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Uncategorized Thursday, June 28th 2012 at 5:55 pm

Nintendo Announces a 3DS XL Circle Pad Pro

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If you were wondering why in the world Nintendo decided to release a Nintendo 3DS XL instead of a better designed standard 3DS — similar to how the original Nintendo DS was redesigned to the far superior Nintendo DS Lite — no one, probably not even Nintendo, knows the answer to that. However, one of the first questions that arose with the announcement of the 3DS XL was what would happen to the Circle Pad Pro since it doesn’t fit the 3DS XL. Well, Nintendo has you covered, as they announced a Circle Pad Pro XL.

In a recent article in Famitsu, Nintendo said they’ll be releasing the Circle Pad Pro peripheral for the 3DS XL sometime later this year, making the 3DS XL something more like the 3DS XXL. This, of course, is good news for people who plan to grab a 3DS XL and still want that sweet, sweet dual thumbstick control scheme.

Of course, the 3DS XL isn’t even out yet, and the Circle Pad Pro XL (unofficially named) has already been announced. It makes you wonder why the 3DS XL didn’t receive a built-in second circle pad, especially considering the 3DS XL is enormous to begin with, and the Circle Pad Pro attachment is going to make that thing a size akin to a small netbook. I would speculate that not only is the Circle Pad Pro XL route cheaper than sticking a new circle pad inside the 3DS XL. Also, the 3DS XL would then be considered the superior unit to the 3DS, even though the enormous size shoves it into a niche market, and regular 3DS adopters would certainly feel left out of the second circle pad goodness.

Whatever the reason Nintendo went with the Circle Pad Pro XL peripheral route, it’s nice to see that they didn’t immediately give up on the thing, an abomination though it may be. There’s no word on an exact release date or price as of yet, but we’ll keep you informed whenever those things are made known.

(via Andriasang)

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  • Jack Bond

    Wow… really? Nobody’s going to develop games for this because nobody’s going to waste their money on it anyway. It’s not ergonomic. It was way too big on the 3DS… the 3DS XL was way too big… We’re now combining two things that are way too big and way not useful enough. What is this crap?

  • http://mystady.com/ MY STADY — mystady.com

    You say that as if the original circle pad pro suddenly vanished from existence.

  • Unknown

    okay first i would like to say the screen is about 93% bigger making it amazing… the batery life is nearly dubbled and i think its worth another 50Euros extra then the normal 3ds (ps the price will be 200 Euro  and is comming out= 27 july 2012 so i would like to buy one…

  • codeferret

     Personally I have huge hands. Even with the Circle Pad Pro now, the device makes my hands cramp really easily. I eagerly look forward to getting the XL versions.

  • Zygsplatz

    …. and then there’s the option (and room for) a 2nd circle pad plus the standard buttons. That way the current 3DS users wouldn’t have a new system to buy and game developers could create new games that would do really well with two circular pads. For a little more money Nintendo could’ve made a lot more money. The terrible cameras, the ugly colors, no charger for the European and Asian communities, the screen resolution…. All if improved would have made this system an incredible experience that people would pay extra for. Instead, decisions were made at Nintendo that show that they are losing touch with their customer base (decisions that quite frankly are dishonorable), and they are going to have to fight hard to earn back our trust. One has to seriously wonder what they were thinking.

  • Ncarothe1

    I won’t buy the 3ds XL until the Circle Pad Pro XL is released…  The original circle pad pro is a must have for certain great games such as the new 3ds Resident Evil, which BTW best game to date in the RE series.  It handles like an xbox 360 shooter with the circle pad pro, you can move AND shoot!  Talk about innovative.  Also people forget the circle pad pro adds two more trigger buttons and is more comfortable to hold than the 3ds.  To bad it doesn’t have rumble… everyone would get it.

  • captainr9k

     Well, to be honest with you, compared to the Vita, the 3DS is a much better hand held gaming system in terms of being able to upgrade memory (without spending a whole bunch of money) and battery life without unnecessary features.

    Think about it.

    VITA:
    3 hours of battery life (no way to extend that, by the way)
    Crossplay games require you to buy a Vita version of a PS3 game
    Titles available through Playstation Network (Landlocked to account origin)
    Proprietary everything
    Back touch pad (makes it impossible to extend battery life)

    3DS:
    Rechargable battery packs (on top of several more hours of play time)
    Titles available on Nintendo eShop (Not sure if landlocked)
    Upgradable memory
    3D (Not stereoscopic, but smooth multi-plane)
    Proprietary charger

    These are the two biggest hand held gaming systems on the market, and the 3DS is a cheaper option with more play time, more options, and, in my opinion, more fun titles.

    Nintendo is now backing all games released for their devices, and although I am admittedly partial to Nintendo, I still feel that this is the best option for hand held gaming. The XL is an option I didn’t have when I bought my 3DS, but I would have gotten it. The adults that purchase this system know what games are available, already have a strong bias toward them, and purchase the system with the intention of carrying it with them to play when they have down time or for specific titles Nintendo will be releasing (I bought mine to play Legend of Zelda 3DS.)

    You can’t do that with the Vita, and you sure can’t find this kind of gameplay on any app market for any cell phone.

    In summary, if you’re not happy with the fun, affordable gameplay Nintendo has to offer, maybe it’s because you’ve won the lottery and can AFFORD all of Sony’s stuff. Maybe.

  • John Jack Johnson

    Your right I’m holding off until the circle pad is released for it, I have the circle pad for my 3DS and its fun I’m not going back to using buttons for camera controls in metal hear 3d and resi revelations .