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Prototype Wii U Gamepad I recently procured.



It's actually very different from the released version... Aside from circle pads vs analog sticks. Start and select on the bottom, no TV button, different looking buttons, different port etc.

Check it out.

UPDATE:

Finally got my Wii U out of storage... I've just been very busy lately. Finally got on to making a direct comparison to the released Gamepad and the prototype is shockingly much smaller!
 
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IFireflyl

Gold Member
ryan reynolds hd GIF
 

IFireflyl

Gold Member
I collect video games and hardware. I have over 50 consoles.

I just enjoy it and find it fun. That's why.

That's a legitimate reason, and that's actually pretty cool. I was just thinking the Wii-U was a flop, so I didn't understand why someone would want a prototype gamepad for a largely unwanted system.

You should take a picture of all your video game hardware. That would be sweet to see.
 

Soodanim

Member
Always interesting to see the different stages of the GamePad. I've not seen it this late in development before, I've only seen the super early prototypes that were two Wiimotes strapped to a screen. It looks taller than the final product, but that may just be the empty space due to the lack of NFC logo and the stick placement. How does it compare to the final product?

I am very glad they didn't go with Circle Pads on the final product, it would have been absolutely horrible.
 
Always interesting to see the different stages of the GamePad. I've not seen it this late in development before, I've only seen the super early prototypes that were two Wiimotes strapped to a screen. It looks taller than the final product, but that may just be the empty space due to the lack of NFC logo and the stick placement. How does it compare to the final product?

I am very glad they didn't go with Circle Pads on the final product, it would have been absolutely horrible.
Yes, the NFC is missing! Also, not saying they are as good as true analog sticks.... And I haven't used them on a game, but the circle pads actually feel pretty good. Better than I expected. Glad they changed though... But I do see where they were coming from.
 

Quasicat

Member
If you have a WiiU, can you connect it wirelessly to the console? I imagine that this was early enough in the development phase, and with the different ports, it had to be wired in. I would love to take a look inside and see how it is different from the retail gamepads.
 
If you have a WiiU, can you connect it wirelessly to the console? I imagine that this was early enough in the development phase, and with the different ports, it had to be wired in. I would love to take a look inside and see how it is different from the retail gamepads.
Yes, when I have some time I'm going to really put this thing through its paces and see what I can do with it. It looks like it has a proprietary port for the power which is similar to a kiosk unit or something.
 

UnNamed

Banned
I wonder if there really was a way to play with two gamepads on the WiiU as advertised in the initial release of the console. They said it was possible to buy another Gamepad individually but in fact, no game support more than one gamepad. I also want to know what hardware is included on the Gamepad since many sources said the Gamepad was very expensive, but I don't think this is true since there is no homebrew or project for the Gamepad to test ita capabilities, I don't think the hardware is in par with the Nintendo DS for example.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Legendary console will go down in history to be the first to do the two screen thing, and for the haters take a closer look at its game line up.
 

Polygonal_Sprite

Gold Member
Very interesting piece of history considering Wii U was essentially the beta version of Switch.

Where did you buy such a thing and how much did it set you back? Thanks.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I wonder if you could get a rubber casing from eBay for it. I got one for my Wii U GamePad. I’ve never bothered taking it off. It adds such a good grip to it. I don’t know if I’d like the 3DS style joysticks. I always feel like they’ll wear out someday, more so than other joystick controllers.
 

RafterXL

Member
Legendary console will go down in history to be the first to do the two screen thing, and for the haters take a closer look at its game line up.
The only thing the Wii U will be remembered for is the fact that you could hack it and download every game straight from Nintendo's servers. Nintendo re-releasing the majority of it's best games on the Switch pretty much killed any reason to care about it going forward.
 
The only thing the Wii U will be remembered for is the fact that you could hack it and download every game straight from Nintendo's servers. Nintendo re-releasing the majority of it's best games on the Switch pretty much killed any reason to care about it going forward.
Not true. Nintendo Land. It's awesome. Unlike anything else.
 


It's actually very different from the released version... Aside from circle pads vs analog sticks. Start and select on the bottom, no TV button, different looking buttons, different port etc.

Check it out.

UPDATE:

Finally got my Wii U out of storage... I've just been very busy lately. Finally got on to making a direct comparison to the released Gamepad and the prototype is shockingly much smaller!

Dark Souls Gamer GIF by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment


Epic find. Never knew they made it in black...when I saw it in demonstrations it was white
 

LakeOf9

Member
That’s pretty cool. I didn’t realize the Wii U was its own system for the longest time, I thought it was an updated Wii with a tablet controller. Interesting to see how that tablet controller evolved!
 

gundalf

Member
That’s pretty cool. I didn’t realize the Wii U was its own system for the longest time, I thought it was an updated Wii with a tablet controller. Interesting to see how that tablet controller evolved!

Yup it was not an addon but its an honest believable mistake so its all good.
 
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