I was able to try out a Wii U demo unit at my GameStop today. Long story short, I was very impressed.
:) The controller itself is a tad smaller than I thought it would be, but still pretty big. I'm very surprised at the weight. It was easy to hold with one hand when touching the screen was required. The curves on the backside made it easy for your fingers to relax on the back.
;D The screen is great. Nice and clear, works great with a finger or stylus.
:) The shoulder buttons are good. They don't click, but feel responsive. It's a shame they're digital, not analog.
;D The face buttons are similar to the Classic Controller Pro's, except they don't click. Don't get me wrong, they're not mushy, they just don't have a clicky-feeling. They work great though.
:D The D-pad is the same one the both classic controllers. No complaints here!
:o For whatever reason, I love the start and select buttons. Just like all the other buttons, they don't click. They push inward with a nice, fluid motion.
;D Analog sticks are the same ones as on the Nunchuk, CC and CCP, but have more resistance. The new (to Nintendo) rounded movement feels very nice
:-\ The new click-in sticks are a little hard to push in. Somethin I'll get used to, but it's there.
:) Home, power, and tv buttons are all good. Nothing really mind blowing about them.
And that's about it. I'm glad I'll be getting mine later November, early December.
Everybody gets to test this except me? :'(
Damn Japanese Nintendo & retailers, where are the demo units?!
Yeah, I was really surprised with how light it was (in a good way). I thought it was going to feel more like holding an ipad, which would've gotten tiresome after playing for a while. Instead, the Gamepad really lends itself to the kind of gaming Nintendo is pushing. I also agree, the grips are very comfortable.
I think a lot of the more skeptical people are going to be swayed by the demo units in favor of the Wii U.
I have heard that the Screen controller is not really important to gameplay as you can map a button to do a onscreen mini screen also... So yea the controller is just a useless inspire people to buy it but if I buy one I will use the Wii U Pro Controller which looks like a 360 controller.
Where'd you hear that? That's a game-by-game thing. You can't just ignore the gamepad because one game didn't use it intuitively.
The way I see it, Nintendo knows how to do a small screen well given their practice and continued refinement (per se) of the DS. I've heard a similar thing about the screen as well as the fact that the screen controller will double up as an actual display should you not feel like using your TV.