In a day and age where multi-touch tablets and phones have become the standard, it's a bit puzzling as to why Nintendo has decided opt out of including the functionality in the Wii U GamePad. According to Reggie Fils-Aime, the feature isn't necessary, as there is enough going on with the controller already.
The Nintendo of America head shared his thoughts on the company's new controller with Kotaku, saying that they "envision this as a controller that you’re putting in your hands and you’re doing a two-screen experience. The concept of putting it in your lap to do multi-touch for us just feels unwieldy.”
“When we went through the building of this and, given some of the functionality, we thought that single-touch was a more appropriate option, especially when you’ve got other button configurations,” he added.
As much as I hate to admit it, the man does make a valid point. Let's just hope this doesn't end up limiting the controller's potential, because I don't want to have to replace my Wii U GamePad with a Wii U GamePad Plus in a couple of years.