If this rumour turns out to be true, it’s worrying times for Nintendo. According to 01Net, a French site, has posted a report stating that many behind the scenes at Nintendo greatly regret the omission of a second circle pad on the 3DS.
According to the site, which broke the Wii U and Vita specs before they were public, there will be a new add-on circle pad that Nintendo are readying for sale at around $10. This new peripheral will somehow clamp on to the 3DS and provide a right stick for games that require it.
Some of the claims made in this first part of a four-part report seem outlandish. The site seems to claim to have much more access to the behind-the-scenes workings at Nintendo than any outlet we’ve ever seen before, detailing the attitudes and workings of third party developers within Nintendo’s validation process.
Among the more outlandish claims made by the French site (and our tranlatory skills are based on my GCSE French from fifteen years ago…) are the suggestion that a whole new 3DS model, playing down the 3D angle and perhaps even rebranding entirely, is on its way. There is also the suggestion that the recent price cut was an attempt to clear stock in readiness for this new model which will launch in 2012.
It must be said, the omission of a second analogue input does feel a little backward on Nintendo’s part but we’ve never seen this degree of panic from the company before and very strong sales after the price cut would seem to indicate that it wasn’t the feature set that was putting off consumers. We advise a huge amount of caution goes along with reading these rumours but 01Net has been correct in the past.
If the rumours turn out to be true, it’s a worrying development for Nintendo which would possibly unsettle consumer trust in a brand that has been exceptionally trustworthy in recent years.
Awayze
Add on joystick. Fail.
colmshan1990
Not a chance.
The only type of game that requires a 2nd stick is a FPS.
And it doesn’t need the stick, people are forgetting the touch screen.
Games on the DS could use it, same with the 3DS. It can be used like a mouse on the PC. Would you say your computer needs a 2nd stick? Or even a 1st stick?
Anyway, handheld peripherals never take off in enough numbers.
Sympozium Pawa
I can play the PSP without missing the right analog stick…. so why is that a problem?
I know shooters are doomed without but meh… Armoured Core was quite good with the Triangle, Cross, Circle and Square buttons so anything similar on the 3DS? I hope to do the same.
ruinereraser
2DS? ;)
job
surely the touch screen is the second stick. theres nothing to stop fps on the 3ds now. not a perfect solution but it must have been already on the ds ?.
bacon_nuts
If this is true, my surprise levels will be minimal.
Smallville2106
I just can’t get interested in this console at all. My missus has one but I’m just not bothered.