There are tons of practical applications to the controller.
Menus are the most obvious, and the easiest to implement of course. The touch screen can make them a lot more interactive and customization. Yeah, there are some things that I too would prefer remaining on the tv screen (health bar, ammo) but I can also have every other HUD aspect pinned to the upad screen and just a glance away.
Hotkeys are another major benefit. Not to mention the uPad making RTS games possible on consoles without being
totally fucking annoying to play. Seriously, if Diablo III does come to consoles (and it's looking likely), the uPad alone would make the Wii U version the best console version, no matter how much more powerful the nest Xbox or Playstation would end up being.
I imagine 1:1 aiming being really fun with the controller as well. Imagine playing a Star Wars game and manning a turrent on the Millennium Falcon, with the uPad serving as your crosshairs and moving your entire body to aim
exactly as it was done in the movies.
Come on Son, those few ideas took me 3 minutes to come up with.
And the best part about the uPad is that the innovation is baked right into a traditional control setup - which in my opinion was the wiimote's biggest failing. If 3rd parties don't have the resources to devote to developing something totally unique for the uPad screen in their multiplatform games,
they can simply ignore it. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if most 3rd parties only use it in their multiplatform games to display the game logo and
maybe a few hotkeys. And hey, I'd rather have that than not getting games at all.
The uPad on its own is a great concept. My only concern has always been cost. As much as I love the idea, Nintendo
needs to prioritize having a capable all-around console over a gimmick controller this time around. The Wii U needs to be next gen and closer to what PS4/720 is going to be than PS360. But I think they know that.