Now if Japanese gamers break their Wii U GamePads, they won’t have to mess with refurbished models or replace the whole system. Nintendo is selling the GamePad on its own.
Though Nintendo has been selling Wiimotes and other accessories like the Wii U Pro Controller separately all along, the GamePad has been a little trickier. Since each Wii U can only pair with one GamePad at a time, extras just haven’t been available through official channels. The GamePad is crucial for playing Wii U games, even in cases where second-player options are available for the Wiimote.
The GamePad costs ¥12,800 ($104.55). Hopefully it will be coming to the U.S. sometime soon. In the meantime, there’s always eBay. This also likely means we’ll see resales of new GamePads through online retailers, which could make the GamePad replacement business more confusing than ever.
Courtney Holmes theorizes that maybe we’ll see the GamePad as an accessory to the Nintendo NX, whatever that is. Nintendo hasn’t confirmed whether such a link exists.
