The GamePad can still play Mario when I go to the far end of the living room, meaning, I can give up the TV to my wife, plug headphones into the GamePad and continue playing a Wii U console game at the other end of the room, while she's using the TV. This is a very good thing.
The GamePad can still play Mario when I go into the bedroom and lie on my bed, which means that I can stay up late, in the dark, playing a Wii U console game. I can also leave the GamePad on my nightstand, power it and the Wii U on with a press of the GamePad's power switch and start playing my console in the morning—without getting out of bed. Note: this may have a radical effect on my ability to play Call of Duty: Black Ops II multiplayer at strange hours.
The GamePad cannot still play Mario when I'm in my bathroom. Hell, it can't even reach my bathroom. The signal fails when I begin to walk down the hallway. I can't even get past the coat closet let alone to the door that follows, which leads into my bathroom. Thus: the Wii U will have to wait when it's time for me to go to the restroom.
