Nintendo’s Ugly 3DS Circle Pad Add-on Priced And Dated
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35 responses to “Nintendo’s Ugly 3DS Circle Pad Add-on Priced And Dated”
Comes to just under $19 according to XE.
Regardless of whether you find it ugly or not, that price is actually extremely low considering what most handheld peripherals normally go for.
For whatever reason Nintendo didn’t want to wait ’till they had a dual-stick design ready. My guess is that the first 3DS revision will have two sticks, and the majority of good software they’re holding back will require two sticks.
We all ended up getting the memory expansion for our N64s to play Perfect Dark, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64 etc. It was bundled with an extremely desirable game, and once we had it it was no big deal. This stupid attachment is different of course, but in the end dual-stick 3DS will be the norm thanks to the games.
It’s still stupid. Nintendo really should have released a finished product!
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“We all ended up getting the memory expansion for our N64s to play Perfect Dark, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64 etc.”
i don’t remember that being a requirement for Diddy Kong Racing. Regardless the important difference here is that the Expansion Pak was unobtrusive and was never expected to be part of a revised unit. If you wanted to play the games you outlined above, it was just solid fact that you needed an expansion pak.
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This is Nintendo… I got burnt with the original GBA & DS Phat… That’s why I’m not getting 3DS (main reason is still due to region locked)
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From memory the only games that required the expansion pak were Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64 and Majora’s Mask.
I think Turok 2 worked without it but you couldn’t play it in ‘high’ resolution (640×480! omg) without the add on. I’m not sure if there were others that did that though.
So they give this stupid add-on to everyone for free with a copy of Monster Boring 17, but what if people want it with a different game that ends up using it too? Give it away with every add-on game? No. Give it to everyone who signs up for the ambassador part 2 program. Maybe.
Piss everyone off with the most botched handheld release in the companies history. Definately.
God only knows what the backlash will be next year with the updated 3DS.
It’s like watching a carcrash, you feel sorry for the impending disaster but still can’t look away. Crazy Nintendo.
If they want people to use the ugly thing, they should make it free with a major game and like 5 bucks at most otherwise.
Not that I think a second analogue’s a bad idea, far from it, but man is that the worst looking peripheral I have ever seen.
Yes we all got the n64 expansion pack, but like you said it was bundled in with a game which required it. Plus it was not only 6 months after the console had launched! lol. This just seems….. cheap and tacky…..
On a side rant, how much would the production cost have been for DK64. A cartridge [expensive], plus the expansion pack, expensive again; compared today to optical media which costs around the cents per disc price range….. these savings have not been passed on to consumers.
Eh, I think they’ve hit gold with a sub-$20 add-on. I opened this thinking it was going to be a $50 accessory. Sure, it’s tacky and will get integrated into the next release of the 3DS. But just think back to the GBA – how many people went out and dropped $20 on a worm light? Not as game-specific, but it was considered by most to be almost essential to getting a great experience from the device. Sure, it sucks to be an early adopter this time around, but I’m pretty happy with the Ambassador program, and on a certain level, appreciate that I won’t have to buy an whole new system when the 3DS circle² comes out in a year or two.
Nintendo has officially lost the plot… The 3DS was always a flawed design, and Nintendo was arrogant thinking a second generation of low-balling hardware and functionality would fly. But this is extraordinary. It’s like the 32X all over again.
Given the original mistakes can’t be unmade, surely it would have been MUCH wiser to announce this peripheral at the same time as the inevitable redesign that bakes the second circle pad in? That way, marketing could shift gears and promote aspirational hardware while Nintendo placates early adopters.
Announcing the peripheral as a stand-alone accessory now means NOBODY in their right mind will buy a 3DS until the redesign is released. Stunting sales after they’ve finally picked up post price drop is surely the last thing Nintendo’s shareholders want…
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The thing is, Nintendo haven’t announced a redesign. Although it is likely to happen at some point, it won’t neccesarily happen anytime soon.
To be honest it’s an ugly looking thing for a peripheral (especially when trying to fit another analogue stick) but I’m not going to judge (gameplay & comfort wise) until I’ve got an opinion from someone whose actually used it or I’ve tried it out myself. I am glad though that the games coming out so far don’t force people to actually buy the thing.
But I’m still disappointed in Nintendo. Nintendo seriously should have added the second analogue stick when it was launched in the first place if they were so keen to add one. I seriously doubt (but still a chance) Nintendo will add the second analogue stick in the next 3DS revision (if there is one) because that probbably will piss off a heap of their loyal fans and customers who bought the original 3DS at launch.
Deeply disappointed. It’s friggin hideous and completely off-sets the screen from the centre of your hands. It makes the 3DS even fatter in a time when smartphones are getting larger, crisper screens in sexier, slimmy bodies.
I bought my 3DS full knowing there wouldn’t need to be a secondary joystick. The 3DS right now works fine for just about every genre, bar FPS games. And I don’t need a second stick on my handheld, because if I wanted the console experience, I’d play it on my 360 or PS3 on a 1080 screen.
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None of the games that have been announced to use it are FPS, and the rumor is that many of the delayed games were delayed because the developers want to use it. Almost none of them are FPS’s either.
i dont see how they could of not made it run off blue tooth or wifi and have it stick onto the hardware then be in this ugly adding bulk case. Well that could increase price which would of been a major factor. But it just makes what is a visually appealing device look ugly.
Some news sites (including Vooks) point out that this is an optional control add-on, and no game announced yet (including Monster Hunter) will require it. It’s optional. Optional.
So now the internet can calm down about this.
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An optional fix for an obvious design flaw.
Anyone who has played monster hunter can tell you why that second stick is needed. I seriously doubt it will be optional in any sense beyond “the game will still turn on”.
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By the way, I am aware that many of the Monster Hunter games aren’t on consoles with dual sticks. I maintain my point that the stick can only improve the game dramatically.
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“Today, the company dated and priced said extra slide pad.”
… priced “said” extra slide pad? Why not “the” or “Nintendo’s”… why do game journalists love to say that word? God its annoying.
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