3DS second analog stick attachment unveiled

[klausien]

I am also an early adopter and now absolutely wish I had waited. I truly love Mario, Samus, Link and the whole Nintendo crew as much as I love the Warner Bros. and Disney legacies, but the 3DS will be the last Nintendo system I purchased at its inception. I should have known better and gone with the DSi XL I was eyeing. At least it plays DS games in their native resolution.

This add-on is another money grab like the near useless Wii Motion Plus they already burned us on; Skyward Sword be damned. They will most certainly do a redesign down the line that adds the second stick; especially if it ends up being a big seller. The line they are currently towing, saying that they won't, is a great big lie. Monster Hunter is only really a factor in Japan, so the add-on honestly looks more like an attempt to fix a few of the system's flaws due the Vita more than anything else. It is also probably a stab at attracting more Western developers to the system by making the FPS genre properly playable. I know FPS games aren't huge in Japan like they are everywhere else, but you'd think they would have realized how well the first person perspective shows off the 3D screen. The genre also tops the charts in the US, which is still a very large market for the industry. It should have been a no brainer, but alas we have this. I also bet they include an extra battery in the thing too when all is said and done. It's so huge they had better!

Nintendo is losing their edge. The Wii U is just a great big trojan horse geared at getting you to spend another $250 on something that you will ultimately use mostly to play DS games on your TV. That is, if you spend the $10 on the games you already own on the Wii U VC of course. This is for when they take the backwards compatibility with the original DS cards out of the next 3DS revision of course. You know, the one with the two sticks and doubled battery life. The Game Boy and DS lines were just barely brilliant enough content-wise for one to deal with the multiple redesigns of the hardware. Now this business model is beginning to alienate both fans and developers alike. I know this lifelong fan is getting tired of getting stiffed by Nintendo.

[Patney]

I too regret my purchase of the 3DS at the moment. I've spent all day playing on it, but it was a DS game, soooo... And the only thing I want a PSVita for is a portable Demon's Souls.

[goatdan]

Before everyone goes crazy, by all appearances, this is a Capcom addition, not a Nintendo one, for a particular game. If that is true, and it is like the Guitar Hero add on thing for the DS, I have no issues whatsoever with it.

Also, for those who said it was stupid not to have the DS have two analog nubs to begin with, Nintendo loves having you use the touch screen like an analog nub, so I feel like having two on the system would be quite redundant. I don't mind it with only one at all.

[Patney]

I don't mind it too much, but every game is limited by camera because you can't directly control it usually. I mean, controlling the camera by using the touchscreen isn't exactly optimal.

[Ludwig]

How embarrassing for Nintendo. How did they get the 3DS so wrong

I agree, the 3DS is Nintendo's most flawed so far, with annoying region lock, scratched displays, short battery life, and what not, but actually: That's how Nintendo mostly does it with their portables. I remember when they came out with the GB Light, which solved the biggest issue all previous ones had, but they only released it in japan, and then quickly dump the color onto the market, which again - didn't have a bloody light! What the?! Seriously?!

Almost the same with the advance. First again - no light, then they fix it with the SP which got rubbish sound and makes your eyes bleed, then they fixed it again (at least some of the display issues) with the 101 which still is very rare round here, and still got bland colors. Then they dump the micro on us, which is way to small for anyone beyond their early embryonic states.

Point is: Nintendo will never get a hand held just right, with adequate display, sound, comfort and usability. They introduced a region lock as you probably know, which alone would also be a good reason not to buy it.

Felt like ranting, sorry.

[Drath]

Guys, wait, I just heard a random company made a extra grip rubber sleeve that the 3DS fits in for all that extra grip you need. Then another company made an extra big battery pack that attaches to the 3DS. Wait, another company made a special screen protector, and a carrying pack, you know, so you can put your games in, and stuff! NO WAY! Something was just released that attaches to your 3DS that makes the buttons bigger!

What is wrong with Nintendo! Why are all these third party companies (that aren't Nintendo) making peripherals for the 3DS! Stupid Nintendo! Ugh, the 3DS sucks! <Insert line about the price drop>.

Hopefully somebody gets the sarcasm there, because supposedly companies making third party extensions and items means that the 3DS is terrible and that Nintendo is stupid? I'm missing the correlation there. Can somebody help me out?

[The 1 2 P]

Exactly. How embarrassing for Nintendo. How did they get the 3DS so wrong? The sheer number of bad decisions and their failure to understand the marketplace (that they created) just boggles the mind. Wow.

I think it's because of how much positive feedback they received during the initial unveiling of the 3DS. They apparently took that feedback and decided to run with it, forgoing any changes they may have made to the system before launching it. I think they were even quoted in an article saying that they priced the system the way they did because of the overwhelmingly positive response they were getting from it(the system, not the price).

[klausien]

http://the-magicbox.com/1109/game110906b.shtml

Nintendo is producing the unit. It isn't a third party device. It's admitting failure.

[c0ldb33r]

I actually can't wait for this device.

I love stuff like this. I love sliding stuff into other stuff.

It's like the Sega CD all over again

[PapaStu]

Nintendo is producing the unit. It isn't a third party device. It's admitting failure.

Nintendo producing this doesn't mean any kind of admitted failure. Is Nintendo publishing Monster Hunter 3DS in Japan like they did for 3 here in the US?

Again, if this second stick is JUST for Monster Hunter (which it well could be) who cares? STOP WITH THE DOOM AND GLOOM.

[skaar]

This looks like Madcatz.

[sfchakan]

I think most of the people being negative here are just disappointed with the 3DS period. I know I am and I'm glad I didn't run out and buy it early.

I'll wait for the next hardware version and a fatter library.

[substantial_snake]

Nintendo producing this doesn't mean any kind of admitted failure. Is Nintendo publishing Monster Hunter 3DS in Japan like they did for 3 here in the US?

Again, if this second stick is JUST for Monster Hunter (which it well could be) who cares? STOP WITH THE DOOM AND GLOOM.

I may be totally off base here but the way I understand it is that the concern is that Nintendo is producing a major refit (NCC-1701A yo) attachment for its own system which means it probably wont be just for monster hunter. Now if this was a Capcom only venture then I would be totally with you but it being a Nintendo product does give me cause for concern that this is an attempt at a 3DS redesign.

That and the vibe I got from Nintendo's upcoming BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG announcement at the TGS suggested that it was more then just getting Monster Hunter on the 3DS and this might very well be it. I'm not going to bash it untill I hold the thing but it does reinforce my thoughts on how the 3DS has been thoroughly undercooked.

This looks like Madcatz.

This made me and yes *sigh* it does.

[joshnickerson]

It'll be like the Classic Controller Pro, bundled with Monster Hunter, and like the Classic Controller Pro, no games will absolutely require it. More than likely, Capcom wanted a second analog nub and to appease them, Nintendo produced the slide on Slide Pad, because after all, Monster Hunter is huge in Japan and who WOULDN'T want the series on their system?

If future games absolutely require the attachment, I can see an issue, but at the moment, it just looks like a peripheral Capcom requested to make Monster Hunting easier.

Nintendo is producing the unit. It isn't a third party device. It's admitting failure.

We could just wait to hear it straight from Nintendo next Tuesday, or go with a fan site translating a leaked magazine scan. Your choice, internetz.

[kupomogli]

Hopefully somebody gets the sarcasm there, because supposedly companies making third party extensions and items means that the 3DS is terrible and that Nintendo is stupid? I'm missing the correlation there. Can somebody help me out?

http://the-magicbox.com/1109/game110906b.shtml

Nintendo is producing the unit.

The irony.

I love stuff like this. I love sliding stuff into other stuff.

Quote of the year? Either Queen of the Felines quote or this.

[goatdan]

Then they dump the micro on us, which is way to small for anyone beyond their early embryonic states.

Oddly enough, I have big hands, and prefer to the GBA Micro to all other GBA playing devices -- including the GameCube with adapter -- by quite a bit.

[Gameguy]

This looks like Madcatz.

This made me and yes *sigh* it does.

I also laughed, but mainly because it looked like that cat from his signature said it.

[heybtbm]

We could just wait to hear it straight from Nintendo next Tuesday, or go with a fan site translating a leaked magazine scan. Your choice, internetz.

...or they could just confirm it now:

http://m.kotaku.com/5838197/nintendo...cle-pad-add+on

[Drath]

I know it may seem like back peddling, but I think my comment still stands. When it was believed to be third party by most of us here, we still jumped to attack Nintendo and the "failure" of the 3DS.

[kupomogli]

I know it may seem like back peddling, but I think my comment still stands. When it was believed to be third party by most of us here, we still jumped to attack Nintendo and the "failure" of the 3DS.

But most of us didn't believe it was third party. Some of us did, sure, but literally everyone here is well aware of the rumor about Nintendo making another 3DS revision with two analog sticks. This beast is then announced along with Monster Hunter 3G? It's not hard to put two and two together.

This add on pretty much solidifies that we're going to see a new 3DS revision. As if we weren't going to see one anyways. I don't think Nintendo has ever had a portable console that didn't have a revision. Even the Game and Watch games had multiple revisions.