Sony: 3DS circle pad add-on "shocking"

By Fred Dutton Published 19 September, 2011

Yoshida reckons Capcom demanded it.

Top Sony exec Shuhei Yoshida was "shocked" to see Nintendo's circle pad add-on announcement and speculated that the peripheral is a result of a demand from Monster Hunter developer Capcom.

Speaking in an interview with GameInformer, Sony's worldwide studios boss explained that he doesn't see Nintendo's decision to add a second circle pad as a response to the Vita's dual stick set-up.

"Well it's not like they looked at PS Vita and said 'we need to do that as well,'" he said.

"I don't know. It's clear that they didn't believe a second analog was necessary when they designed the 3DS, so I can only guess it was requested by Capcom's side. Maybe a Capcom producer told Nintendo that to play Monster Hunter we need [two] analog sticks. That I don't know, so I can only guesstimate.

"It was a bit shocking to see what they came up with," he added.

Last week Nintendo announced that both a port of Wii title Monster Hunter Tri and Monster Hunter 4 are in development for the 3DS and will be compatible with the new peripheral. Give our 3DS Circle Pad Extension hands-on a read for more on the unsightly extra.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 8 months ago

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  • Donaldthescotishtwin #1 8 months ago

    So blame capcom not nintendo

  • Dolly #2 8 months ago

    The guy's right, it's fucking shit.

  • superfurry #3 8 months ago

    It's clearly Nintendo's fault for thinking that any console released in 2011 doesn't need a second analogue stick.

  • Eraysor #4 8 months ago

    I think Capcom want to be on the 3DS because it saves them having to make a more detailed engine. Instead they can just port the old one and it'll look alright.

  • Collymilad #5 8 months ago

    No, blame Nintendo for bringing out a handheld with one stick in 2011.

    Bloody ridiculous.

    Also, -1 to Capcom for using the word "guesstimate" :|
    Edited by Collymilad at 19/09/11 @ 17:14

  • skunkfish #6 8 months ago

    My iPhone doesn't have a second analog stick (or a first).

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #7 8 months ago

    Kind of think hes right, its not like Nintendo announced any first party titles taking advantage of the second stick, they were all 3rd party ones.

  • Mkwone #8 8 months ago

    Wasn't Monster hunter a huge success on the PSP - you know the console with only one stick.

  • YoungPayters #9 8 months ago

    nice to hear that top sony exec use the "guesstimate" makes them like one of the cool guys.
    two sticks have been and should be the norm since ps1 days imo

  • TonyHarrison #10 8 months ago

    @GamesProgrammer "Kind of think hes right, its not like Nintendo announced any first party titles taking advantage of the second stick, they were all 3rd party ones."

    That'd be because Nintendo have only ever released one dual analog console in their history. Their games generally don't require a second stick, with few exceptions.

  • Porco #11 8 months ago

    I wish EG would not always go for the sensationalist headlines, and quote the whole interview.

    He did also say things like:
    " I like to see healthy competition between Nintendo’s system and ours because it helps innovation. It’s always a good thing to have."

  • Canyarion #12 8 months ago

    Japanese say "guesstimate"??

  • drumbaby #13 8 months ago

    "Wasn't Monster hunter a huge success on the PSP - you know the console with only one stick. "

    Very good point. So why are Nintendo 'improving' the experience with this stupid ungainly control system? What is it making up for on the 3DS that the PSP already has?
    Edited by drumbaby at 19/09/11 @ 17:38

  • Lamb #14 8 months ago

    In all truthiness there is nothing wrong with guesstimate. :D

    Besides the 3DS addon, I find the battery "shocking" on the Vita.

    And not so long ago Monster Hunter was atrocious to control on the PSP.

  • WinterMute78 #15 8 months ago

    Sony slams other companies. Shocking !

  • Lunastra78 #16 8 months ago

    A mountain of gold and this silly 2 nub device for the 3DS is nothing. Nintendo executives were prepared to sodomize a herd of buffalo at the top of Mount Everest only to have Monster Hunter on the 3DS.

  • mkreku #17 8 months ago

    I don't understand why they didn't just port it to the Vita instead.. it already has two sticks and a whole lot more power than the 3DS.

  • Gearskin #18 8 months ago

    If Capcom wanted it, why have they gone to such great lengths to make use of the touch screen? Monster Hunter Tri hasn't been poorly stuffed into the 3DS... Capcom seems to have put A LOT of effort into the port, as demonstrated by the TGS presentation.

  • Raiko101 #19 8 months ago

    What exactly do you need a 2nd analog stick for besides FPS games? (Not that its a requirement for DS handhelds anyway). If you're developing for a console with only 1 analog stick, surely you'd look at designing a game that doesn't require camera control? Like Super Mario 3D Land?

  • weebl #20 8 months ago

    This is only a temporary add-on I'm sure - the redesign will see to that. But this does show Nintendo truly on the back foot and not designing their console for developers, but for their own ideals.

    I was surprised to see the unit shown last year was actually the finished unit - the thickness of it and poor integration of the 3d screen looked like a pre-production model, but I'm sure that they'll sort this out next year.

  • FladgeMangle #21 8 months ago

    @Gearskin

    Capcom also went to "great lengths" to make MH Tri work with the Wiimote, but that was an horrific unplayable abomination. Only the (optional) classic controller pro - or "PS1 first gen analog controller clone" to people with long memories - saved that game.

    Same story here I think. Nintendo hardware only made suitable for ill-suited franchise via mandatory "optional" peripheral. Bloody great ho ho and thank you. Did Sony spill their pint or something? OR shag and the dump their sister?

    As for the "PSP only has 1 analog stick" posters, MH worked on that platform because the stick was below the d-pad, so spare fingers weren't wasted.

  • Phishfood #22 8 months ago

    Monster Hunter was very successful on PSP with just one analog stick but it still makes the game rather difficult to play at times. Its not unplayable with 1 analog stick just far more comfortable with a second stick.

  • drumbaby #23 8 months ago

    Is getting proper hacked off with this 'neg system'. WTF did I write that deserved the neg? Petty, but seriously, what is the point? Obviously this one deserves everything it gets :/

  • mr2ange #24 8 months ago

    I +'ed you Drumbaby

    I guess the psp was just more comfortable when using every button on the device at once.

    As for that IPhone comment, Tsh... MH would never work on that thing in a million years, and dont even speak of that rubbish MH training thing where the character is locked to a static enemy.

  • raion #25 8 months ago

    "Wasn't Monster hunter a huge success on the PSP - you know the console with only one stick. "
    It's just that you can't "claw" with the dpad and analog reversed, as they are on the 3DS. I guess you could, if anything, monster hunter proved we can adapt to impossibly unnatural things to play what we like.

    Funny bit of trivia for yall: the camera in the first MH on the PS2 was horrible even with a dual shock controller, since the right analog stick was mapped to attacks. it certainly seems weird that capcom would suddenly demand a second stick, since they didn't seem to care about proper camera controls for seven years now :p

  • HyperTails #26 8 months ago

    Its a horrible abomination, and just goes to show what a complete and utter mess Nintendo made of the situation in their arrogance. Though its probably just because they are desperate for 3rd party support they made this tumor of an add-on.

  • udders #27 8 months ago

    There will be no 3DS with a second analog stick. Fact!! It's not needed really. Just Capcom being lazy as usual with there crap designers

  • IMD1_Pk #28 8 months ago

    Lol i still remember sony fanboys trying to defend the psp for years saying they don't need a second analogue and that their games play just fine >_

  • RodHull #29 8 months ago

    With the Atari Lynx you could flip the handheld depending whether you felt like being left handed or not. If the 3DS supported this feature you could have the analogue on both sides so long as you flipped or rotated it at a sufficient speed so as to fool the human eye. Result.

  • Widge #30 8 months ago

    Well *I* didn't defend a lack of a second stick. What I did stand up for was a refusal to bolt on a second stick at a later date. Make your hardware and live with it.

    I'm sure Nintendo would have been just fine with one analogue stick.

  • Mister-Wario #31 8 months ago

    I've wondered if you could have the analogue/d-pad section removable from the main console. You could take it out, and then flip it round to have the d-pad nearer the top instead if you so desired. A bit off topic but still.

  • eviroboy #32 8 months ago

    Nothing to do with sour grapes over losing the Monster Hunter games or anything, obviously....

  • HyperTails #33 8 months ago

    @enviroboy

    Erm, they haven't 'lost' the Monster Hunter games, Nintendo just desperately paid a load of cash for the game, and its exclusivity is still up in the air. 'Lost' is what Nintendo's dominance has become. You must be bored waiting for those games to come out for 3DS (but don't worry, they'll be here eventually, right?) which is why you're posting uninformed comments.

  • dirtysteve #34 8 months ago

    Another point scoring exercise from an exec. Bashing the other guy does not make you game/console better.

  • jyoung91 #35 8 months ago

    nintendo really dropped the ball with thinking they could get away with one analogue stick as we're approaching 2012...

  • carlosdfn #36 8 months ago

    Nintendo screwed up, no way around it.

  • slippysloppy #37 8 months ago

    For once this sounds like an honest opinion not born out of marketing. He sounds a little flabbergasted, maybe after the Wii whenever Nintendo do something as stupid as this everyone else approaches it with caution in case it is actually a good idea. I sincerely doubt it is.