The 3DS XL add-on circle pad got its first public airing at this year's Tokyo Game Show. I checked it out—and it was pretty good! Nintendo, however, didn't give a release date for the peripheral. Until now.

Nintendo has once again made an add-on second Circle Pad for the 3DS. And, you know what, it's not half bad. Actually, it seems like the Circle Pad Pro for the XL could be pretty good.

Yesterday, Nintendo revealed that a larger circle pad add-on was headed to the 3DS XL—something that Nintendo first mentioned this past summer. Here is a first look at the new Circle Pad Pro for the 3DS XL.

We knew the peripheral was coming to Nintendo's new handheld, but until today we hadn't seen what it looked like. Now we have. Yup. Still hideous.

While you probably wouldn't want to do this yourself (it certainly doesn't look comfortable!), one Japanese gamer apparently forced the recently released 3DS XL on the Circle Pad Pro and got it to recognize the larger 3DS—which makes sense!

When Nintendo revealed the 3DS XL, Kotaku asked the game maker about the Circle Pad Pro—you know, the add-on circle pad—as it would be too small for the larger 3DS. Nintendo said that the company had nothing to announce at that time. Fast forward to today.

Nintendo's official 3DS Circle Pad Pro extension is, well, it's not very pretty. It's also getting hard to find. Thank the maker for Nyko, then, who have not only produced the world's first third-party alternative, but have come up with something that looks much nicer than Nintendo's offering.

It sure has been a week for twin-thumbstick portable gaming. In addition to the PlayStation Vita (which has two thumbsticks built in), I've been playing around with the "Circle Pad Pro" attachment for the Nintendo 3DS.

A few years ago, a Nintendo Wii rip-off, called the Vii, appeared in China. A couple Chinese dudes purchased one and then filmed themselves opening it up to see what was inside. There was a tiny, sole circuit board. They broke out laughing.

The Circle Pad Pro, a $20 add-on that adds a second analog input to the Nintendo 3DS—acting as a right analog stick—as well as two shoulder more shoulder buttons, will be sold in the U.S. exclusively through GameStop stores and the GameStop website, Nintendo revealed today.

Over the weekend, the Circle Pad Pro was released in Japan, meaning that people across the country are playing the 3DS with dual thumb circles.

The Nintendo 3DS add-on Circle Pad, apparently dubbed the "Circle Pad Pro" in the West, runs on a single AA battery.

The next portable installment of Capcom's survival-horror action series looks like it'll be hitting Europe first, along with the dock that's bringing additional control inputs to the Nintendo 3DS.