improve the accuracy of the Wii remote. It also didn't add any significant cost to the controller. The 3DS XL was also an improvement needed as the original 3DS design was poor especially regards the buttons and hinge. The bigger screen size wasn't really needed but makes it better to play regular DS games. The Wii U Gamepad is just fine and doesn't need any neccessary improvements.

Look, I love my Wii U and GamePad, but it can be better. I don't think the battery life is a problem, but most serious gamers who play 5 or more hours will. The screen doesn't really need to be HD, however it is an improvement they could do. The fact the Wii U can only have two controllers mean adding an ARM CPU in the gameplay could help with getting two more GamePad's.

And that is just what I can see. Other's might think other improvements might be needed. And if they are ever going to SELL GamePad's, and games don't always take advantage of the other controllers, they need to come up with a reason for you to BUY the new GamePad.

Just saying.

You do realize that HD resolution is essentially pointless on that size screen, right? The Wii U GamePad screen looks damn good already and there is a point of diminishing returns where higher resolutions are virtually undetectable on small screens.

Tell everyone who complained that Windows Phone 7 was only 480p that.

[bornsupercharged]

The fact the Wii U can only have two controllers mean adding an ARM CPU in the gameplay could help with getting two more GamePad's.

Adding a CPU into the GamePad is not going to help render additional images... that's a problem with the Wii U itself, not the GamePad. You see, the Wii U plays the games and it processes all the information and sends a rendered picture stream to the GamePad for DISPLAY ONLY. What you're wanting them to do, is have the Wii U send raw data and information to the GamePad and let the GamePad process and render the image. Trust me, that isn't going to work out as well as you're thinking it will. And as for the battery life, adding a larger battery would be negated by adding a processor which is tasked with doing the aforementioned.

[Colinx]

Not going to happen. Maybe in a future hardware revision a longer battery life but nothing more.

[Alex Atkin UK]

A GamePad+ will be available in two years, it will have a larger battery, an HD screen, and an ARM processor to help the Wii U stream HD video. And i woukd buy one.

There is a 99.9% chance the GamePad already has an ARM CPU in order to do the streaming in the first place.

There is no way Nintendo are going to make big changes to the GamePad, if anything they might downgrade the screen quality (happened on the 3DS) to save money and hopefully stick a bigger battery in there.

Even if they slapped a faster ARM CPU in there with a dedicated GPU to offload the graphics from the Wii U, it would only work with new games written to utilise it.

History has shown us that means very few games will support it. Just look at the circle pad pro on the 3DS, its a very cheap accessory but still very few games support it.

The whole point of the GamePad is its easy to support for developers as its all rendered by the main console, and everyone has one.

[AndyG]

I doubt this would ever happen.

[aMaG1CaLmAnG1Na]

There really is no need for one, next gen you might get a gamepad with OLED screen, maybe a little bigger but definitely not as an add on. I'd be happy with them just releasing different colored gamepads for purchase seperately

[jimreaper69]

And whats wrong with the gamepad we already have,i think its pretty damn cool.

And whats wrong with the gamepad we already have,i think its pretty damn cool.

And whats wrong with the gamepad we already have,i think its pretty damn cool.

[reef7009]

Its a bit daft really if this is true. Itd be like using an ipad with analogue sticks

[Nightbane30]

To be honest, I'm really not a fan of that idea. The gamepad is perfectly fine as it is.

[SoldMyWiiUAndLeftTheForums]

I don't think this will ever happen, then again I could be wrong.

[BananaCheese]

That's never going to happen. Even if it did, I wouldn't buy it.

[Insanity_Boi]

I think the gamepad is perfectly fine also.