News: E3 2012 | Wii U GamePad Battery Lasts 3-5 Hours, 2.5 to Charge Page 1

E3 2012 | Wii U GamePad Battery Lasts 3-5 Hours, 2.5 to Charge

06.06.2012

E3 2012 | Wii U GamePad Battery Lasts 3-5 Hours, 2.5 to Charge on Nintendo gaming news, videos and discussion

Nintendo has posted figures on the Wii U GamePad's battery life: It'll run between three and five hours on full charge.

Nintendo's GamePad isn't any ordinary command-processing controller - aside from the conventional directional and button inputs, it boasts a camera, microphone, motion control and not forgetting a gorgeous touch screen in the centre. It's also wireless, so will run on a hefty amount of juice.

Fortunately Nintendo is including a rechargeable solution for the pad - it plugs into a dock or charging cable. Getting it from zero to full charge takes a good two and a half hours according to Nintendo.

But just how long does it last when being used?

On regular/normal settings, Nintendo's stats suggest the GamePad will run for three to five hours. It may run for longer with screen brightness and volume tweaked.

The site also confirms that players will be able to use the Wii GamePad whilst charging.

What do you think of the battery life and charge times for the Wii U GamePad controller?

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fmorel90 06.06.2012#1

That does this mean we're going back to controllers with wires?

Hawk 06.06.2012#2

Considering everything the controller does, 3-5 hours isn't that bad. As long as I am able to at least have a charging cable in while playing, I should be fine. I never roam far while playing games. Playing with a group of people in the room is distracting anyway.

Working like a fiend isn't very fun... and surprisingly isn't very fiendish either.

Phoenom 06.06.2012#3

Considering all the tech in the GamePad I'm surprised it can outlast a Vita to be honest. Plus the fact it has a charging dock unlike the Batteries of the Wii Remote, and it'll be easy enough to get a thin long USB cable for it anyway, no problem.

Echoes221 06.06.2012#4

Phoenixus said:
Considering all the tech in the GamePad I'm surprised it can outlast a Vita to be honest. Plus the fact it has a charging dock unlike the Batteries of the Wii Remote, and it'll be easy enough to get a thin long USB cable for it anyway, no problem.

The vita lasts the same if not longer though...

Monkey D Super (guest) 06.06.2012#5

Agreed. So much.

RudyC3 06.06.2012#6

You don't need to connect the gamepad to the console to charge it anyway. Any Wall-Plug to usb adapter and you're good to go (assuming you have a USB to the Nintendo format charging cable but these exist), or even a 3DS or DSi charger since it seems to use the same kind of plug.

So if you just sit next to a wall plug, you can recharge it while playing without having a long cable that runs on the floor across the room.

You can bet on bigger third party batteries to last longer anyway... which is something made impossible by the touch panel on the back of the Vita Smilie .

( Edited 06.06.2012 10:31 by RudyC3 )

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Hynaman 06.06.2012#7

To be honest like most things I have seen today by Nintendo I am not impressed!! The more I watch and keep reading about the Wii U, the more worried I am getting!This day has been such a letdown! Smilie

When in doubt....Whip it out!

Mandown 06.06.2012#8

Not a problem, the cradle looks fine.

JoshSL 06.06.2012#9

it'll probably get new models eventually.. but it is pretty mini. I wouldn't be surprised if it was mostly designed to be played from the wall.

Still, both of my 360 charge controllers are broken despite being wireless I have to leave them plugged in all the time Smilie
I'm kinda used to wired controllers I guess hrm.

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Cheesing It Up 06.06.2012#10

Yeh, so basically we're back to wired controllers. Smilie

Really I'm not a huge fan of wireless controllers anyway, but what's the point of it even being wireless if the battery lasts ~4 hours and takes ~2.5 hours to charge?

RudyC3 06.06.2012#11

SuperLink said:
Still, both of my 360 charge controllers are broken despite being wireless I have to leave them plugged in all the time

Which is why I've never been for proprietary batteries and in favour of keeping good old standard AA batteries. You can always find rechargeable AA batteries, whereas proprietary batteries, once the console is discontinued, it becomes impossible to find fresh batteries (and even brand new batteries die after a few years, even if they were never put to use). Most batteries for the original DS for example that you find in mint condition are several years old, and don't last as much as they did when they were manufactured back then...

Why so many players want console manufacturers to get rid of classic AA batteries is beyond me :/...

Cubed3 Limited Staff :: Review and Feature Writer