Do we know for sure that this doesn't support off-tv play? That's what it seemed like on the quick look, but that is just silly. Anyone know for sure?

@Laxaloot said:

Do we know for sure that this doesn't support off-tv play? That's what it seemed like on the quick look, but that is just silly. Anyone know for sure?

They haven't said anything definite about that. Just that it "let's you select your characters on the fly" ... weirdly they never say whether or not that's supported or not and I find it odd that Patrick didn't think to ask about it after having praised just that feature on this week's bombcast.

I guess we'll just have to wait one more day and check out the demo (there'll be a demo out tomorrow on the eShop!).

But seriously, it's one of the simplest features to implement. If it's not in there, it's really sad.

@DeF: Interesting. I suppose I can wait another day haha

This Joystiq article suggests to me that it really will only be for character/camera-switching. Remo doesn't directly state that there will not be off-TV play, but I imagine he would've said so when directly asked about Wii U-specific features.

@Doskias: That.... is. Ridiculous. :( I was planning on buying on Wii U specifically for that feature. Now I just don't know.

I want another game on my Wii U to play. So I guess that helps my purchase.

Also from the article. " there's nothing going on that is not up to par with the other next-gen systems" .. .. so. Not only are they calling Wii U the same gen as the xbox 360/ps3, but they are calling the xbox 360/ps3 "next gen systems" .... I forgot after 2012 we go back to the year 2007.

@Laxaloot: At this point, it's nothing but pure habit to call ps360 "next gen systems" collectively. No point in getting hung up about it.

So many people want the off-tv play for so many games and I think they are going to be sorely disappointed.

@Laxaloot: To be fair, there is nothing "next gen" about the Wii U except its release date. That's not to say it's a bad system in any way, but its specs and capabilities are firmly planted in the current generation of hardware. I think of the Wii U as the last console released this generation.

@Kerned: I don't know about firmly planted. It does have improvements that make it more powerful than the ps3/xbox 360. (double RAM, better video card, etc.), but yeah I was more frustrated with the fact that developers still talk about xbox 360/ps3 as "next gen". Though @DeF gave a good point. I guess it is just a terrible habit people have now. Will they call the new systems "next-next-gen" or something now?

@Kerned said:

@Laxaloot: To be fair, there is nothing "next gen" about the Wii U except its release date. That's not to say it's a bad system in any way, but its specs and capabilities are firmly planted in the current generation of hardware. I think of the Wii U as the last console released this generation.

This honestly sounds like you've been reading too many of the media's hearsay impressions of the system's capabilities. The Wii U is "next-gen" in the way that its using completely different and more modern hardware architecture that is also being used in the next PS and Xbox systems if those recent leaks are any indication. I don't wanna get into specs-wars here, I just want to point out that you shouldn't be so base you opinion on what the gaming press says when they are notoriously bad at fact checking stuff like that most of the time. TL;DR - The system is much more next-gen then it gets credit for. It will certainly not give the other machines a run for their money but it's not a Wii vs HDTwins situation this time.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=508898

Info blast section here suggests that there will be NO off-screen play. The gamepad will be used solely for character swapping and camera focus. I was really hoping it'd have off-screen but since it doesn't, I'll prolly end up picking this up for my computer. I've heard reports of frame rate issues on the 360.

Streaming the display information from the game to the gamepad is trivial on the WiiU and it's a damn shame that smaller games like this don't utilize that feature. Especially so when the gamepad is used for such meaningless crap. An entire touch screen for the purpose of swapping characters. . . C'mon Ron, WTH. . .

@SniperXan said:

lol @ Nintendo fans thinking that the WiiU is anything but current gen. They are a generation behind and that's fine. Nintendo does things different and that is okay people, but don't live in a dream world where the WiiU plays in the same league as whatever the new Microsoft/Sony hardware is this year.

Feel free to address me directly. You should also read the post more carefully and stop talking down to me. Some research that goes beyond looking at the largest number would also be a good move.

@Fobwashed: That is a huge bummer.

Now that I'm playing the game on my Wii U, I can confirm with certainty that the gamepad's touchscreen is only used for character switching. Which is kind of disappointing if you're only going to play the game single-player.

The game itself is pretty rad, though. I'm having a lot of fun with it.