Nintendo has long been known for releasing crazy peripherals. Just don’t call the Wii U GamePad one of them. Not quite a tablet and not quite a controller, the Wii U GamePad is the most notable element of Nintendo’s year-old console. For almost that full year, Wii U owners in the United States have lamented the GamePad’s short battery life. That may change today.
Nintendo has released a new Wii U GamePad battery in North America that reportedly supports eight hours of continuous use. The new Wii U GamePad battery isn’t widely available at retail, though you can find it in Nintendo Stores and on Nintendo’s website. The $32 battery can be installed by end users using a screwdriver and included instructions. Installing it yourself will not void the Wii U warranty.
The new Wii U GamePad battery has a 2550mAh / 9.2 Wh capacity. Its ability to keep a charge up to eight hours is considerably higher than the three- to five-hour charge that the current Wii U GamePad battery holds.
With that said, battery time is always dependent upon several factors. For the Wii U GamePad, those factors include how the Wii U GamePad is used, its usage of wireless communications, the ambient temperature and the brightness setting of the screen.
The new high-capacity Wii U GamePad battery had previously been available in Japan and the United Kingdom.