Donkey Kong Country Doesn’t Use Wii U’s GamePad

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze does not make use of the Wii U's GamePad, Eurogamer reports. 

The game does allow for off-TV play which means players will be able to move the action onto the GamePad and continue to play but during normal gameplay the screen will simply remain blank. 

Nintendo World Report first revealed the absence of GamePad functionality. The site's Daan Koopman wrote:  

"If you are playing on the television, the touchscreen will have nothing displayed on it and it stays blank the entire time. There are no options to quickly select levels or see simple information displayed."

Many key Wii U titles can be played without the GamePad. Super Mario 3D World only utilised the controller in select levels while Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, and Zelda: Wind Waker could be played with either the traditional Pro Controller or Wii Remote. 

Mario Kart 8, which is the next major title for Wii U after Tropical Freeze, uses the GamePad for a map while pressing it will let you sound your horn. 

The Wii U has struggled since release in November, 2012 and Nintendo now predicts the console to sell just 2.8 million units this year down from original projections of nine million. As a result of the company's losses, the board of Nintendo, including CEO Satoru Iwata, have taken a 50 per cent pay cut.