One of the most annoying things about the Wii U is that you aren’t able to buy a separate gamepad on its own. This is about to change as Japan is starting to see them separately from the console itself.
As seen on the official Nintendo Japan website (scroll down), you can now buy the gamepad on its own. Â The sale of the gamepad started from November 24th, 2015. This makes it three years after the release of the Wii U console back in 2012.
The price of the gamepad is set at 12,800 yen (excluding tax). This equates to approximately $104 USD. Whether or not this is the price that will be set in other regions remains to be seen. This is very expensive if Nintendo are to sell it for that much outside of Japan too.
Aside from the price, this should come as good news for Wii U owners. This is because it’s an easier way to replace broken gamepads. Before, owners had to get their gamepads repaired by contacting Nintendo. This is a lengthy and costly process. Now you can just buy a new gamepad and you should be set.
Hopefully Nintendo sells separate Wii U gamepads in other countries soon. There are lots of owners out there that would love to get an extra/spare gamepad.
