3DS Circle Pad Pro coming to the US on February 7, will be GameStop-exclusive

Nintendo's 3DS Circle Pad has been a hot topic for fans of the handheld, with some seeing it as an abomination, while others consider it to be a necessary addition to the fledgling portable. But with more and more games announcing support for the peripheral every few days, it looks like it might be coming a necessity (unless you're willing to wait for the inevitable upgrade, at least). How will it end up faring? Well, Nintendo has officially revealed the US launch details, so you'll soon know for yourself.

Fans can start lining up on February 7 for the device, which will be exclusive to GameStop and cost $20. That might seem like a lot of money for a second analog stick, but we doubt you'll be complaining when you have proper camera controls or a competent aiming option for shooters. Considering games from Monster Hunter to Resident Evil plan on supporting the option, odds are you'll end up getting one sooner or later, so you might as well get ready to fork over that $20 now.

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Or, as we mentioned earlier, you can just skip it and wait for a redesign. It can't be too far away, can it?

Hollander Cooper was the Lead Features Editor of GamesRadar+ between 2011 and 2014. After that lengthy stint managing GR's editorial calendar he moved behind the curtain and into the video game industry itself, working as social media manager for EA and as a communications lead at Riot Games. Hollander is currently stationed at Apple as an organic social lead for the App Store and Apple Arcade.