Seems like you don't need the gamepad anymore...

I'm not sure if this happened in the last WiiU update but now you can navigate most of the menus (haven't checked the Eshop yet) with the WiiMote. You can now even select a profile with just the WiiMote. I'll have to check the Eshop to see if it is WiiMote compatible as well.

I remember having a conversation on here about this a while back and I just felt compelled to try it out recently and it worked.

You can now turn on the system and start a game with no need for a gamepad.

Oh no...

signs that Nintendo is gonna drop the gamepad? O_O!!! *tinfoil hat* ...OH NO!! :P

ermahgadz its the 2ombDS all overz again

you could always use the wiimote nini...lol

to turn it on and to navigate the menu or miiverse.

They better not drop the gamepad!

they would do me a big favor if i could leave that gamepad alone, but you still have to use it for the eshop and the settings.

Give me your Gamepad then?

Yeah, this has been the case since the beginning. It's not a sign of anything.

In the conversation a few months ago, someone stated that you couldn't select your profile with the wiimote (I forgot who it was) but I just checked it out and you can now so you can access most features with just the WiiMote now which is good.

I just never tried it until now lol

Too bad even doing that would only serve as a backup controller in your possession since nothing out there uses 2 Gamepads at once

I am in the same boat but it sucks that we are only turning our U's on to check out new system features rather than playing games lol. I doubt they will drop the pad, but it seems that it won't be any more special than the DS's touch screen so far. Idk.

Yep very true and this was a big mistake on Nintendo's part by releasing the console with only one gamepad capability.

Good, more flexibility the better. Let me reroute another tv input into the GamePad while something else is on the TV, then I would be a happy camper.

Now, you still can't navigate certain things with the Wii U pro and the gamepad still has to be on at all times (you can turn the screen off though thankfully). The gamepad is an important part of the console, but you don't have to use it much if you don't want. If you just turn the console on to play a game with the Wii U pro, you can turn the screen on the gamepad off with that and start playing, you don't even have to touch the gamepad.

Lol. A feature that's been there since day 1.

I think the update to be able to navigate everything using the Wii remote was a month or more ago.

I don't get why they don't just pull their heads out of their bums and come up with some games that take advantage of the gamepad in a way that makes people want to use it instead of the Wiimote.....

I was able to select a profile with the wiimote prior to the last update. The more control options, the better.