Skip to main content
If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Nintendo will release a Circle Pad Pro for 3DS XL

There's no word on a US or European release yet

Nintendo surprised some with its recent announcement of the 3DS XL, which will launch later this summer. Many thought Nintendo would have overhauled the design to include a second analog stick, but instead today it's been learned that a new version of the Circle Pad Pro add-on will be released for 3DS XL as well (the original Circle Pad attachment won't fit the XL).

According to Famitsu, as translated by Kotaku, the new Circle Pad Pro add-on is slated to come out in Japan later this year. A release for Western territories was not mentioned.

There haven't been many games released to support the Circle Pad Pro on the 3DS, and Nintendo has in some ways distanced itself from promoting the add-on, so this is somewhat surprising news.

Moreover, considering that the Circle Pad Pro increases the overall size of the unit, and 3DS XL is already larger, one has to wonder how clunky the unit may feel.

Read this next

James Brightman avatar
James Brightman: James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously EIC and co-founder of IndustryGamers and spent several years leading GameDaily Biz at AOL prior to that.
Related topics