Am I the only one wondering what happened to the second control pad on the Nintendo 3DS XL?
So the 3DS XL has been announced with larger screens, battery life and price. Wasn't there a big fluster over that additional control-pad (a GameStop exclusive) that enabled additional controls in games programed for it? I was sort of expecting to see that on the next 3DS hardware release.
When Sony added the second "stick" to the Vita and blended the handeld into its PS3 scenario, what's Nintendo doing? The folks at Forbes are speculating that this negates the 3DS as a potential "controller" for the Wii U and sends Nintendo down an opposite path from Sony and Microsoft who are trying to tie handheld devices closer to their gaming consoles.
All I can say is everyone thought Nintendo was insane to release the Wii in 2006 and it turned out to be an amazing forward leap in controller interaction. I'm guessing that the Wii U and 3DS XL will again be out-of-the-park winners... but many won't see the genius until later on :)
Having mentioned the former add-on pad - I'm wondering if it is compatible with the 3DS XL. Who knows, but I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical of the new XL model in that the original model underwent a huge price drop very early in it's cycle. Will folks now pay more for the larger screens and battery life?
Time will tell...
The chart above (from Gamasutra) shows an interesting history of the DS life-cycle from it's inception. I'm betting Nintendo will survive and thrive as always!
So the 3DS XL has been announced with larger screens, battery life and price. Wasn't there a big fluster over that additional control-pad (a GameStop exclusive) that enabled additional controls in games programed for it? I was sort of expecting to see that on the next 3DS hardware release.
All I can say is everyone thought Nintendo was insane to release the Wii in 2006 and it turned out to be an amazing forward leap in controller interaction. I'm guessing that the Wii U and 3DS XL will again be out-of-the-park winners... but many won't see the genius until later on :)
