Nintendo Wii U gamepad not available seperately at launch
updated 12:47 pm EDT, Fri September 14, 2012
Nintendo America CEO claims lack of game support
Nintendo will not be releasing the Wii U gamepad as a standalone product at launch. The company plans to start selling the controller on it's own when games that actively use more than one WiiPad go on sale, according to Nintendo America CEO and president Reggie Fils-Amie in a session with investors following the global press conferences that announced availability.
No games during the console's launch window will use a second gamepad, instead relying on just one and using extra Wiimotes for other players. "Certainly, when the games come out, we'll be making that accessory available," said Fils-Amie, although it was not mentioned if there was a game in development that would use two or more, nor in the event of a customer needing to replace a broken Wiipad without buying the entire bundle twice.
The Wii U will be made available in the US on November 18, ahead of Europe and Japan. The two packages that will be available at launch include a white console with an 8GB memory and a WiiPad for $300, and a black console with 32GB of storage and a discount scheme for downloads for $350. [via Engadget]
