3DS Second Circle Pad Formally Announced

Hopefully this will be an optional controller for those titles announced and not mandatory.
At £12 I would probably give it a go but I would hate to think that it would be essential for those games.

Man.. after the way the internet freaked out over those Fanmitsu images, this surprisingly low price, the fact that it won't drain the 3DS's batteries, and that a ton of games that were announced long ago will support it, seem like good, non-continued-freak-out-worthy news to me.

Considering there is already a working demo of RE: Revelations showcasing a control scheme without a second circle pad, I'd say chances are pretty good it will be an optional extra and not mandatory, more like the Wii classic controller.

I'm actually willing to give it a chance. It might turn out to be pretty beneficial for Nintendo in trying to lure more third party developers to bring more games to the 3DS and to give us gamers more and hopefully better control options. I just hope that it is comfortable to play and that it remains optional, not mandatory to play certain games. I would also like to see Nintendo utilize this accessory in the upcoming Kid Icarus game.

I hope this will be only one of many control options for that games, as a Nintendo collector I will surely end up buying this if this is first party developed hardware, but I dont see myself actually using this asymetric crap, not only will it make my 3DS look like it grew a tumor, but will also be uncomfortable to play and to stay on 3D sweet spot. To top it off I'd have to buy a separate battery which will have me worrying about 2 battery lives at a time, I dont know if I want lo laugh about this epic fail, or cry because it is Nintendo's failure, an epic one IMO.

Explains the delays.

WoNkY

Well, it's probably a control option, so I see no problem here. I might even get that, but I wonder - why Nintendo didn't put a second circle pad on their handheld in the first place? It's not good to add such an accessory half a year after the console comes out.

Oh, yeah, it's also good that the thing has it's own power supply. I think I still have a pair of spare Ni-MH rechargable AAA's somewhere.

1 AAA battery?...It better not suck it dry in minutes...

I absolutely hate it.
Now that it's official, I almost would have preferred a revision instead of it. I hate it so much.

A second circle pad from the outset would have been preferable, and yes it does look monumentally stupid, but as an extra control option it can only be a good thing even if its existence makes a future 3DS redesign even more inevitable.

On the plus side, now I won't have to buy a PSVita should I ever have the desire to play FPS's on the toilet.

It still looks awful, uncomfortable and is only going to split the user base. It may not be a requirement, but why are so many games supporting it? Well I'll answer that myself: because they essentially need it, and it should have been there in the first place.

It may not literally be a requirement, but I'm guessing we'll be stuck with terrible controls if you don't use it.

looks better than that previous image

Bit concerned about the AAA battery thingo. Better last a long time.

Zero Nintendo games supporting it yet, then. Good. Let's keep it that way, or bring out a revision.

"looks better than that previous image"

It's the exact same image, only not scanned.

Hmm...I just might get this. It doesn't look slick, but maybe it feels good. I don't care about AAA batteries, because they are so cheap.

Im a huge fan of the Ace Combat series but I hope the game cam be played without this... abomination. No way I'm gonna fit that in my pocket.

Can we still use the 3ds docking station with this????

Well it's maybe not as bad as it first appeared, since it seems this is an optional peripheral that can be used with certain games but those games will also have control layouts that work without it (or that's what I'm getting), but it really probably shouldn't have existed in the first place and it just serves to highlight the fact that Nintendo probably should have had the extra stick on the 3DS from day one. It also looks a little bit better in this official pick than it looked in previous images http://www.andriasang.com/blog/2011/09/13/3ds_slide_pad_pic/images/2132460699_full.jpg

I'll still buy it. Just to try it out. But as everyone else is saying, I hope that battery will not run out real quickly. And also does anyone know anything about if it actually has anything built in other than just the circle pad? Is it another trigger in the back or dual triggers?

Honestly, I have to try this thing personally to have any idea how it will feel.
The 3DS is actually pretty small, but the picture above makes it look as if I would have to dislocate my thumb to reach the buttons.
If I do end up getting the attachment, I will wait as long as possible before getting a revised 3DS.

IT USES BATTERIES?!?!... awww...

@LittleFuryThing That's my concern as well, as someone with small hands.. I'm not sure how you're supposed to be able to use the new circle pad and still be able to reach the face buttons.

The screen being completely lop-sided with the thing attached doesn't help either. This is just an awful looking little peripheral that obviously only exists so early adopters don't throw a rage when we see the revised model in a few months.

I can't see it being particularly comfortable reaching the face buttons over the damn thing, either.

They should just call it a day, recall the 3DS and have another crack at it, lol. There's been so many little updates it's going to only be available in patchwork soon

Wow, that's a cheap price. Thankfully none of the games it's compatible for I really want.

But the other way to control cameras by pressing the touchscreen guarantees that you will be off the sweet 3D spot most of the time, as that type of movement will always tend to keep moving the console. The second analog avoids this problem. This device, ugly or not, tries to solve a quite noticeable design problem. What I really really dislike is the requirement of an AAA battery there and the fact that this second analog seems to be the same crap as the default one, so I will have my thumb slidding out of it most of the time, I cannot believe they have not changed this for this second design opportunity.

its a bit like bringing out a new car.and then selling a metal bar to the people that bought 1.so they can attach the 4th wheel.i will get one and most of those games though

I can't believe how people are now panicking about the life of an AAA battery. You can pick up 6 for £1, hardly going to break the bank is it?

As for battery life, 2 AA batteries last 20 hours plus in a Wii remote, and most of the power drain is because of the wireless/bluetooth functionality. I'd expect an AAA battery powering one analogue pad and two extra shoulder buttons to last over 50 hours minimum.

As for giving everyone a redesigned 3DS, it would cost several billion pounds/dollars to do so, enough to bankrupt Nintendo. Thats why there will be no rush to launch a 3DS 'Lite' until at least the end of 2012, or Q1 2013 (i.e. the same timescale as the DS/DS Lite).

My concern now is whether they will release an Aqua Blue version for people with said colour 3DS. :S

Major third party support already, don't say I didn't call this one. This peripheral will have the most impact of any ever designed for a Nintendo console - in a good way.

When I saw that Namco Bandai is using the peripheral for Ace Combat 3D, my fears became cheers!

Still looks pretty bulky to me, but I have RE:M and I'm thinking about getting half of those games. Definitely on maybe list.

There is know way I'm buying that ugly hunk of plastic.

Why didn't they put a second stick on the 3DS in the first place? This is a classic case of Nintendo ignoring 3rd parties and then paying the consequences.

Saying that, I would probably buy a new version of the 3DS, how it was supposed to be, with 2 sticks. The current 3DS has bad build quality, if they rectified that as well, then I would definately buy it.

/shakes fist at Nintendo angrily

Yawn......

@megablast I doubt the Docking Station will work with this, but I guess it's possible that it could somehow fit.

The extra grip space on the left side of the 3DS with the peripheral installed might actually make it easier to use the D-pad too!

Nintendo 2011 = Sega 1995

3DS looks like Game Gear with 32x hanging of the side.

I laugh but then I cry.

what about the people who put a nyko power pak on there 3ds?
i kept my original 3ds battery but i spent 30 dollars to have nothing?

I don't want this thing constantly affixed to my 3DS — I like that the unit is compact and can comfortably fit in my pocket. Nor do I want to have to carry it around in my bag. Horrible oversight by Nintendo.

@32 That's the spirit!

Haters gonna hate. :]

Is it optional? That's what I want to know. If so, then NO, won't buy it.

That has got to be the most awful-looking, convoluted, piece-of-crap accessory that I think I've ever seen.

All any developer ever uses the right analog stick for, is to rotate the camera angle, which doesn't need to be that precise — this function can easily be mapped to the mostly neglected and unused digital pad. Besides, Nintendo provided the Classic controller for Wii, which came with two analog sticks, and hardly any developers ever utilized it.

Besides, why not just use the touchpad as an auxillary analog input for camera/viewpoint control, like Mario 64 DS did? Tons of DS games used it for supplementary buttons and the like. Developers are too dang lazy to improvise and use the tools [touch screen] already at their disposal.

The 3DS is a fine product. If Nintendo keeps screwing around and releasing supplementary handheld console upgrades every two years (DS -> DS Lite -> DSi -> DSi xL -> 3DS -> 3DS Pro, dual analog?) people will lose faith in the Nintendo brand, and Nintendo will soon find themselves in a similar predicament to Sega's Console division circa 2000.

...That looks stupid .

well, i dont think it looks that bad, but it could have been better. but iits kinda growing on me, looks better than the magazine scans. plus, kind of excited about this. it was really necesary, and only using 1 battery is also a plus. however i think it should have had a internal recharchable battery that the 3ds itself can also draw power from

Let's be positive people. 3DS just had a great conference!!

This piece of junk means:
3ds heavier
3ds bigger
3ds asymmetric

Why BigN didn,t add the 2nd circle pad At the begining???
First, the price drop and now this......

Patience..... Patience...... Patience

This to me seems like a wasted opportunity to do something about the battery life. Monster Hunter, big epic game, 3DS pretty poor battery life, big plastic cradle for 3 extra buttons and a circle pad... Why not incorporate an improved battery similar to those released by nyko into this? Then it might be something all 3ds owners might be interested in, not just those playing MH.

i hope it's not required...i'll buy it if i can't play metal gear solid, resident evil and kingdom hearts without it. But I won't be happy about it.

Well, I would've preferred it to have a chargeable battery extension within it, but considering its low price and that there seems to be a fair amount of support for the thing, it'll be hard not to get. This is also great news for battery makers, obviously.

While I can understand where people are coming from about wishing the 3DS had this to begin with, I can't help but think it would have been horribly uncomfortable if it had. As someone with big hands, I actually kind of like that this makes the system a bit larger. Also, I really don't think it will be too difficult to reach the face buttons with this attachment.

It's just a Classic Controller for the 3DS, and one that will surely remain optional at that. If you prefer to have the big-grip, traditional controller feel and are playing at home, it's an option. If not, or if you're on the go, every one of these games will have touch or gyro controls to use instead.

I just want Monster Hunter......like, now

I hope not many games will support it and it goes away as quickly as all Nintendo peripherals. 3DS just DOESN'T need it.

I mean Resi....Resi is fine! Leave it alone.

So, wait, the second pads are just compatible, or NEEDED?

@MetalMario: It can't be needed since the Resi demo without it was just fine!

Nintendo finally found a way to make the 3DS Phat as "phat" as the original DS Phat. Every time someone shows an image of the original DS, we all just laugh at its ugliness. The same will happen to the original 3DS. After six years, when we probably have a third 3DS revision, everyone will post pics of the original 3DS with this monstrosity, and we're all gonna have a good laugh.

Even when they announce the inevitable revision, I'll stick with my original model, just like I did with the DS Phat. It's not like all the future games will rely on this peripheral, so I'll just take it off when I'm playing games that don't support it. As long as it isn't as heavy as the DS Phat, I'm fine. I swear, that thing gave hand- and wrist cramps with its insane bulk...

It's separately charged? Hmmm. Still, from that last of game, I'm probably getting MGS. Will probably get this.

So we'll finally get something AAA for our 3DS's. Even if it's just a battery ...

@Stardust Mario 64 DS's camera controls were ABSOLUTE CRAP, same as every other 3d, open-area game on the DS. Why some people are hoping they stick to the same method for the 3DS is beyond me.

Sure the add-on is cheap, ugly and shouldn't have to exist (what a moronic oversight). But the more games that use it, the better, as it bodes well for future games on the system. And it's only a temporary thing until the redesign next year, remember.

Any idiot from the Offset hearing about the Specs for the 3DS was asking 'WHERE IN THE HELL IS THE 2ND ANALOGUE STICK' and this had been Mandatory for playing games for many years now, the 3DS has just been one BIG cock up from beginning to launch to eshop to price etc and now this Hideous thing, thing is alot of games will probably play better with the 2nd stick so you will be kinda forced into the extra weight and size to get the most out the game, what they need to do is release a 3DS mk 2 that obviously has this already built in but also has a bigger screen and better battery life.

Finally! A use for all those dang AAA batteries I've been accumulating!

well, compatibility doesnt mean essential, im glad.
and around 15 dollars is much less than i thought it would.

still, i wont be buying this unless i feel the game REALLY needs, or controls are satisfying at all. i doubt it will.

Okay, i'll try to be a bit more serious this time.
I was very glad when the expansion wasn't shown during the conference or the following ads this morning. I guess i had the tiny glimmer of hope that they were only testing the waters with the Famitsu article.
Then i read the news and saw how many titles will initially support it. I'd say this most likely confirms a revision somewhen in 2012. I guess i'll see how well these games control without it. If i can imagine them being better with a second analogue i might think about buying it or maybe get the revision depending on what else it brings to table.

I hope that Kid Icarus is being delayed so it can gain compatibility with a 2nd analogue stick. & I hope that the next 3DS revision includes the 2nd circle pad welded to the body somehow, might convince me to buy a 3DS finally, though the PSVita looks pretty good, & cheap too.

Huh, with those games support, it seems future top tier one will probably support it too. And with the other game announcements, it got a little more likely that I'll get the first 3DS revision.

I'm pretty sure that this is completely optional. Like I said in other articles here, this really looks like something that's meant to be used at home, so you don't have to carry it around. And also making it useful as a Wii U controller. If the 3DS redesign includes a second circle pad, it better also have ZR and ZL buttons, because everyone keeps overlooking those buttons on this thing! And those buttons, not just the circle pad, will make the 3DS Wii U compatible. Not to mention the grips will make it feel more like a controller.

Huh, the furor over this thing has seemed to die down, which is a good thing. Looks silly at first blush, but as people are saying, this is an option — you don't like it, you don't buy it. If it came bundled with a game, I might use it on occasion. Either way, I'm not too concerned. Paper Mario and Fire Emblem look awwwesome...

It makes me sad, that's all. I held out hope for 10 months that Nintendo would add a second circle pad. They didn't and now they look like a joke. Seriously, this system should easily be able to trump the PSV, but now it looks like Nintendo is trying to play catch-up. Add that up with the price-drop and the redesign that will surely be shown off at E3 2013 (or 12) and I feel even more screwed over for buying my girlfriend one at launch for her birthday.

Hey if Kingdom hearts and RE: Revelations are using it I might just pick it up.

I don't like it. I mean why not focus all that energy on the Wii U? The DS got by without an analog pad and the N64 did with just one. The good thing is that it's not mandatory but sheesh if I wanted something that big I'd get an original Xbox controller.

The AAA battery idea is dumb, they should add another 3DS battery inside of it so that it has double battery life!

This a completely unnessary piece of garbage. I hope it goes the way of R.O.B.

I think I'll wait until a 3rd party makes a more balanced version of this. I like the idea of something to make the 3DS feel more comfortable (I wish Nintendo would quit with the square edges) and I have felt from the beginning that the 3DS should've had a second analog, but I'd like the peripheral to be more balanced (it looks lopsided and goofy as is).

I also dislike the AAA battery. That's just annoying.

@TheDarkness I'd wait to call it that until you try to tie your fingers into a knot when playing Kid Icarus with the stylus.

And the AAA battery is probably necessary to make communication between the "cradle" and the 3DS possible in the first place. The 3DS has no USB-ports where this can simply plug in, so they're most likely using the IR port somehow.

This expansion is not on my wish list along with these games.

@Burny: They haven't actually confirmed that this expansion will work with Kid Icarus.

Compatible... or required?

BOO!

@uel: I know. They'll hardly tell left handed people to just live with it though. Now that the addon is there and the most obvious games (MH, MGS, RE) are confirmed to support it, the Kid Icarus devs will hardly stick their heads in the sand and go "LALALALA".

I do like how everybody is shooting it down without even giving it a shot first. I admit it looks pretty stupid, but I'm more concerned with how it feels.
_{needing a battery is BS though}

@28 So what? Dual analog controls suck compared to motion controls. It's worth losing the sweetspot occansionally to use gyroscope (not touchscreen like you said) turning rather than with a second analog stick.

As for camera control in 3D environments, just make the camera follow the character over-the-shoulder with minor manual adjustments (or to look around) made with either the D-Pad or L/R + Existing Circle Pad.

Anyway, PLEASE don't make this required for Ace Combat. I can play the GameCube Rogue Squadron games and eventually StarFox 64 3D with just one stick, so why not Ace Combat?

What?! We need a battery? That's a major bugger.

Looks weird, I dont like the fact that the screen would now be a bit to the left while playing - not that I expect any of the games I would be interested in playing on the 3DS would benefit much from this.

Good for those who want to play Monster Hunter or FPS games on 3DS though.

Don't mind, price is good. Don't mind the one AAA battery. My only concern is the placement of the second stick and the four action buttons. I'm afraid switchin between them isn't really working well.

That is one ugly attachment... Do I have to sit "left-justified" as well? Did it really matter than much that the 2nd analog was flat-flush with the base of the 3DS? Like some people have mentioned, just have a little wrap-around that put a 2nd stick right in that empty void beneath the A, B, X, and Y buttons, done. I just KNOW the creator of the 3DS had NOTHING to do with this design or did he........?

It looks ugly and uncomfortable but if the controls for some games are much better with this then I might get it. Really, a second circle pad should've been on the 3DS from the start.

If I ever buy a 3DS before the probably revision with an extra slider, I'll be getting this right along with it. Not so much for the extra pad, but for the extra padDING that will probably make holding the little device much more comfortable for my hands.

Have to admit I had written this system off, but that Super Mario 3D Land has got me rethinking a bit.

What great news for me as an early adapter. Nintendo should have stuck another slider before they even launched it. It's almost like they are only going for the money now.

It needs a AAA battery!? That thing gets lamer every day.

It's been confirmed in Japan for Dec. 10? I'm happy that Metal Gear Solid 3D will be using this (phew, no PSP controls), but I question when exactly the U.S. release will be. If MGS3 doesn't get pushed back it's going to come out before the peripheral. I'm not playing MGS3 without a 2nd analog.

pretty cool but i believe that i might decrease the sales if its a requirement for those games

Still ugly.

@BulbasaurusRex, gyros are a total useless nintendo-typical gimicking crap. Do you really think that's the way to control the camera with a handheld? To keep turning the console all around? Sorry, if I relax in my sofa playing something I dont want to keep contortioning the device in order to look here or there. And, of course, this also guanrantees that the also useless and annoying 3D effect is gone (nothing that I do really care about BTW).

Tacky and ugly. Next!

Captain Hindsight: "The 3DS should have had two analog sticks from the start!"

im not exactly fond on the attachment requiring a battery which i dont really use anymore since i do rechargable ones to try and be green for the planet

but i think i'll just wait for the revision instead of buying the attachment

Sure it's ugly but I bet it feels comfortable just like my ugly shoes... and really old underwear...

@Mandoble: The only 3DS game I played was Zelda, and the gyroscope controls worked very well. It was much easier than using the stick.

Ew.

@SoulSilverIV - I'm with you on that, it had better be blue, though I might just skip it, of course kingdom hearts will tell me yes or no first

@98 I think most people (other than the extreme fanboys) felt that the 3DS needed this before it came out (I know I did). Furthermore, part of Nintendo's job is to have the foresight to include some of these things (not to mention the foresight to actually release games when they release a console instead of releasing lame ports and making us wait 3 months for one decent port). Nintendo should've learned from the original DS launch (which was so lacking that I bought Yoshi's Touch & Go just to have something other than Mario 64 to play). This lack of foresight is why the leadership at Nintendo took the big pay cuts.

It's not a bad idea to include technology that isn't absolutely necessary on a new console. On the original DS they included a touchscreen, which wasn't really necessary (after all we'd been gaming without a touchscreen for over two decades), but proved to be both incredibly useful to both developers and fun for gamers.

As another example, they included both gyroscopic controls and a 3D screen even though you can't realistically use both at the same time. Why did they include both? My theory is that they did it to give developers more options when dealing with the hardware, similar to both the Wii's plethora of control options, and the DS's touchscreen. They certainly left enough space on the 3DS to include another slider, so I'm puzzled as to why they didn't include one.

@105 Yeah I guess you're right about that.

It looks poorly made to be honest. But for that low a price? Guess I can give it a shot.

I'm in if it's less than $20.

Well it looks I'm going to be getting one of these.

when it says compatible, do you need it?

@BulbasaurusRex Ace Combat 3D is the one game that absolutely needs the second analog stick. Sure, it can be played without it, as I own the PSP versions of the game, but the second analog stick adds so much more user control with the ability to pitch and yaw as you wish without the need for assist, and not to mention the ability to see what's around you too. I like all my flight games set on Simulation settings, so yeah, one analog stick flight games are fun, but add the second analog stick and they've got the potential for greatness!

No, and um NO . . . thank you.

OH MAI GAWSH! IT'S UGLEH!!!1!!1

Just kidding. I still think this beast is unnecessarily large, but I'll have to play with it first before I diss it. I must say that in this quality, it looks a bit sleeker.

I just.. what the hell is going on here? It's like Nintendo has made it as ugly as possible, just so you'll feel obliged to buy the upcoming 3DS Lite..

So, so lame..

@Slapshot I completely agree... Ace combat is a game that benefits greatly from Dual analog... though it might not be so bad with gyro controls... it will be nice to have both options available... i just hope developers dont take the lazy way out and make everything dual analog... I hate FPS in dual analog and ... I hate 3rd person games with dual analog FPS controls... (warhammer... ) whats wrong with walking normal why does every freaking game nowadays have to have FPS style controls... even if its 3rd person?... i don't get it... but i completely agree with you on ace combat

Having thought about it, I guess I'll give it a try but I still can't get over the rudimentary design of the thing.Seriously, it's like the first thing you would draw when faced with that challenge.Then you would slowly make it sleeker ,more ergonomic etc. None of that is in evidence here. Just get it made and slap it on.Mental.
Another concern I have is if I get used to playing certain games with the 2nd slider that will kinda rule out me playing them in public.(no way am I gettin' that out on the bus!! ). Ah well ,we'll see I suppose.

This will be great. and it's only 15 bucks. It might even come free with it. btw Kid Icarus needs it.

I have to agree with StarDust on several points. My question is, why did Nintendo rush the device to launch with lack of software support, when clearly they could have held back and developed the system further? Now, instead of a complete hand held gaming system, there is need to buy an add-on that runs on batteries?! I would bet money that within 6 months, Nintendo announces the "new" 3DS with 2 circle pads and the price will be back at 250 dollars. I don't see this as the essential add-on, I see this as Nintendo completely taking advantage of their name. If the 3DS had sold as big as they thought it would and the system had been out with numerous first party and third party supported games. Then a controller add-on might be nice. This is a joke!

I think it'll make it way easier to play games like that. will it make you look stupider? probably, but I usually play it in my house anyways. Kinda wish they put on a second circle pad in the original 3DS design though Woulda been more sleek and now the redesign is gonna pi*s me off cuz it'll look all shiny and sexy with two circle pads on it.

i think its great.the added size will definatley make it more comfortable to hold.also the 3ds does need a second slider.i hear people argue that it does'nt when it totally does.it seems that this has been done at the request of other games developers such as capcom, konami and nintendo themselves for kid icarus.when the people who make the games are saying it's necessary you have your answer.

I wonder if old games can be patched to work with it? That would be snazzy.

I'm the biggest hater of Dual Analog controls there is, but even I have to admit this was a stupid move on Nintendo's part. Should have just held off until the device was complete, and they could sell it with a second analog stick at a reasonable price (really, how much could that have added)? Nintendo sure does have a thick skull.

That being said, I hope that most games have well-done alternative control schemes, because I'm not picking this up. The add on is cheap, but it will still annoying split the user base.

As long as they don't release a new 3DS with a second analog built-in. I just got my 3DS, and I'll be disappointed if that happens anytime soon.

Who cares if you like it or not, it's there. Yeah, it probably should have been implemented at launch but oh well. Nintendo thought they didn't need it, they were fine with the touch screen but Third Parties pushed them. And for those of you asking "why didn't Nintendo wait to launch this, blah blah blah". They thought the Vita would be launching this year(everywhere) and they wanted a head start. Just get over it, if you don't want it DON'T BUY IT. Some games will have it required, most wont.

I've seen many screenshots of every corner and it actually looks real nice. There's also two shoulder buttons on each side, so this could potentionally allow the 3DS to be an optional controller for WiiU.

which means they clearly perceived they were going to have 0 chances to fight vs Vita, so better rush the thing, get some money and concentrate on killing the Wii. It is clear for me that these guys at Nintendo have a lot of experience in jump jump and jump games but none on strategic ones

It needs a battery? If I didn't like it before, I hate it now. Even worse is one of the games (Kingdom Hearts) is one I wanted. Better be optional.

Sweet. Gunna get one

@124: And by disappointed I mean pissed. I felt safe buying a 3DS now because I didn't think Nintendo would be so misguided as to release an entirely new 3DS now, but now I have woken up and the price drop and this add-on have me thinking differently. I might buy a new 3DS in 2013. Not in 2012.

Ugh. What is that thing?

Who has spare AAA batteries lying around, really?

@LordAndrew Anyone wo uses electronics

How come when people were guessing PSPgo would have a touch screen and two control sticks it was okay (and this is congruent, as that changes the gameplay style for the system completely) but Nintendo does the same thing and suddenly we must grab our pitch forks and riot?
I'm not saying it's perfect, it went over like a lead balloon, but come on, let's be consistent people.

It runs on its own battery? well I wish it gives the 3ds more battery life too.

is there a reason why the border of this is so big?(left and front sides)

:/ I wish this was fake.

Not buying unless there's a game the absolutely has to use this that I want.

@135: Daisaku36: Uhm, what the hell are you talking about? You try being consistent. Nintendo will probably also launch a 3DS Lite somewhere in 2012 (which would be the equivalent of the PSPGo update), but this peripheral right here has nothing to do with it. They've made an add-on that looks straight out of the 90's, sort of forcing you to buy whatever 3DS redesign they'll launch, which will of course include a nice new incorporated second analogue stick.

Here's hoping third parties will make something a lot nicer.

Good thing I don't like all of those games, but if this is made for luigi's mansion 2, I would hate nintendo.

I still don't like the look of it. Why couldn't they have included a second anologue stick from the start, but in a better looking way? That it uses a battery isn't that good either, though it's not a really big issue. 15 Pounds doesn't say me a thing! Euro's, that's what I understand! I still think there will be a new design pretty soon. Hopefully before 20 februari, but that seems unlikely. Though you never know. I need a 3DS before 20 februari because of Zelda four swords!

Well That Sucks! How am I supposed to hold the 3DS!?

With all the effort Nintendo dedicated to designing the 3DS, why release this? Sure, pretty much anything can be improved upon, but so soon and with something that could potentially split the already "small" 3DS user-base? As StarDust touched upon, Nintendo might have already done so with its DSi (to me it felt like ver. 1.5 in the DS family; sorry).

Is this peripheral an attempt at aggressively competing with the upcoming PSVita, which Poncho suggested earlier? If so, how could Nintendo, or anyone, have forgotten how the DS/DSLite/DSi/DSiXL drastically surpassed the one-analog-stick PSP in terms of sales? Did paradigms for upcoming 3DS games really change so drastically as to release what appears to be an embarrassing bandage? Maybe it's due in part to Nintendo's willingness to play nicer with 3rd parties.

After this rant, I'll wait patiently until this news comes to fruition before any ultimate conclusion. Never really used a second analog stick though, except in Luigi's Mansion, Metroid Prime and MP2 Echoes. And I guess not many people complained when Sony introduced its 'Dual Shock' for the PSX as an afterthought (unabashedly one-upping the N64's single analog). Still, buying a new controlling as apposed to buying an obtrusive peripheral that only adds a second circle pad is drastically different. However, there are 3 games I can't miss mentioned as using the "Circle Pad Pro", while hopefully optional, might convert me.

But still so many '????'

Hmmm. Maybe nintendo should gone for bigger unit with sticks. That would make the whole thing more wiiu like. The 3ds could draw on the units power, with wiiu compatability. Good for in the house, undock for on the run.