Some good news regarding the Wii U: E3 2011: Wii U Ditches Friend Codes - Wii News at IGN

And some not so good: Gamasutra - News - Nintendo: Wii U Controllers Not Sold Separately, 3DS May Work As Controller

Yay to online that doesn't totally suck. Boo to possibly only being able to use another touchscreen controller if you have a 3DS or have a friend who happens to have one. One of the possibilities I (and a lot of other people as well) was most interested in was the potential for each player having hidden information during multiplayer games since that can open up a lot of cool gameplay and strategy options. I have to wonder how much support that sort of gameplay will see if these are the only way to have a second touch screen, assuming we even get that much in the end. There will still be online to provide those possibilities, but being able to bring something that previously existed only in LAN and online play to local multiplayer would have been cool.

I also cringe at the thought of inevitable fights breaking out over who gets to use the controller. And thinking about that also begs the question of what the hell do you do if the controller breaks? I'm sure there'd be some way to have it replaced or buy a new one through Nintendo, but I don't see that being as convenient as driving to Gamestop and buying a new one.