Nintendo's 3DS attachment which adds a second C-Pad to the system has finally received an official name. According to a new trademark, It is now called the Circle Pad Pro. It makes sense considering previous peripheral names such as the Classic Controlle Pro. Hopefully, new games such as Kid Icarus will add the Circle Pad Pro before they are released.


IGN said:

We first learned about the 3DS circle pad peripheral in September, and a new trademark has now revealed its official name.

According to a recent filing, the attachment will be known as the Circle Pad Pro in the West, and simply as a "slide pad expansion" in Japan.

The add-on is currently confirmed to be compatible with Monster Hunter 3G and Resident Evil Revelations, among others. For more on the Circle Pad Pro, be sure to read our detailed hands-on impressions from TGS.

Source: IGN

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Ho-hum. Another peripheral with a boring name.

Remember when Nintendo put out peripherals with cool names like "The NES Advantage"? Those days are long gone. Some guy from accounting names everything now. Classic Controller. Balance Board. Circle Pad Pro. For that guy, alliteration is poetry, I guess.

Meh. Ho-hum. Humbug. Snore.

Posted by

kriswright

on: 10/25/11, 22:11

It seems they add the "Pro" to things they are "fixing." The CCPro was a superior version of the flawed CC after all.

Posted by

ploot

on: 10/25/11, 22:18

@kriswright

What if they re-branded it as the 3DS Advantage? Would you be more likely to buy it?

Posted by

ludist210

on: 10/25/11, 22:19

@kriswright

"Pro" is short for professional.

Posted by

GameDadGrant

on: 10/25/11, 22:30

@kriswright

Well in marketing, if you can have alliteration you're golden. If it rhymes, people will remember it more.

Posted by

-JKR-

on: 10/25/11, 22:54

@ludist210

No. But I'd be more likely to talk about it.

Posted by

kriswright

on: 10/25/11, 22:58

Dual Analog: For pros only.

Posted by

Stephen

on: 10/25/11, 23:13

@stephen08

Common misperception: The FPS on your helmet doesn't stand for First Person Shooter. It means "For Pro Stephen".

Posted by

kriswright

on: 10/25/11, 23:20

Edited:

10/25/11, 23:24

More like "Circle Pad Amateur", amirite?

ami?

Seriously, though, if it wasn't for those fucking pirates, we'd have an expansion port on the 3DS to enable a nice, clean solution.

Posted by

Anand

on: 10/25/11, 23:52

"As a grip, (the Circle Pad Pro is) mediocre."

Well there goes that. I'm not terribly interested for the extra circle pad, myself.

Posted by

Guillaume

on: 12/12/11, 20:15

@Anand

Wait, wut?

I assume pirates will inevitably attack the 3DS from the SD card slot. What's this about an expansion port?

Posted by

Kal-El814

on: 12/12/11, 20:20

@Guillaume
It might not be for everyone.

Posted by

anon_mastermind

on: 12/12/11, 20:39

Wii U will release with 2 Skus. One will be Wii U Starter Pack and one will be Wii U Pro.

Posted by

carlosrox

on: 12/12/11, 20:44

Considering that it's the only way to properly play some games, I'm definitely getting one... but I still don't understand why they didn't kill two birds with one stone and at least have it expand the 3DS battery life while you are using it. Look at the behemoth. They could have totally fit another battery in there.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 12/12/11, 20:52

This thing still reminds me of the Sega CD, it looks bad. A redesign with it integrated is bound to happen.

Posted by

GelatinousEncore

on: 12/12/11, 21:37

I'm curious how they will integrate the two extra shoulder buttons into a redesign though. Maybe by making smaller buttons next to the triggers, sort of like the Classic Controller.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 12/12/11, 21:50

Or by placing the extra pad below the XABY buttons. 360 controller with screens.

Posted by

GelatinousEncore

on: 12/12/11, 23:19

Sold exclusively at GameStop.

Kinda confirms my suspicions from the beginning that the CCP is a) not being made a big deal by Nintendo, b) just another accessory that's gonna get minimal support, c) the default 3DS controls are here to stay.

I would not wait for a redesign that includes it, if I were... one of the people waiting for a redesign that includes the second circle pad.

Posted by

Guillaume

on: 12/13/11, 20:07

@Guillaume
I guess that raises the question of when/if Nintendo is shooting for a redesign with the 3DS. I kind of expect one next year, and since it's unlikely that they'd want it to compete with the Wii U's launch, I wouldn't be surprised to see it touching down sometime in the summer. So if that's the case, and they're not really pushing the circle pad, what's going to go into this supposed redesign?

My number one demand is a better D-pad. And some smaller things, like better Start/Select, stronger hinge and less marks from the bottom screen buttons...but are any of those things enough for Nintendo to market a new version of the 3DS?

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 12/13/11, 20:22

I'm sure the advances made for 3D screens and all that will be enough to convince us to upgrade.

But I can't imagine a DS Phat -> DS Lite jump occurring. Now that was like night and day.

edit - Maybe they'll take the 3DS XL route. But I think the most likely scenario is they'll come up with a redesign that's both more attractive but also cuts down their production costs, in an attempt to bleed less money or perhaps make a profit selling the 3DS at the current price.

Posted by

Guillaume

on: 12/13/11, 20:23

Edited:

12/13/11, 20:26