When the Wii U debuted in 2012, many people expected to see extra GamePads sold on the shelf alongside Wii-remotes and other accessories. That never happened because the Wii U doesn’t have any games that require more than 1 GamePad, but now it looks like Nintendo is experimenting with selling the standalone GamePad in Japan, likely as an easy way to replace broken units.
Kotaku first noticed that the Japanese Nintendo website has the GamePad listed separately for about 12,800 yen, which translates to around $104 or £70. That’s not a bad price for the Pad and depending on repair costs, it could end up being cheaper in the long run just to buy a new one from Nintendo, instead of paying to have it shipped and repaired.
There’s no word from Nintendo on whether we’ll be seeing standalone GamePads offered on their American or European sites, but given the number of emails we get in a week asking what to do about a broken GamePad, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea.
